IB20

Had another crack at viewing and sketching Mars tonight using some of the helpful tips from this forum i.e. no dark adaptation, high mag EP and polarising filter. Much better seeing conditions too. The most prominent features that stood out were a small white south polar region and a dark belt just underneath which looking at the Mars Globe app is probably Terra Sirenum. Very much looking forward to it getting ever closer!

A great choice. Last night I set my 200P SW dob up in less than 90 seconds and enjoyed views of the moon, Mars, Uranus, the Pleiades and the Hyades. I can’t recommend a decent star app enough for a manual scope, SkySafari plus is worth every penny.

The scope was an uncooled 200p dob, this was taken at 100x mag with an iPhone 11 just at the eyepiece. No bells or whistles.

Just a quick update, the Pleiades and Hyades were absolutely sensational through these last night and genuinely couldn’t count the number of stars in the Pleiades. I also used them to locate Uranus which is 2.87 billion km away. Lovely stuff.

Although just a tiny blurred aqua dot this is one of my favourite images I’ve ever taken. I could have looked it at for hours through my scope & bins last night. It’s currently 2.87 billion km or 159 light minutes away and that I get to see it from my back garden is just marvellous!

Last night there was finally a cloudless window although somewhat dominated by the moon! Not letting the opportunity escape I pushed my 200p dob to the doorway and had a lunar gander with the unbranded 40mm skywatcher?? plossl my dad had lent me with a variable polarising moon filter. iPhone pic attached. I’m guessing the EP was fairly cheap but I really like it and may look into getting a 40mm myself. The real reason to set up was my first ever look at Mars with a decent scope. Very underwhelming at first as just an incredibly bright orangey-pick disc. So decided to tackle it with the moon filter but then clouds started to roll in! However still bright enough to pierce through the clouds and although not great viewing, did manage to glimpse occasional diagonal dark brown/grey banding; fairly poor digital sketch attached. Certainly looking forward to it getting closer and spending more time on it.

Hello, I’d say the best bang for your buck would be the heritage 130p (link in the above post) or the larger and newer 150p flextube! https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-heritage-150p-flex-tube-dobsonian-telescope.html

Spent the last session with temporary blindness after looking at the moon for so long, a much needed purchase. 😁

SQM of 17.52 with a 96% moon, SQM of 20.55 with a 1% moon. Somewhere between city and suburban skies, bortle 6-7.

I would definitely recommend to read this thread to ensure your expectations aren’t out of proportion to what a small scope will offer you. I recently purchased a 200P dobsonian skywatcher and I have nothing but praise for it. It’s big enough to capture enough light for me to be happy with but is also about the right size and manoeuvrability. Lots of more experienced users here are bang on when they say the right scope is the one you’ll use!

Used the auto focus setting (this seems to be around 0.7 rather than infinity) on Halide with exposure 1/390 and ISO 32. 👍

I’m in no rush to upgrade right now, too many filters to buy and I’d like some good 15x binos next. I would probably look at the Morpheus range if I did fancy an upgrade in the future. I just look at the price of the TVs and feel my pockets getting longer and my arms shortening.

I’m not sure I’ll ever get to see through a TV unless I went to a gathering. Would you say the margins in performance are worth the increase in price through a cheaper scope or are we talking £3-5000 fracs to notice?

I found the stock 25mm OK but the Starguider is so much better. The stock 10mm is absolutely honking however 😂. I’d have liked 9mm & 6mm BSTs I think rather than the 8 & 5mm, although with the planets being so low I haven’t really spent a lot of time with them so far. I’m just about getting the hang of getting a phone adapter onto them too!

Having now got the full set I’m very glad I do. I really enjoy dropping through the mags after starting with the 25mm in my 200P. On the few occasions the weather has been kind since getting them, I’ve found I’m certainly loving the 15mm and although I didn’t think I’d use the 3.2mm too much, it’s given me some stunning lunar views.

Got two definite splits at 150x with a warm 200p in extremely mild late night conditions. Then reduced to 100x and could only consistently split ε2 lyrae; ε1 was a lot harder to separate and would only occasionally split.

20 or so RAW images shot with Halide on IPhone 11, converted to PNG and stacked with Autostakkert. Processed with free Lightroom app. Shots taken through a 200P dob and 25mm BST Starguider.

I’m a huge fan of the Garnet star (mu cephei) in Cepheus, I give it a look everytime my 200p is set up. La superba in Canes Venatici is a red giant carbon star which you may still be able to get at as well. The colouration of both are stunning.

Just “Astronomik” and “UHC0010067155”. On the FLO website it shows an image with the UHC filters with “Profi” printed on, but it’s only on the 2”. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Let’s see how this does around Cygnus then!

This is with a iPhone 11, normal camera settings but auto dark mode which is 3 seconds exposure. Then edited in free Lightroom app. It’s at such a weird angle cos I was trying to explain to someone where the comet was in relation to Ursa Major.

Just had 20 mins break in the cloud so grabbed another neb at Neowise with 8x42s. Certainly more diffuse and a bit greener now. Still a wonderful looking thing. Then turned my attention to flitting between La Superba and Mu Cephei 🔴🟠🔴🟠🔴🟠 before the clouds returned.

I love my 200p dob, stays in the kitchen and has a fairly small footprint. Easy to move about in two parts too. Can’t imagine I could’ve got a better scope for £296.

I think I paid £10 for SkySafari plus. It’s absolutely on the money with everything I’ve observed. Has great tools like observing lists too. Can’t fault it. It might even be half price right now.

I recently bought some Helios Mistral WP6 ED 8x42s, they are blooming excellent for astro viewing. Neowise has been a treat in them, but they are also very good for asterisms and rich star fields.