SmoothOperator

You legend, thanks a lot for the help buddy!

Hi Dave. thanks a lot for the quick reply! There is a small black grub screw below the locking bolt, is this the baby?

Hi guys hope you are all well! im a beginner stargazer with a skywatcher 200p. As a beginner I haven’t tinkered with the scope at all however I’m having an issue with the focuser where when I adjust it outwards the tube will slide back down making focusing very annoying. There is a locking bolt to hold the focuser in place but this disengages the adjusters so once locked cannot be adjusted anymore. I can’t see anything obvious such as a loose bolt so any suggestions on how to fix this? any help is much appreciated, thanks in advance

Also, based on what you’ve said would you suggest that instead of spending the money on the EP set in the URL I’ve copied or would it be better to spend it on a decent 8mm eyepiece which combined with the Barlow lens will give me my 300x mag?

Oh okay my mistake, I’d read it was 50 x the aperture. So when viewing Jupiter I can definitely notice more detail when swapping to 240x just an adjustment of the focused. You’ll have to forgive me as I’m a bit of a novice and I don’t fully understand some of the language you’ve used like corrected field of view, what sort of effect does this have when looking through the eyepiece as opposed to an Uncorrected field of view? thanks for the info on eyepieces also, much appreciated.

So I’ve had my skyliner 200p dob For just over a year now and couldn’t be happier with it as my first scope. With the scope came a 10mm and 25mm eyepiece and I also purchased a cheap Barlow lense to go with it. On a good night with the 10mm and Barlow I have managed to get some stunning views of Saturn, making out the gap between the planet and ring clearly as well as seeing the coloured cloud stripes of Jupiter. Im now looking to expand my EP collection and have done some calculations. Based on my scope I believe the maximum magnification I can achieve is x403 and with a 6mm EP and Barlow would be able to achieve x400 magnification. Although this is within my maximum magnification can anyone offer an opinion on whether this means I’d be able to focus the image correctly or whether it’d just be a blurred image. Also by spending the extra money how much difference can be noticed with the same sized EP, for example would a £150 EP really offer much more than a £25 EP it terms of image quality. FLO sell a plossl EP set which comes with a 6,8,13,17 and 32mm EP as well as various filters and at first glance looks well worth it but not entirely sure on whether it’ll offer more variety in my observing sessions. Guess I’m just looking for an opinion on where to go next as I’m a bit lost in the sheer number of different options. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/eyepiece-sets/celestron-eyeopener-eyepiece-and-filter-kit.html

I’ve been observing Saturn and Jupiter over the past few night and can get lovely sights of them both. I use an app in my iPhone called Skyview which is basically an augmented view of the universe based on your current location. Really easy to use and make planning observing sessions quick and easy. Also very easy to use in order to identify things you are looking at, simply point your phone at it.

As a beginner I use the skyliner 200p dob myself and couldn’t be happier with it as a first scope. Stays in the conservatory where I can have it out in the garden and setup for viewing in minutes.

Very interesting read, was surprised to read that acetone wouldn’t cause any damage to the coating. I think as a beginner astronomer I I hold it in my head that mirrors should always be perfect but just overreacted to a piece of dust. Will definitely take a few things away from that post though so much appreciated.

Oh okay that’s a relief then. I did wonder about a coating on the mirrors and so I believe acetone would actually damage this layer then. Many thanks for the help also.

Thanks very much amigo, very much appreciated!

Hey thanks for the advice, much appreciated. I’ve had mine just over a year but I was using it a few nights ago just to look at Jupiter and noticed a fairly large spec but like you said i don’t think it affected my viewing, I was slightly concerned though as this was the first time I’d noticed my mirrors looking anything but perfect. Sounds stupid but if my mirrors only gradually build up with dust so my viewing is only very gradually affected, at what point would you decide to clean them? And what with?

Hey there, I’m looking for some advice/assistance in the cleaning of the mirror of my telescope. I have an 8” skywatcher skyliner 200p dob and have noticed a few specs on the primary mirror however I’ve never attempted to clean the mirrors before and I’m unsure on what substance to use to actually clean it. I have some acetone which I can grab from work but I’m not sure if this will be too harsh and diminish the reflective finish. Also does anyone know if the mirrors on this scope have a mirror finish or if they are coated to produce the finish. thanks for any help!