Bongo

Yep, I got a copy of Turn Left at Orion. To be honest, I've only had a brief preliminary flick through so far. Have to make a more concerted effort!

@mikemarotta Thanks for all that. Sorry for not getting back to you sooner - things have been a bit hectic around here. I think I definitely need to let my telescope acclimatise for longer. I have a bad habit of popping my head out of the back door, spotting a clear sky, rushing for the 'scope and cracking on. Not always the best bet! To answer your direct questions - I have the EPs that came with the scope, plus the BST 8mm (which I'm very happy with indeed!). I inherited a 3x Barlow, which can be nice with the stock EPs but I've had no luck combining it with the 8mm BST - hard to focus and/or track. Gives options with the other EPs though. I know that magnification isn't everything, tempting though it seems, but I did wonder whether something like a 5mm BST might work with my scope. Especially considering planetary viewing options in the next couple of months. What do you think?

Some great info here, folks. And certainly some stuff to try for next time, which is what I wanted. Thanks very much, all!

Hi. Thanks for the info - very useful. I'm using a BST StarGuider 60º 8mm ED Eyepiece and scope as per my footer. Titan does seem plausible.

Hi, I was using BST StarGuider 60º 8mm ED Eyepiece

Hi all Well, I woke up at about 2am this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. By about 3am I'd given up trying and decided to head out into the garden to see if it was worth getting the 'scope out. I could see what appeared to be two bright 'stars' and hoped they'd be Saturn and Jupiter. I smuggled the 'scope out of my bedroom, almost without waking my wife and was proved right. I easily managed to make out Jupiter and three moons. I could just about make out a band on Jupiter, but otherwise it was just a very bright disc. I managed to make out the rings of Saturn which actually made me chuckle, startling a passing hedgehog. Then the sun started to come up and it was game over. Now, I'm really happy with what I saw - first time for me seeing both of those planets with anything other than the naked eye. However, me being me, I'm now thinking about how I can improve things for next time and I have a few questions that I hope some of you folks might be able to help me with. 1. Jupiter seemed *very* bright. Its moons were pin-sharp dots, but it seemed blurry round the edges. I wonder if this was down to its brightness? Or maybe just the seeing? Would I see more detail with a filter? 2. How can I tell which moons of Jupiter I saw? 3. I saw something near Saturn that *might* have been a moon. Although I suspect it might well have been a faint star. Is it likely to have been a moon or do I have no chance with my small scope? How would I know? (Most other stars weren't visible due to the sunrise at this point so I didn't really have a reference) Thanks!

Many thanks for the ideas and comments, folks!

Yeah, that's what I thought. Maybe I was just being a bit clumsy with the focusser, especially since you say it's pretty fine. I have to admit, I didn't spend long out there because it was so incredibly cold! I think I'll get the collimation checked, try on another night and spend a bit more time with it and see how it goes. Cheers!

Hi, Just after a bit of advice. I've just bought a new eyepiece (BST Starguider 8mm) to replace the 9mm that came with my 'scope. On the whole, I'm very happy with it indeed. With my old eyepiece, M42 was only really visible with averted vision, but with the BST I can look straight at it and pick out detail - (that was as far as I got on my first night out with it last night before frostbite started to set in). That view alone justified the upgrade to me! The only problem I have is that I couldn't quite seem to get stars to be as pin sharp as they were with my other EPs. I could start off under focussed (is that the right term?) and go through to over-focussed but at no point between the two were stars 100% sharp. I could do it fine with the 9mm and 25mm EPs that came with the scope. I'm not sure why that would be. Now, I'm being picky - the stars are just veeeery slightly out of focus and I'm very happy with my new EP. I'm wondering whether this could be a sign that I need to collimate the 'scope. Maybe it's only really noticeable when you start to push the magnification to its limits with the new EP, but not with the 9mm & 25mm EPs? I'd appreciate any thoughts!

This is very true. I've only had my first (half-decent) scope since late last year and still, every time out I get a bit better at using it, see a bit more and enjoy it a bit more too. I assume this will plateau at some stage, but stick with it and have fun improving!

Luckily for me, my Dad is a bit of a DIY ninja and was looking for a lockdown project, so hopefully I'll be getting one of these eventually... https://eyesonthesky.com/tutorials/diy/2x4-tripod/?fbclid=IwAR1-mCs8fhaQKrUZwc39Zvp9vts3sTwBhTpwjABLif6qq9XorLl61s6fpaM

A drummer friend of mine would grumpily tell you it's a drummer's throne. 😉 Yeah, I have similar problems – I have a pretty hefty picnic table at the end of the garden which is the perfect to put my scope on, and doesn't wobble much at all. Unfortunately, you can only see a small part of the sky from there (and I don't relish lugging the picnic table around the garden), so if I want to view anything else then ithe 'scope goes on the floor and I hunch over it. I'm on the hunt for a smaller table, but at the moment, I have two large breeze blocks and a piece of carpet on top for sitting on.

Yeah, same here. I think there's a point when I'll have to actually start planning things out, rather than pointing the 'scope at anything that catches my eye or springs to mind while I'm out there. Not that the latter strategy hasn't been good fun, of course! Given the scarcity of decent clear night - got to make the most of those brief windows of opportunity, I guess.

Well, I certainly am! I'm also pretty much a newbie and its good to hear someone going through similar things to me. It helps give a feel for which trials/tribulations are common to all and which are my very own. 😉

Some cool pics there! Welcome aboard.

Not quite - just outside Driffield nowadays. Lived in/around Hull for all my adult life until about 7 years ago though.

Wow! That seems counter-intuitive initially. but I'll give it a go as soon as these pesky clouds clear. Sounds like, to summarise, to see colours in a nebula requires one or more of the following: Good/young eyes Massive aperture Fancy photo techniques Good dark site I hasten to re-state that I don't particularly mind that I don't see the colours, and probably never will with my existing scope, site and eyes. I think my question about why that is, though, has been well answered. Thanks folks!

Wow! Some great info and tips there. Thanks to all!

Ah! Unfortunately, getting younger isn't an option for me. If only... 😉 Would I be right in thinking that if I had a telescope with a much larger aperture, or the means to take a longer exposure photo then there would be some chance of colour? Thanks for the info - much appreciated!

Hi, I was very happy to be able to observe the Orion Nebular through my new(ish) telescope recently. I'm very aware that through my modest 'scope, I'm not going to get Hubble-like images. I'm embarrassingly excited to see some 'white wispy stuff' and that's what I'd expected to see. What I don't understand is why the pics I see online are coloured, whereas the Orion nebular I see is 'wispy white'. Do folks use filters? Or is it 'false' colour? Or would a bigger telescope show colour? Or is it the result of a photographic technique, as opposed to the human eye? Like I say, I'm more than happy with the wispy stuff - I just don't understand why its different.

Welcome aboard!

Well, exactly! Especially at the moment, it's just nice to be able to share what I'm seeing with friends and family. Under a non-lockdown situation I'm sure I'd have had people round to have a look and share the experience with. As things are, this is the nearest I can do. Also, of course, seeing the moon at that level of detail for the first time is a moment you'd want to capture and remember. I could have taken a selfie of my grinning face in the dark, but I figured a fuzzy shot of the moon would do the job better. 😉 At the end of the day (or perhaps I should say 'night'), it's a photo of something that *I* saw with my own eyes that made me go 'Wow!', and that's what makes it special. What better reason to take a photo?

As a side note, I was just about to go to bed last night when I noticed that, despite the forecast, there was a completely clear sky. I grabbed the 'scope and managed a brief period of observing. Saw the Orion Nebular for the first time - very pleased with myself there!

Hi Daniel, I was in pretty much the same boat as you late last year. I'm certainly no expert, but I too got bewildered by the options. A lot of folks recommended binoculars as a better entry level option. Maybe that's an option for you. Personally, I wanted a telescope. I pored over reviews and discussions (this site was very helpful) and the pros and cons and fretted about it. In the end, I figured that any telescope was better than no telescope and just dived in and got a Meade 130mm Lightbridge (Dobsonian)*. It's still early days, but I'm absolutely loving it. I think it's been discontinued now, or at least it's out of stock most places - there seems to be a telescope drought on at the moment. I don't know how it compares with the other options I could have taken, but I'm very happy with what I have. I'm sure there are plenty of comparable telescopes out there. My main, personal takeaways have been: Almost any telescope is better than no telescope Dobsonian reflectors seem to give the best 'bang for your buck' Good luck! * For reference only, it was this one https://www.astroshop.eu/telescopes/meade-dobson-telescope-n-130-650-lightbridge-mini-130-dob/p,54287

Ah! A fellow Hull person. I lived there for most of my adult life, moved out to Nafferton (just outside Driffield) about 6 years ago now. It's not a super-dark sky, but its fairly rural and a lot better than being in a city. Might try to get up to Dalby Forest at some point after all this lockdown stuff is over with. The moon pics were taken when it was quite low in the sky, so I'm sure I could have done better if I'd stayed out longer, but frostbite was setting in.