going-supernova

I recently have the Virtuoso heritage 150p and after some research and valuable recommendations i added the svbony 7-21mm and then the BST StarGuider 60º 5mm ED for close ups of Jupiter and Saturn I'm really happy with that combo so far along with the stock 25mm

Hi. After finally getting a clear night after what feels like months off cloud cover I finally managed to take my skywatcher heritage 150p (virtuoso) scope outside again for a spot of observing. I'm a beginner and my current goal is to target some nebulae. It was a very chilly night so i focused on m42 as my first target using my svbony 7-21mm and it was beautiful to see. I was able to make out some of the nebula structure and zoom in on the Orion Trapezium Cluster. I've since been looking into getting a filter to get a clearer view of the nebula and future nebula tagets. From my googling so far it points me at purchasing a uhc filter. As there are a few options on the market I was hoping to get some opinions from anyone with a similar scope on the benefit of a uhc filter and whether the more expensive Astronomik UHC Filter (£89) would be worth getting over a Explore Scientific UHC Nebula Filter (£47) or Castell UHC Ultra High Contrast Filter (£38). These seem to be the ones which come up time and again on forums but any opinions on other filters for nebula observation for this type of scope would also be welcome and greatly appreciated. Thank you

Hi @Ataraxia It's a regular tripod I have for my camera from about 10 years ago:Giotto's MTL9351 B Tripod + MH5011 Three Way Head Kit. The picture is with the legs not extended and is how I keep it in the house and when using it. I find this the ideal height for me. Since the Virtuoso base has a tripod screw in the bottom its ideal and one of the reasons I went for this. Weather has been poor for me too, not taken it out for a while but I have just received my copy of turn left so plenty of reading to do while I wait

That's hilarious. It's very stable, at no point do I feel like it's going to topple. I've even started leaving it like that in the home. It's quite a good tripod I have which is for my camera, one I've had for around 12 years. Its not a lightweight tripod. I use it at this height as well.

Using a tripod is the setup I have settled on (I had a tripod already for my camera). I find it gives me the ideal height and portability

Hi all. So finally got some clear enough sky on Thursday to take the scope out and give it another go and it was great. The addition eyepieces I now have are the Svbony 7-21mm and the 5mm BST. Was out with my daughter and we both had a really good time. We checked out Jupiter and Saturn, initially with the svbony and then with the 5mm. With the 5mm you can get in a bit closer and make out the banding on Jupiter a bit more plus the ring around Saturn. But this has for me also highlighted the svbony is quite good too in my amateur perspective. I then switched back to the svbony and did some dso hunting. Managed to view the double cluster but the highlight for us both was the owl/dragonfly/ET cluster (amongst its may names). A big shout out to the Loughton List from @Tiny Clanger I had a look through it before going out and it gave me a better understanding of what to see so I was able to make out the cluster. We did think we would then try the moon but it's way too bright as it was just after the full moon. Any recommendations for filters for the moon and in general? Overall super happy, off to the cotswolds later in the week so planning to take it with me depending on the weather as the skies should be darker there.

I'll try that next time

Latest update: I've still not got round to doing the mods or buying a mains power adapter. The rechargeable batteries seem to be coping OK so far for a few nights of around 1-1.5hrs usage per night. I then top them up. I did find it suddenly move of target (Jupiter) the other night though, in the middle of observing which was odd. After I realigned it was OK again. I recently got the SVBONY 7-21mm from ebay, besides a distorted rubber on the cap and around the eyepiece (for which the seller offered a partial refund) the optics are thankfully OK. I could make out the banding on Jupiter and see the rings on Saturn better with this at 7mm compared to the stock 10mm. Wanting to see more I've gone ahead and ordered the BST 5mm. Seeing conditions haven't been great over the past week so I've not been able to put it through its paces I have no other scope to compare it to but still very pleased with this overall and feel I made the right decision getting this. I want to start exploring DSOs once conditions improve. Thinking of ordering Turn Left at Orion for help on that subject. Any recommendations on some DSO targets which a beginner could explore with the Heritage 150p? Thanks!

I hadn't thought about rebalancing the scope at the dovetail clamp after I added a heavier lens. Thanks for the tip!

Thought I’d share my progress on how I’m getting on with the 150P Virtuoso. I managed to use the telescope briefly on the first night but had issues trying to get the alignment to work correctly - I thought the app would be more intuitive. Thankfully @Astro_Dad pointed me to the instructions for the app but I didn’t have clear enough skies to try it out. That was until today! It was a reasonably clear night so I went out to give it another crack. I should mention first that I was using rechargeable batteries as I’ve not got round to purchasing the mains adapter or decided between a power tank or something like a car battery jump starter which a lot of people seem to use as its cheaper. Following the instructions this time and now understanding what the flashing up/right arrows on the app mean I managed to get the alignment correct and working. I was able to observe Jupiter, including the 4 Galilean moons with the included 10mm. If I looked carefully I was just able to make out the banding. I then moved over to Saturn, with the 10mm still on it was visible in the eye piece which I then cantered with a bit of fine tuning. I was able to make out the rings around Saturn which was super exciting, I know my daughter would be thrilled to bits to see the rings as it’s her second favourite planet (after earth of course). I then turned my attention to M31 where I was able to make out the fuzzy patch in the sky with the included 25mm, I think I needed it to be darker to make it out more clearly. Overall I’m super happy with my first real experience using my first telescope, I’m so glad I finally took the plunge. Thank you to all for the tips and recommendations. Its already got me wanting more, I’m already thinking about adding an alternative to the 10mm eye piece so I can get closer up to Jupiter and Saturn to make out more definition on Jupiter or even the Cassini division. I see the BST StarGuiders come up consistently in the recommendations on this forum, has anyone had any experience with the 5mm on the Heritage 150p or is that a stretch too far for this scope? Or would the 8mm be sufficient and/or with a Barlow? Another recommendation has been the Svbony SV135 zoom 7-21mm. Again any advice from anyone with any experience using this eyepiece on the 150p would be hugely appreciated. I also now realise I have a lot to learn about DSO's, what I should be looking for and what I should be able to make out. Now I have the tools I look forward to this.

Mine arrived this morning, can't wait to give it a go tonight 🤩 There is a port for an optional syncScan hand controller. I can understand the concern about app support, e.g. I'm on android and the play store app doesn't work with the the latest OS but there is a notice in the box to install the latest version from the skywatcher website directly and that installed and started up fine. I imagine there'll be some second hand hand controllers in a few years time which could be useful as a backup if needs must.

Thanks all for your advice, really appreciated. The recommendation from @Astro_Dad tipped the balance and I purchased the scope yesterday via a local photography telescope store who price matched Harrisons - glad to support a local business esp in these difficult times for them. Been staring at the FedEx tracking all day with excitement as it was meant to be arriving today but sadly its not turned up, the parcel seems to have gone backwards 🤔 Hopefully it arrives tomorrow, can't wait to give a try

I'm begining to understand why everyone says the costs mount up - even before you purchase anything 😀 I suspect 95% of the time it would be used in the garden so i would be able to use a mains power source. It would be interesting to see if the rechargable batteries do work given the minimum voltage requirement of 7.5V, I have tended to buy the Varta range more recently as they seem to do a good job. Also the power bank option with the 5v->12v cable sounds like a possibility as i only recently purchased a 20000mAh power bank which i believe has a high enough amp output.. I get the impression that the 150p is looking like the scope to go for, and having the tracking and a form of goto is useful especially for the children. I cannot find a review or opinion on the new Virtuoso mount, to determine if its worth that investement

I hadn't even thought about a power bank. I presume you can use the standard ones for phones etc. Would 8 pre charged rechargeable batteries work or do you have to go down the house alarm sealed acid battery route? The specs have listed External Power Supply (DC 7.5~14V, 1A)

Thanks @wulfrun for the detailed response. From what I was reading before I could see photography was a whole different ball game so I knew I wouldn't be able to find a one size fits all solution. The take away from my research to date was to look for something as an observation scope first and later look into something I could use for photography. Thanks for the link as well, I'll give it a good read through.