PeterStudz

I was observing in Southampton - white light relatively late this morning (10:30 -11:45) and given the time seeing was very good.

That is stunning! I think it nice to see your progress on this over the months. Well done!!!

I agree. I’ve been looking at the sun too at around x100 in the Dob and those two massive groups are beautiful. Normally by mid-day things turn a bit pear shaped seeing ways but it still looks good!

I know what you mean. And for me a late night like I’ve just had will literally take me 3 days to fully recover from.

I would have been observing that at exactly the same time. My daughter had a friend over for a sleepover and it was a good (if long) night with a real improvement in seeing. Especially later on. Also got to see Io appear at the limb which looked stunning too.

Or is that just a very small man? 🤔

Yes, you guess wisely 😀

I have a sheet of aluminium, an aluminium block, four pillow bearings, a steel shaft and a flexible coupling.

And for some reason it’s always cloudy when there’s a new moon

One other point. You could argue that now is a good time to get a telescope. Eg the nights are warm which makes it easier to stay out and practice. I found, that at first, there’s a lot of faffing about getting use to what is obviously new equipment. After a while this becomes second nature and you developed a routine that works for you. Getting a telescope in winter meant a lot of time working things out. And being winter many more nights were cloudy. So much so that I missed good targets and had to wait another year for them to come around again.

Hi, I can try and give a little advice from another still beginner and owner of the same Skywatcher Skyliner 200p Dob. I’ve been into this since getting a small reflector for my daughter as a Christmas present in December 2020. The 200p given to me for free, although it needed quite a bit of work, just over a year ago. I also should say that if it was easy everyone would be doing it and it does take time and a fist full of patience! I’m in Southampton which is Bortle 7, I dream of Bortle 5! I could spend an age talking about my experience but I’ll try and keep it short. In this time we’ve managed, from my Bortle 7 back garden, to observe and get good views of such things as the galaxies M81 & M82, occasionally stunning too, the Orion Nebula, the Ring Nebula, Dumbbell Nebula, various globular clusters, a host of lovely open clusters (don’t dismiss these, some are spectacular), double stars, planets Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and recently Mars. I was chuffed to actually make out an ice cap on Mars even thought it was tiny. Last summer & autumn we spent every opportunity viewing Jupiter and Saturn with my daughter, she loves the gas giants. Some nights better than others but in the 200p we got some stunning views of the Great Red Spot, saw shadow transits, Cassini division on Saturn’s ring, banding on Saturn. And of course lots and lots of lunar. I also got a white light solar filter and discovered that me and my daughter really enjoyed viewing sunspots. But it did take time and patience. Using the globular clusters M13 as an example. I first tried to view this last year in early summer, however, it was disappointing and just a fuzzy ball of light. It was disappointing because astro darkness had all but gone and by this time M13 wasn’t in a good position for my back garden. I since learnt that high up is darkest and that a patch roughly E-SE is darker too. Also the darkest time of night for me is between 1-2am. So this year I tried M13 again but chose a time of year with Astro darkness, when M13 was high-ish and roughly SE at 1:30am. The views were literally night and day from what I saw the year before - it was not just a fuzzy ball but I could make out dozens of stars, like a glitter ball in the sky. I also have a SVbony 7-21 zoom, however, we didn’t get on with it. My daughter really struggled and I had thought that a zoom would be good for her. The problem we found wasn’t just the narrow field of view but the contrast was poor, really poor for nebula and globular clusters. But your mileage may be different. I still found it useful as a guide to what fixed eyepiece to use when viewing certain targets. Hope that helps, but don’t give in and keep trying, it’s a great hobby!

Moon Last Night on the 7/07/22. After having a BBQ the moon, looking good, was too hard to resist even thought it was low in the sky. Had some fun scanning up and down the terminator. Before packing up I tried for some snaps. 10:15pm - the moon looked to be around 20deg and at this magnification, x200, my small Newtonian was at its very limit. Skywatcher Skyhawk 1145p, iPhone 12, cheap no-name smartphone holder, BST StarGuider 5mm plus x2 Ostara Barlow. Single snap using stock camera app, rotated, cropped with some basic editing using the camera app.

Had a very quick session between 10 and 11am this morning. Earlier would have been better I’m sure. Seeing wasn’t bad (certainly better than recently) but there was quite a bit of rising heat haze from my urban location. There are some nice sunspots at the moment and visually I could make out some good detail. The snaps don’t do it justice although the larger region 3053 stood out well. Skywatcher Skyhawk 1145p, Baader solar film filter, BST StarGuider 5mm, no-name smartphone holder, iPhone 12, single snap with stock camera app, basic editing with camera app/Camera +.

After having a BBQ the moon, looking good, was too hard to resist even thought it was low in the sky. So, I quickly did a grab-and-go and got our small telescope out so that me and my daughter could have a look before she went to bed. Had some fun scanning up and down the terminator. Before packing up I tried for some snaps. The one along the terminator actually turned out OK especially considering that by this time - 10:15pm - the moon looked to be around 20deg and at this magnification, x200, the telescope was at its very limit. Skywatcher Skyhawk 1145p, iPhone 12, cheap no-name smartphone holder, BST StarGuider 5mm plus x2 Ostara Barlow. Single snap using stock camera app, rotated, cropped with some basic editing using the camera app.

Hi Stu, although I didn’t get it for this task my Skyhawk was mounted on your tripod. It required a little DIY “skills” (don’t worry, the tripod is unharmed) but it’s now like a rock! And light enough to easily carry the whole thing outside. I might post something in the DIY section. It might be useful for someone.

I was observing the sun this morning. Apart from the rising heat haze from my urban environment seeing has definitely improved. There are some stunning sunspots at the moment and I could get good details even though I was using a small and basic Skywstcher Skyhawk 1145p. Hopefully this weekend will be an improvement on the gas giants too.

Looking at the specs they do seem to be made by Astronomik. But I guess that doesn’t mean that they are exactly the same. Mind, if I’m going to spend £89 I’m not going to notice another £10 😀

Thanks for the suggestions. Although I have a list of once in a lifetime astronomy purchases I’m a little strapped for cash at the moment! But I’ll definitely add it to the list. I do have an LP filter but it doesn’t help much, if at all with LP. However, strangely it does help for solar. Turns the sun a shade of blue but it definitely improves contrast, brings out the granulation and sunspot details. I guess that could just be because it’s deceasing brightness but the improvement is obvious.

I have a cheap Svbony UHC filter. Despite what some say I’ve been surprised by this especially on the Dumbbell. Even on my little 4.5 inch reflector (I didn’t expect it to work on this at all) it transforms the Dumbbell from an Ill defined smudge that’s barely visible to something with structure. Obviously better in my 200p. The Ring is also improved especially in the 200p. With this filter plus 200p on the Ring my daughter described it as “bright”. If you could recommend something better I would be interested.

I wish that I could see the Milky Way from my garden even with astro darkness! Mind, about 10 days ago, whilst testing out yet another DIY addition, I was surprised how well the ring and dumbbell nebula stood out. Probably helped by being high in the sky and (for my location) the “dark” area of my sky.

M13, that is actually very good for a smartphone snap! Please can you also post it in the “Imaging - Smartphone/Tablet” section of the forum. Right, I’m going to start on making one. I already have the motor from my old EQ1 which I’m not using now anyway.

Southampton. Skywatcher Skyliner 200p Dob. Morning of 5/07/22. I started observing at about 3am. Saturn first as it was in a good position. Seeing was OK but I’d hoped for better. Certainly not as good as June 15th. I could just make out the Cassini division and some subtle banding on the planet. Plus a couple of moons. Spent some time observing, seeing improved a little. Jupiter - could easily make out banding with the GRS just visible although disappearing towards the limb. Galilean moons strung out in a line. Then, at about 4:20am I noticed a shadow transit - Europa - which was unexpected and a nice surprise. Looked like a hole had been punched into the planet. Sunrise was rapidly approaching and Mars just clearing the trees. First look at Mars was disappointing as it was really just a small tiny blob with little detail. However, as sunrise approached seeing improved. I could make out the southern polar ice cap but it seemed smaller than when I saw it on June 15th. Certainly less pronounced. And there was some darker markings near the middle. After sunrise I went back and forth between Mars and Jupiter. Even at 5pm the shadow of Europa was well defined. With some sunlight the view of Mars seemed to improve a little. To end the morning I took a look at Venus which was very low and just approaching those annoying trees. Not much more than a blob with a slight phase but definitely worth a look. Finally packed up at about 5:30am. Still, quite a good morning and four planets observed. Worth getting up for. PS - almost forgot. I got a very good view and pass of the ISS too!

I learnt this method by trial and error. I’ve said it before but I wish I’d known/been told about it earlier. I last collimated my Skywatcher Skyliner Dob in April. And all that has is rubber washers - no springs at all. I use this telescope very regularly and I haven’t needed to fiddle with the primary adjustments since then. Mind, I just take it in/out to my garden. Travelling by car might then mean it needs attention.

I’ve used craft foam for various telescope DIY applications. If you don’t want to use glue then double-sided sticky tape sticks it well. You can also use Gorilla Double-Sided Mounting Tape (as has been suggested which in itself is thick and rubbery.

You could also have a look here (although it says it’s down for maintenance): https://nipon-scope.com/index.php?main_page=down_for_maintenance And here: https://mocap.co.uk/cat-caps-friction.html