PeterStudz

@Nik271, I was observing the moon (Mars too) on the same morning. The shadows along the floor of Plato that you mention immediately jumped out for me as I scanned the terminator. Much more spectacular than the photo too.

I find that I have to use several apps in order to get an idea of what’s going on. And getting a jet-stream forecast can be handy. For me this includes looking at weather charts. For a simple forecast app the Met Office one is quite good for clouds. One reason is that, unlike a lot of apps, it’s regularly updated. But I don’t find it so useful for wind speed and direction. Granted, this isn’t so important for what we do.

Totally unplanned session in Southampton and I’ll keep things short as I’m a bit tired. Got the Skywatcher 200p Dob out late evening for what was going to be a quick look at Jupiter with my daughter. Even though there was a screaming jet-stream forecast to be over our heads we were surprised by the views. Transparency was definitely good. After that I decided to have a few hours sleep and have a go at Mars in the early hours and anything else that I could see. I was going to leave the Dob out but it was already covered in dew, the secondary starting to dew up too. I’d neglected to Attached a few shield. So I lugged it back indoors to dry off. Up at 3:30am and got setup. Dew shield attached this time. The moon was out but the sky looked good. Although had to look hard at Mars in order to resolve surface detail. No quick look and go. But it was there. Along with some white in the North Polar region and maybe a hint on the South Pole. Could just go to 240x with a StarGuider 5mm before things got fuzzy. Surface details coming and going. I do find that a variable polarising filer helps on Mars, at last in its current position. I also had a go at doing a sketch. Not easy on something so small. My first proper sketch but it’s there. Also had a look at a few other targets which weren’t great probably due to the bright moon. Mind, the Pleiades looked great in binoculars. Then finished off with the moon. Nice along the terminator. The features that immediately jumped out to me were Copernicus, Eratosthenes and shadows on and near Plato. Finally packed up, everything covered in dew, at around 6:15am. Fog horns sounding in the Solent, so in that respect I was lucky.

Again, they are great. I’m now wishing that I owned a PC or similar so that I could entertain this stacking lark. I got rid of mine for a more “relaxed” life! PS - up to you but it might be worth posting the best of those in the “normal” planetary imaging section. Likely that more people will see them then.

I’m in Bortle 7 and have a SkyWatcher 200p Dob. The only galaxies that I’ve been able to see from my back garden are Andromeda and M81 plus M82. By far the best are M81/M82 with some structure visible on M82 and it’s nice getting two galaxies in the same field of view. I’ve even been able to see them (although far fainter) in a much smaller 4.5inch Newtonian. I’ve located M81/M82 by star hopping using the methods above, but if I’m being lazy I’ve used the PushTo feature of PSAlign Pro (a smartphone app) using my iPhone. It’s brilliant. Eg to find M81 all I do is sync on a close-ish known star. Dubhe is close enough. Select M81, push-to it and there it is in the FOV of a low powered eyepiece. Nudge the Dob a bit and I have both M81 & M82 in the same FOV. It’s never failed. As in exercise I’ve used the app to find Mars during the summer after the sun came up. I couldn’t even see Mars in my RACI. A couple of pictures to show how I mounted my phone. I really should do a little write up as soon as I can find some time!

Wow! For a smartphone (well, any camera) that’s amazing.

Colour is a personal thing and I do think that the StellaLyra offers better value for money but the one thing I don’t like is the all black look. There are a few reasons for this, some a little tongue in cheek. 1. The only time I’m in black is for funerals. All black doesn’t make me feel happy 🙁. 2. Being able to see the thing in the dark is an advantage. Eg I like using the eyepiece holder. Not being able to see it is a sure fire way for dropping eyepieces onto the ground. 3. I enjoy white light solar and have a solar filter for my Skywatcher 8” Dob. The black parts, including a section of my DIY base (I wish I’d painted that white 😀) got so hot during the summer that if touched would hurt my hands - you could almost fry an egg on it! It can’t be good to have an all black OTA out in strong sunshine. If I got a StellaLyra I would seriously consider painting it white!

That’s a really good image @Kon. I was observing Mars on the same night/morning, between 4:30 & 5:30am and it confirms what a saw. Although the surface details were somewhat muted/fuzzy compared to your image (I’ve seen surface details better this yr) I could just make out a darker area to the south. But what was more obvious was a white area over the north polar region. And I’m also convinced that I could make out a much smaller and far less obvious small white area on the south polar region. Although it could just have been something a bit lighter than the surrounding surface.

I have two telescopes. A Skywatcher 200p Dob and a Skywatcher 1145p on an EQ mount. For the much larger Dob an RDF plus RACI works great for me. However, the RACI is surprisingly heavy (most are). If I put a RACI on my 1145p it would not only be clumsy but all put impossible to achieve balance. Even if you did it would introduce extra “wobbles” on sometime like an EQ2. I actually now have mine on an EQ5 tripod and even with that I would not go for a RACI. So, for the 1145p I use a light and simple RDF just to get in the right part of the sky (I’m in Bortle 7) then use a low power eyepiece to do the star hopping. Now, this eyepiece doesn’t need to be great with pin-sharp stars, just good enough to act as a finder. Mind, the 1145p gives more interesting wide-field views than my DOB.

To reach focus on the Skywatcher 200p Dob you need an extension tube between the focuser and eyepiece. Are you using one? You should have got this with the telescope.

@Astro_hobbie I enjoy observing the sun in white light and made a solar filter for my 200p Dob. I used a cardboard hat box and Baader film for a total coast of about £35. Details here…

I have a DIY EQ platform. As it’s for visual all you need to do is point it north and level. Once the speed is set (from a previous session on another day can be fine) there’s no more moving up and down to adjust settings. And you can use the DOB as normal. You only need to move down after about an hour when it comes to the end of its run. They are great pieces of kit. I wouldn’t be without it now and if it broke I’d immediately get/make another.

Yes, that looks like an old EQ3-2 tripod. I believe that the steel tripod for an EQ5 would fit, but maybe someone else can confirm. It would certainly be an upgrade and they do come up secondhand. I got one from a member on here. As a temporary fix you might be able to secure the broken leg in a fixed position using a strong cable tie. Or maybe another type of clamp.

A picture of the top of the tripod should make it clear.

What type of EQ mount and tripod do you have? You can get replacement legs for an EQ2 tripod. They are known to break around where you have described but I have a feeling that you have an EQ3 which might have different legs.

Although I agree with what’s being said a few things from my limited experience. It’s good to hear some enthusiasm! Don’t give up. There will be disappointments but if you stick at it great rewards. I started off getting a telescope that was rather small and on a very wobbly tripod and mount. I later ended up getting a far better and suitably sized telescope but despite some of the things said I had lots of fun and learnt a lot from that first telescope (my daughter too) - eg I took simple smartphone pictures. Learnt to use an EQ mount. Viewed the sun using a small solar filter. Upgraded the mount and tripod in order to make it into a quick grab-and-go. The telescope is now a joy to use. Took it on holiday in an aircraft in a small suitcase to a truly dark location. Ended up seeing things that I just can’t see from my light polluted back garden even with an 8” Dob. And the picture above with Jupiter at 100X. Sure it’s small but remember that your eye is right up against the eyepiece. That’ll make it seem kind of larger - you’re not looking back as you are looking at it from a computer or smartphone screen.

Sounds superb. And great sketch! I’ve never had much success with a blue filter on Jupiter. I’ve used it many times and it just makes the planet look, well, a bit blue 😕.

What diameter is the bottom leg of the tripod/feet? Just a thought but you might be able to use pipe or rod end caps.

With the likes of Jupiter I find that I can see more if my eyes are NOT use to the dark. Looking at a bright light, like my phone screen, can actually help. I’ve also got some really good views very early in the morning as the sun was coming up - in other words the sky wasn’t dark - although now, at this time of year, that might not be possible. I also have a variable polarising filter which can help… https://www.firstlightoptics.com/moon-neutral-density-filters/variable-polarising-moon-filter-archived.html And as mentioned above higher magnification will help as long as it’s not too high. I do have a SW 114 Newt and as long as it’s a good night 100x - 140x (if lucky) is best. Also bear in mind that the jetstream has been right above the UK in recent days. This tends to make Jupiter and the planets look “fuzzy” and “wobbly” whatever you do. You can get a jetstream forecast on the internet like this… https://www.netweather.tv/charts-and-data/jetstream

Great reading through this thread, especially after a rather tedious day trying to work. Some lovely Dob out there. Here’s my SkyWatcher 200p at various times during the year.

I can see how leaving it as is as long as it’s working is good advice. But personally my OCD would mean that I’d do something about it. The plastic rim should easily come off once you remove the screws. And if I was doing it I’d remove both the secondary and primary before any work. I’ve taken something similar apart before (a Skywatcher 200p Dob) just to be safe. It’s not as scary as it seems. Then remove the knob. I’d then use panel beating tools to flatten out the dent as much as possible. You can get a basic panel beating kit for £30. Or just use a panel beating hammer plus curved block of wood. The steel on these tubes is quite thin so it won’t take much effort. Be aware that however you try and take out the dent it will probably remove some white paint. If so a little white metal paint will cover it. When I was young I use to remove the inevitable dents in a similar fashion on my old car, a 2CV. The metal on that was about the same thickness/thinness 😀

Location Bay of Finix, Southern Crete, 26th August 2022, 10:30pm looking over the Mediterranean towards Gavdos. Sky Bortle 1-2. It certainly was dark. I could even make out the Sawn Nebula naked eye. I can’t even see that at home in my 8” Dob. Picture taken on my now “old” iPhone 12 on a tripod. Single 30sec exposure with standard camera app. Some basic editing on the phone.

What a fab report and excellent session. The images of Mars are pretty much as I observed it too.

I saw the Europa transit last night too, both moon & shadow as it crossed the disc but seeing a little wobbly. Someone might have mentioned it before but there’s a good guide for Jupiter this week in Sky at Night Magazine… https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/skills/jupiter-moons-how-see/

I have a DIY EQ platform for my 200p Dob. Constructed using the excellent instructions on this forum. It’s a very useful piece of kit that I now would not do without. It’s certainly possible to do what you require. But as @Louis D points out you need to be able to lock the lower and upper platforms during transport. You could modify a commercial ready made EQ platform and it would be quite simple . Many possible ways of doing this but the simplest way (I think) would be a couple of clamping knobs/bolts through the boards. In fact this isn’t a bad idea - I have a worry (maybe unfounded) that the boards could move at an inappropriate time and damage the motor and/or gears. Whatever you do it’s still going to require some DIY. I believe that David Lukehurst makes these to order. Might be worth seeing if he can help. https://www.dobsonians.co.uk