Tiny Clanger

What, even us peasants ? As per my signature, last month I managed to score what was probably the last brand new Bresser AR-102s achro in stock anywhere in the UK , it's a fun quick set up 'scope for widefield at 600mm , it's been out only a few times at night , mostly in desperation when ragged clouds allowed sat least something to be seen in the gaps, but every day when there has been a chance it's been out for a look at the Sun. Heather

I'm recommending you pause and do some research before buying anything at all. There is a vast range of choices, no telescope is perfect, which is best for you depends on what you want to observe , how much light pollution you have, how large a telescope you can store, how heavy a device you can carry, where you can observe from , if you want to take it away to darker skies or not, and plenty of other factors. What would work in big back garden in the middle of nowhere is nothing like a good suggestion for a telescope for use on a suburban apartment's balcony. There is no way someone can say what is right for you without knowing a lot more. Reading this https://www.astroshop.eu/advice/telescope/telescope-knowledge/ebook-download/c,9154 would give you some basics on telescopes and help you understand the terminology. Lots to read here https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/buyers-guides/ And this thread will help explain what is possible https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/196278-what-can-i-expect-to-see/

Slow down there, don't rush into something without doing lots of research. Enthusiasm is great, but you can end up buying the wrong thing very easily. There is a load of information to be found online, especially about the 130 heritage under the name of a version of it in the USA 'one sky newtonian', look it up. You have a manual 130mm 'scope, and a 150mm 'virtuoso model twice the price in mind. The latter needs 8 AA batteries or a powertank or other external power supply for the electronics to work. Extra cost and weight . All the heritage models are tabletop dobsonians too ... you need to raise them off the ground by around 60cm . If you have the storage space, a classic 150 dob might suit you better. Is there a local asttronomy group you can get in touch with, where you could maybe see some 'scopes in action ?

I'm surprised the 'bad words' filter doesn't remove that one as offensive to decent sensibilities ! 🙂 Anyway, welcome Bob, just watch your language, OK ? Heather

If it is within budget and in stock, the heritage 150 is similar but has a bigger aperture, so gathers more light . I had no problems with it as a beginner when I bought it as my first proper 'scope a year ago. The Heritage (both sizes) is a basic model (which is why it is cheap ) but a good mirror. There are some diy tweaks to be done with it search on here and you'll find a lot og help, including an excellent you tube video all about it. Heather

Not a guy 🙂 , but I have both a 102 mm achromat refractor and a 127 mak, and the mak is streets ahead for what I use it for. My refractor has a 600mm focal length, similar to your celestron, which makes it OK for wide field stuff, star clusters and so on, but less good for high magnification of bright objects, where the chromatic aberration makes a pretty coloured 'rind' around the Moon etc. The mak 127's strength is that it has roughly double the refractor's focal length (1500mm) , so any given eyepiece will offer you roughly double the magnification too. No chromatic aberration either. Also the mak is less picky about eyepieces at f12 than my refractor at f6 However, the mak's longer focal length is not necessarily an advantage , is 'sees' a narrower piece of sky, so is harder to point to a target, it hugely magnifies any wobbles in the tripod and head, and I'd say a head with slow motion controls are vital for it. In fact, the mount is a vital factor to any high magnification set up, so the sort of mount and tripod which comes with the mak would be a vital factor in the decision for me. Also be aware that the mak will need to sit outdoors to cool for half an hour before you can use it properly, while the refractor is pretty much, take it out, plonk it down and observe. Oh, and the mak's thick front glass plate will be a magnet for dew. There are advantages and disadvantages to both instruments, which suits you best depends on your circumstances, and interests . If you are mainly interested in high magnification on bright targets like the Moon and planets, and the mount is up to the task, go for the mak. If you are more keen on wide field views, stick with the refractor. Or have both , it works for me ! Heather

https://sas-sky.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Stellarium_Handbook.pdf Is a decent clear introductory explanation of some of the setup & main tools on stellarium, it's a few years old but while the programme itself is constantly evolving the main principles have stayed the same.

Specific instructions on how to set up and use the oculars plug in : https://www.howtoforge.com/tutorial/stellarium-oculars-plugin/ I've a suspicion that ocular view might now appear top right of your stellarium screen when you install it, without you having to do anything more, but otherwise those instructions are good. Heather

Not if you use it on a windows or linux computer, or a mac : it is a free (small) download, and an open source bit of software . https://stellarium.org/en_GB/ Don't want to take a laptop along ? No problem : you can run the time forward on stellarium to the time when you anticipate observing, do the ocular view plugin routine, take a snap of the screen with your 'phone, and take that with you (or do a proper screen shot, but the snap is quick and easy) Heather

Hi Tony, Sounds ,like a great session ! The heritage 150 will show you Neptune , I'm sure of this because I managed to see Uranus through mine last winter. Neptune eluded me back then, (several times )and I'm looking forward to actually seeing it when/if the clouds ever clear here. Did you know that stellarium has 'ocular view' ? It allows you to set your telescope focal length and whatever change it makes to the view (inverted and flipped for a dob/newt. ) , input your eyepiece, then select Neptune (or whatever) and see it on screen centred in that eyepiece approximately as you would in reality. , except with helpful labels ! I've found it very useful to use to establish a star pattern to look for in the low power eyepiece, identify the target, then up the magnification. Heather

I agree with Phillip R, allow plenty of cool down time (my 127 mak needs around half an hour, yours is bigger and will need more ) and twiddle that focus control through its whole considerable range, eventually you will get there ! Once you have focus on a star (where it looks as small and sharp as it can be) with a particular eyepiece , there shouldn't be much, if any adjustment needed for viewing the planets. You might need to adjust focus when changing to a different eyepiece though, some sets claim to be 'parfocal' , which means no re focussing is needed, but eyepieces from different ranges/makers/types may need some adjustment. Jupiter and Saturn are quite low in the sky at the moment, so may appear fuzzy even when in focus due to atmospheric problems. Did you buy the setup new, or was it second hand ? Heather

Exciting isn't it ?! 🙂 You got some good extras with your purchase, especially Turn Left at Orion, , which has a pretty comprehensive but brief intro section which is well worth a bit of homework on a cloudy evening ! There is even a website with supplementary info for the book here https://www.cambridge.org/turnleft/ If you've not used either a desktop or app astronomy map program, one would be very useful to show you your skies at your location right now , I like stellarium on the pc because the price is right (£ zero) . There is an online version, a downloadable one, and (I believe, altho' I've not used it myself) an android app which unlike the other versions, comes at a small charge. Many other apps are available. Everyone will tell you that the 25mm eyepiece is OK, but the 10mm is not very good, and I'd agree . Keep a look out for someone selling an 8mm or 12mm BST starguider second hand, the going rate is about £35 at the moment , (they are £49 new) , it would be a worthwhile upgrade, but apart from that I'd not rush into buying anything else for a while, wait and see what works for you, what needs improving. Oh, and give that Solar Filter a very careful check over : I'm assuming it is a big one that goes on the front of the telescope ? Hold it up to the Sun in your hands and check it carefully for damage before it goes on the 'scope (I do this every time I use mine, can't be too careful ) . On the other hand, if the solar filter is a tiny glass thing to screw on the eyepiece, bin it immediately, they are a danger to eyesight and should never be used . Heather

And it's worth checking this thread out if you've not already done so;

I've seen quite a few faint fuzzies in my 150 (6") heritage dob from my light polluted suburban back garden , so do not give up ! I'm reposting a long reply I made to a previous thread , with a few tweaks to better answer your question: I'm in a suburban area, with a 150 dob , and am keen on seeing the faint fuzzies , but have learned that quite apart from any limitations of my skill and kit, there are many factors out of my control which affect my chances. of seeing a faint fuzzy A dark night . Not many of those right now, the best, darkest time in summer is an hour or so each side of 1am ( it would be midnight except for BST) Round here every other street light is turned off at midnight to save electricity, and by then the neighbours have stopped illuminating their conservatories like lighthouses too., so I aim to observe in the early hours. No Moon in the sky. If the Moon is up, it or any bright planets are what I observe, not faint challenging DSOs I also ensure any of my house lights which illuminate the garden even slightly, are off. A towel or similar, draped over head & eyepiece can help in a light polluted area. A target fairly high in the sky. The lower you look, the more thickness of atmosphere you are peering through. Fully light adapted eyes. I'll spend some time faffing with the 'scope, looking at the sky with the naked eye, or observing easy targets for half an hour, it takes at least that long for my eyes to properly adapt. Averted vision: looking to the side of the target really works. For finding faint stuff I usually use a 32mm or an 18mm eyepiece initially, only swapping to something with higher mag if and when I get to see my target. 18mm is the 'sweet spot' for my setup, local conditions and eyesight, apparently. It gives me the greatest contrast between sky and fuzzy thing. Our eyes are better at spotting and recognising edges of shapes than gentle gradients of brightness, so you want to have as contrasty an image as possible to distinguish faint fuzzies from a fairly bright sky. There's plenty of info to read on here about exit pupil, which is an important factor in this. Final thought : M31, Andromeda, sounds as if it ought to be an easy target , right ? I thought so, I mean, it's huge ! So I thought when I got my dob in the early summer last year. I spent a few frustrating evenings not seeing it , despite being bloomin' sure I was pointing the 'scope straight at it .Then one warm summer night I went out with a camping mat, pillow and binoculars to just lie on the grass and watch for a meteor shower , the Perseids in August. About an hour after settling down I saw something out of the corner of my eye , a vague grey fuzz in the sky ... no ! It can't be ... but , it's in the right area ... Yep, after several evenings of annoyingly fruitless effort trying to see M31, I'd seen it entirely by accident with the naked eye. Got it in the binoculars , then went in and fetched the dob (without turning any light on indoors so as to preserve my night vision) and managed to see a very underwhelming slightly brighter, thin cotton-wool ball, the bright centre of Andromeda. It looked better in the binos. to be honest. After that, I could see Andromeda with the naked eye on subsequent nights, no problem, my brain knew what to expect. It's one of the fascinating things about astro observing, quite apart from all the kit and technology, the correct aiming etc, you actually have to teach your eyes and mind what to look for. It's frustrating to start with, but stick with it, persistence pays off eventually. I'd suggest you have a shot at M81 & M82, Bode's Galaxy and the Cigar Galaxy, small , but high in the sky and easy to navigate to from the Plough, not to mention 2 for the price of 1 🙂 Heather

Someone on cloudy nights reckoned a 3/8" screw (standard photo tripod leg section screw) will work in an M10 hole,, so if they are right it should be OK : https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/494575-m10-15-or-38-x-16/?p=6497952 I'm sure someone on here will have actual practical experience of if it holds true in practise. Heather

That's the problem, a prism diagonal ... I should have checked you were using a mirror diagonal, it never crossed my mind . As far as I can see, your choices are , buy a 2" pair of polarisers for your 2" mirror diagonal, or go for a few 1.25" ND filters , or buy a 1.25 mirror diagonal ... Looking at FLO , the cost of basic (astro essentials) 1.25" ND filters is £9 each, so £30 ish for the set of 3 different strengths. (or the Baader option for £37 each ) The 2" variable pol is about the same cost as the 3 astro essentials NDs If you want a very cheap solution, there was a fairly recent thread on here about a £10 ish mirror diagonal folk were buying from Amazon , you could get one and reserve it just for use with the polarisers, and leave one filter screwed in place .... At least if you decide to buy something different a 1.25" polarising pair will be easy to post, so (unless you can return them to the seller for a refund, which would be ideal ) you can recoup some of their cost by selling them on here ! Heather

You may already have seen this thread, but just in case you haven't :

You have two polarising filters . As you rotate the two filters with respect to each other, you get a range of darkening, from 'not a lot' (I'd have to look up how much) steplessly through to 100% opaque. So to achieve the precise darkening effect you require, you need one filter to stay still, while you rotate the other . When the two filters are joined together to make one unit, obviously the top filter , screwed to the base of the eyepiece, will stay still, and you turn the other , using the rotating feature on it. When you separate the two filters to use one on the eyepiece, the other in the 'scope side of the diagonal, , you want to control the relative orientation of the two filters by turning the eyepiece. So have the non-rotating filter there, giving you an eyepiece/filter unit which moves as one when you turn the eyepiece in the focuser tube . The polariser with the ring that turns could potentially catch on the eyepiece tube, and not therefore rotate as a unit with the eyepiece. So it is better to have that one in the front of the diagonal, where there is no movement to disturb its setting ( a setting helpfully explained by Nicholas.) I think that's the best I can explain it !

You had not edited your post and added the video when I typed out my reply, so I wouldn't have seen that detail. It seems sensible to place the freely rotating filter where it is less likely to be accidentally disturbed . If you can't get on with the Pol. pair, maybe get some ND filters instead ?

Works for me ...

If you put one filter (probably the rotating one, as it will have less chance of being disturbed ) on the diagonal inner thread, the other on the eyepiece thread, you can look through the eyepiece while you rotate the eyepiece barrel, which turns the polariser (yes, the eyepiece needs to be loose in the focus tube) and see the precise effect, get to the view you want, then tighten the eyepiece in place. That's what I do, and find it works well, at least, in 'scopes which have a diagonal ... If you attach both filters to the base of your EP, (as I have to do in my dob) it's not so easy, you are repeatedly taking the EP out, turning the rotating filter a little, replacing the eyepiece carefully while trying not to change the filter orientation, looking through it,deciding the view can be improved, taking it out, turning the rotating filter a little, replacing the eyepiece carefully while trying not to change the filter orientation, looking through it,deciding the view can be improved, taking it out, turning the rotating filter a little, replacing the eyepiece carefully while trying not to change the filter orientation ... I suppose you could place the pair of filters temporarily in the eyecup of the eyepiece , look through as you fiddle with the orientation, then try to hold both in their relative positions with your fingertips as you screw them into the eyepiece base. I know if I tried that I'd just drop them both, or get fingerprints on 'em. ! I tend to use a completely non-adjustable Moon filter rather than the polarisers when using my dob.

Yep, that looks like a good replacement focuser, but the metalwork to install it shown in the thread you link to is way beyond my skill, I found it stressful just to drill two holes for a finder shoe ... The existing focus tube is , indeed, all one plastic moulding , part of the front ring which incorporates the spider , the RDF shoe and the attachment for the extending rods . There is no existing place such an after market focuser could be easily mounted, .May as well go the whole hog and upgrade to a larger, solid tube dob. with a decent focuser built in. My future plan, when they are back in stock and I have saved enough money , is for a Bresser 8" dob, . the biggest I can handle alone.

Saw that, noticed the illustrations on the ad. showed a far longer dovetail, and thought, will they also have done something better with the focuser ? A closer look showed it was the same, Shame, if they'd upgraded that I'd have seriously considered smashing the piggy bank and going on bread and water for a while to get one The focus is the only thing that really annoys me about the Heritage 150. Heather

If you are thinking of serious astro photo use , you will want an EQ mount, and the heritage does not have tube rings (and I doubt they would fit as aftermarket add ons and still allow the tube to close properly) so would be no use , due to the way an EQ mount shifts the focuser as it rotates. Serious EQ mounts are not cheap. I inherited a Celestron 114 newt on a cheap EQ and it was horrid. You really get what you pay for in this game. If you are interested in visual observing , with maybe just the odd 'phone pic of the Moon etc , and alt/az mount (or a dobsnian base) is intuitive to use, and keeps the focuser accessible .

There's lots of chat on here about the Heritage 130 and 150, try a search on either name in the search box top right on this page. Here's a previous discussion on the 150 heritage, where I gave some links, I'm too lazy to type it again Heather