PeterStudz

I have a Skywatcher 200p Dob. And I’m also guilty of having a cheap UHC. It’s a Svbony UHC. For me on the Orion Nebula it darkens the overall view, gives the stars a greenish hue, but improves the contrast. Eg the the “wings” of the nebula extent somewhat further and I can see more structure to the nebulosity. I also have a feeling that your light pollution will play a part. I suffer from Bortle 7 sky’s. Whether spending 3 times more on something like the Astronomik UHC would show me something 3 times better I obviously can’t say. But I might well try and if it is that much better sell the Svbony on eBay. Another way to show a different view of the Orion Nebula is to hover your smartphone camera (Surely everyone has a smartphone these days!) over the eyepiece. I’m not talking about taking a picture. Or better still use a cheap smartphone holder. Then you should see vivid colours too. Last year, when I first showed my then 9 yr old daughter the Orion Nebula in a telescope, she thought it nice enough but I could tell she was a tad disappointed. But when I carefully positioned my phone over the eyepiece the view literally had her jumping up and down.

No worries @DamianL. I’m certainly no expert so there could be something else. It sounds like you are doing the right things. There’s much to learn in this hobby and my advice is to take your time, don’t give up (sometimes it can be frustrating) and apply plenty of patience. If it’s your cup of tea then observational astronomy can be very rewarding. And don’t be frightened to ask questions, however silly they might appear! Something that I’ve been guilty of in the past.

The video, at approx 6min in, is what I get from atmospheric turbulence, especially at high magnification. Often described as the “seeing”.

As suggested that could be the result of turbulence in the atmosphere - the jet stream, viewing over a building or something relatively warm, the lower the object in the sky then the worse it tends to be. Possibly tube currents too - how long was your telescope outside before you started viewing? I need to leave my 8 inch Dob outside for at least 30 mins, often 45 mins at this time of year when it’s cold, before it’s sufficiently cooled to allow stable views.

I was in the middle of finishing off a batch of marmalade so not the best evening for me to any observing. But when I popped out and looked at the sky it was exceedingly clear for my light polluted Southampton ski. Typical! So I took my Skywatcher 200p Dob out and left it to cool. Going in and out in order to check my marmalade setting point didn’t give me quality time at the eyepiece and wasn’t great for dark adaption. However, I got some of the best views of the Orion Nebula that I’ve had from my back garden. Transparency was very good. I also managed to see Regal B without much effort, although I’ve not really tried before. I haven’t been that interested in splitting doubles but maybe there’s something in it after all. It was somewhat captivating.

Looks like a great event. Unfortunately we’re away for half term otherwise I’d have gone to this with my daughter. It’s not that far from us too - disappointed! Wish you some clear skies and good luck.

Interesting, thanks for posting. I have a Skywatcher Skyhawk 1145p. Obviously smaller than your telescope but apart from the mount (it’s an EQ1) I’ve found it surprisingly good. Although I’ve learnt to live with the wobbly nature of putting it on another mount. And I have been thinking of doing an upgrade similar to yours using an AZ GTi. How is the tripod now that you’ve modified it? Is it nice and steady?

Another thumbs-up for the BST StarGuiders. I have the 25mm, 12mm and 5mm. Initially purchased for another smaller telescope. The 5mm gave great views of Jupiter & Saturn last year when conditions allowed. In fact on one very good night I used the 12mm plus cheap 3x barlow (Bresser, purchased for £28, again for another telescope) for 300x on Jupiter. I could actually see some of the swirls and details around the Great Red Spot. For high magnification this combination has surprised me.

For an old phone, like the iPhone 4, that’s good! Thanks for sharing. I have a clone of the Orion Steadypix. Works very well the BST StarGuiders that I mostly use. When the eyecup is removed it holds onto the eyepiece very securely. Once I found the sweet spot I also added a tiny screw on the holder to lock left-right movement. See pictures. Now I only need to adjust up-down when I install the holder. As @Stu suggests, I install the phone in the holder then eyepiece before I put it on the telescope. It’s fiddly at first bit becomes easier and second nature after some practice. I practiced in the daylight, taking pictures of upside down chimney pots, branches and pigeons. If you have a solar filter then the sun is good as practice. It’s obviously far easier to spot any issues/improvements in daylight. Often I’ll install the holder on the phone indoors, in the light, so I can see what I’m doing, then take the phone attached to the holder outside. If you do this then make sure that the phone is in a position where the camera lens can’t dew up. And another tip - make sure that the lens on your phone is nice and clean before you start. If you are like me the lens can get covered in finger prints, dust and other detritus.

Thanks for posting this. Until now I never knew that this product existed. Just tried to see if I could buy one and I can’t find anyone that has stock. So looks like I’ll have to wait

Just come in from a quick lunchtime solar session. I only have a cheap white light film filter for a small 4.5 inch reflector but even with that it’s a lot of fun. My daughter is also off school with COVID, so it’s something for her to do too. The sun is obviously low in the sky right now and we didn’t have much time before it slid behind a big tree. But as mentioned above and even with this low tech setup, sunspots look so much better than the photographs I’ve seen. There’s a kind of 3D quality in the eyepiece that you don’t see in photographs. And of course it’s ever changing, never the same view.

Everyone seems to be looking at the moon at the moment. And it’s not surprising given the conditions. I spent the first half of the week stripping down my Skywatcher Skyliner 200p, flocking the whole tube, drilling holes for a handle and painting anything Matt black that was at all shiny. Scary stuff! Quickly put it all back together so I could test. I felt nervous having it all in bits, although I had a strange issue with the primary cell (sorted out today), but the telescope might not have been quite collimated when these shots were taken. Also managed to see Thor’s Hammer for the first time (circled in red). Single shot pictures taken with my iPhone 12, cheap no-name smartphone mount, standard camera app, cropped and processed with the standard camera app.

Yes, similar experience for me. I had a brief session last night, although after a hard day flocking I was tired and more concerned about testing and just seeing if everything was still OK. Been observing this evening and the moon does look great. Now in for dinner, back out soon

If at all possible I check collimation before every session. For me it’s the norm for the primary to require a little tweak before I take the telescope outside. It only takes a couple of minutes.

Go ahead, what help do you need? I’m sure some of the members here will be more than happy to assist.

@Kon it’s been mentioned quite a bit on this forum in the past but was originally suggested by a guy on CloudyNights. Basically a couple of washers cut from a plastic milk carton and fitted under the secondary adjustment screws. https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/446178-secondary-mirror-milk-jug-washers/?p=5775875#entry5775875 My understanding is that It’s supposed to make adjusting the secondary screws smoother and prevent the screws digging pits into the back of tree secondary holder over time.

I’m far from an expert but I have the same telescope and that looks like mine when it’s collimated. Although it can be hard to tell with camera angles like this. Proof will be in the observing. As I you might know my 200p was kindly gifted to me, but it came without a base, which I’ve now constructed. There were other issues too which I’ve slowly dealt with. And I’ve had both mirrors out, bobs knobs & milk bottle mod added to the secondary. Today I’ve taken the thing to bits in order, amongst other things, to flock the tube. At the moment it’s just a bare tube. I’ll try and do the flocking tomorrow- scary stuff! I just hope I can get it all back together!

Nice pictures. I think the cloud cleared later here. I looked out earlier and it was still cloudy so didn’t bother setting up. It’s nice and clear now but sadly a bit late for the moon.

That depends! What make/model of telescope have you got? Is your reflector collimated? It needs to be spot on for planets. Your location makes a huge difference. Go to a very dark site and you’ll see much more.

I have a 4.5 inch & 8 inch reflector. As for Jupiter I could certainly make out banding plus (when facing earth) The Great Red Spot on my 4.5 inch. Sure, it was small and far better when viewed in the larger telescope but it can be done. Seeing plays a big part especially, like this year, when Jupiter is so low in the sky. And personally I haven’t had good seeing on Jupiter since around mid-October. I last looked at Jupiter last Tuesday and on that night it didn’t give me much more than a fuzzy ball.

What a lovely report. And wow! When I started and first joined this site I didn’t appreciate observing reports and didn’t find them interesting. Now I think that they are great and really appreciate people taking the time to write them up. I didn’t even think that the likes of the Horse Head was possible with and 8 inch dob in the south of England. Really makes me want to take my 200p to a nice dark site. Well, it’s only a matter of time before I give it a go. I do know what you mean when you say that you were “buzzing”. The first time I say a galaxy in my telescope I was buzzing so much that it took an age for me to get to sleep.

Sounds like it’s time for an upgrade 😀. From my understanding the stock iPhone 12 camera app when in NightMode takes 3 second (possibly 3.3) exposures and then stacks to make anything up to 30 sec maximum. The iPhone 13 is supposed to improve on that. And Android smartphones can do similar and more. Modern smartphone cameras have some interesting and clever low light tricks. Mind, some of the pictures I’ve seen you take of the moon are very good!

Thanks for the nice comments! I do enjoy trying to get the best of what I have. And also using bits and bobs form down my shed left over from previous projects in order to do a bit of DIY modifications/improvements. And as @MalcolmM says - I’m also impressed with the stunning images posted on this site. Some of which I hardly thought possible. But also those using more modest gear. I know that in the past I’ve taken smartphone pictures and thought that they weren’t good enough to post. This is a mistake. You could argue that a modern smartphone is an expensive bit of high tech. Which of course it is. Although I had the iPhone before I got into astronomy, so it is a case of using what I already have. And these days it’s something that virtually everyone owns.

Had a go last night taking a picture of the Orion Nebula with the little Skywatcher 1145p. Came out OK I think for a single shot on a phone plus small telescope in my rather light polluted Bortle 7-8 sky. I’m sure it would be better at a site that was actually dark. The wind was playing games with my wobbly EQ1 too. Skywatcher Skyhawk 1145p, EQ1, StarGuider 12mm, iPhone 12, single 21 second exposure. Cropped plus a little basic editing.

Had a nice session with my 10yr old daughter before bed last night. The Met Office app did forecast some clear sky’s so it wasn’t a surprise, although not before a heavy shower. Maybe it’s just me but some of the better seeing seems to occur immediately after rain. Since last year and due to the weather, it was the first time we could get a good look at Orion. While the telescope was cooling we used our binoculars to do a little tour of the region around Orion. The Hyades cluster looked fab as did the Pleiades. In fact I’d say that the Hyades looks best in binoculars. She’s starting to know Orion and its stars quite well and it was interesting giving her instructions on star hopping. Binoculars are a great way to teach and learn your way around the sky. They also allow your eyes to get use to the dark without hanging around getting bored which is definitely an issue with children. Well, adults too. Finished off by observing the Orion Nebula in the telescope. Seeing was decent even for Southampton although terminated a little early as some clouds rolled in. But just before that we were treated to a bright meteor with an orange glow to end the night. All, in all about 1 hr 45 mins of observing which is plenty for a 10 yr old. And it wasn’t even cold which does help too.