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Showing results for tags 'skywatcher'.
Found 310 results
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Hi guys, having fallen in love with my 130pds, and seeing that I'm not the only one recently, I was thinking it would be nice if we posted our images made with a 130pds here. It gives a nice reference point as well, as to what could be achievable (with better guiding, better camera, better weather...). Well, here goes:
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Hey guys!i need to make this quick! I want to get a new 6mm eyepiece.I have a 8" f6 dob and i want to get a nice 200 mag and put the telescope to its limits at 400x The most i ve seen with is 240x for Jupiter and Saturn .i ve heard they looked stunning at 400x and i am keen on trying it.Ive got my eyes on a 6mm Skywatcher UWA eyepiece.and i have a Bst Starguider 2z Barlow lens.And i seem to be having problems with my 8mm Bst Starguider (300x in total).the bst has a 16mm eye relief and a 21mm lens diameter,but when i barlowed it and look at the moon yesterday,it was hard finding the right spot to look through the eyepiece and when i moved the image disappeared.I dont know if it will have that effect on planets,when I looked at mars it was fine but i definitely want to avoid that from happening again.Will it happen? The Skywatcher eyepiece i want to buy has a 16mm eye relief too.I dont want to make the same mistake now , i want a 6mm eyepiece at the price range of 50-70 euro either from flo or amazonuk.If the Skywatcher will have similar results,can you suggest another one?
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Hi all, Thought I'd share the clip I designed to fit a Right Angle Finder to the polar scope on my Star Adventurer mount. I designed it to work on my Neewer RA Finder but it could possibly work with similar ones (that have the removable adaptor plates for various camera types). My finder came with a few different adaptor plates and I chose the metal screw-together type which was labeled for use with the older Nikon F series cameras. As you can see from the photos, this just screws into the printed clip allowing you to leave it in place on the Polar Scope but remove the RA Finder easily. It is best oriented with the clips at the top and bottom (rather than on the side). I've made it available for download from Thingiverse, there's a printable version of the adaptor plate on there too (along with instructions and pics) should you need it. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2762334
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So my birthday just past so money to splash on astro stuff , i will have my 1000D modded by juan at cheapastrophotography and also have ordered an autofocuser from deepsky dad https://deepskydad.com/autofocuser i know they can be done DIY but this is a neat package and costs about the same as a SW autofocuser and a hitechastro focusmaster and i`m no electronic wizard and pavel seems to have a good product and works with ascom and confirmed it works with APT i will update in a few weeks time when hopefully i will have received and tried out .
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The new SW Evostar ED150 is really getting some use here after my initial tests. We are having a good run of clear skies. This morning I got up at 3:30 am to do a lunar imaging run (see elsewhere). After that I quickly set up on M42 as it was near the local meridian. Using my ES 4.7mm 82' EP (255x) I concentrated on the Trapezium first. I was staggered by the view not only because of the detail under the Moon but because all 6 stars (A to F) were clearly visible immediately and pin sharp sitting in a greenish mist. Here is my really quite poor chalk sketch of the approximate view hastily drawn on my obsy blackboard wall (ignore the screws in the ply): Checking with the detailed Whitepeak Observatory graphic the stars I believe in clockwise order are from the top right: B, D, F, C, A, E. I have often tried to view the 6 stars before with my SCT 9.25" but this scope revealed them with ease. Star C (Theta-1 C Orionis) is described in the same graphic as an Extreme star: 40 Solar Masses; Surface temp 40,000K, the hottest known <6mag star; 210,000x sun's luminosity and an O6 spectral type. I then swapped to my 2" 24mm ES 82' EP to view M42 but that view was swamped somewhat by moonlight so I will have to wait a while to try that.
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Hello all, I just wanted to share something that I recently found out and it has worked for me like a treat! I have a Sky-Watcher 72ED and the Field Flattener for it. I had to purchase a "special" adapter ring for my DSLR which is actually a Canon Bayonet adapter but instead of a standard T2 threads, it comes with M48 (2") threads so it will fit to the Field Flattener's M48 thread. I have a fully screwed imaging train which makes it challenging for framing objects properly. I was thinking of having a manual rotator in the setup so I can rotate the camera and properly frame my targets but, the issue with this scope/field flattener combination is that it does not give you enough focuser travel. By adding a rotator in the solution it would add around 10mm of back-focus meaning that i could never be able to achieve focus with the current setup. I looked closer at my ring adapter that i purchased from FLO and it seems that it has 3 (M2.5) grub screws that seem to be holding something... I took a screw driver and to my surprise, the grub screws are holding what seems to be a rotation ring! I have bought some M2.5 thumb screws and presto! - I have a manual rotator built in on the ring adapter and it only costed me £3 for a set of 4 thumb screws from eBay! I hope this post helps someone else who is looking for a manual rotator but they can't afford one (as they cost around £60) or they do not have enough focus travel with their setup. Sky-Watcher DSLR-M48 Ring Adapter M2.5 Thumb Screws (pack of 4) Regards, Thanasis- 7 replies
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Skywatcher 100 ED Pro Esprit - Great Performance
Selborne posted a topic in Member Equipment Reviews
Hi Guys, I thought I would share with you my first hand experience of the Skywatcher ED100 Pro Esprit Telescope, I have only had it a few months, but so far I am extremely happy with the results, it is so sharp and the contrast is very high. I live in a small town, Stowmarket, Suffolk, UK, where the light pollution is not to bad, but still I have to be cautious with the direction I choose to point the telescope. All my astrophotography is done from the back garden on my patio. I have had a few different telescopes over the years, but I always found myself moving more and more into astrophotography, so after some research I selected the Skywatcher ED100 Pro Esprit, as many of the other users had commented on the sharpness and contrast. As I wanted to focus on more wide field astrophotography the F5.5 speed giving 550mm seemed the right choice, I also use an ED50 Skywatcher Guide Scope with an Altair Astro ASI130mm camera for the guiding and of course PHD2 software, all mounted on my Skywatcher HEQ6 mount. Here is a shot of the Andromeda Galaxy, 20 x 30s stills at ISO 800 on my Sony A7Rii, no filters just RAW images processed with Photoshop, Stacked Mean option. I used the Trevor Jones video on his BackyardAstro You Tube page for processing DSO's and it seems to work very well. What you will see from the image is just how sharp it is, something that really surprised me when I processed the images. This has inspired me to spend more time outside in the garden to photograph more objects, plus I have recently purchased an Astronomic CLS Filter for my Sony A7Rii, so I am looking forward to using this to see if it improve the contrast. I will keep you informed. Also I am looking forwarded to trying my Olympus EM1 MK2 camera, yes I know it does not have the capabilities of the Sony A7Rii for light gathering, but it does have a really clever mode where it can stack the images in camera to reduce noise, so I will also let you know how this went as well. Best Regards Jamie- 53 replies
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I've upgraded my focuser so have a Skywatcher Dual-Speed Low Profile 1.25/2" Crayford focuser for sale £70 delivered to UK only. Bank transfer or Paypal F&F preferred. -
Hi all, So, i've just begun my journey into Astronomy and subsequently have fallen into the rabbit hole of Astrophotography, as stated in the title i currently own a SkyWatcher Skyliner 200P FlexTube SynScan Dobsonian Telescope however as you may all know the dobsonian mount isn't really feasible for long exposure photographs and have started researching EQ Mounts and will most likely go with the Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro GOTO Mount & Tripod however i have seen comments about not being able to convert the FlexTube models of telescopes and was wondering if anyone here has had any success converting a SW flextube telescope to work on a EQ mount using tube rings? Thanks! -
Wrapping up in double layer goose feathers I braved the obsy last night. I planned a tour of Auriga with a view to chucking in some favourites. I set up the ED150 on the AZ EQ 6 and fitted the WO quartz diagonal accompanied by my ES 20mm 82'. I stuffed my Astronomik 1.25" UHC (bargain price thanks @FLO) in my pocket too. This set up required the retro children's playroom chair with the legs sawn down due to the position of Auriga. I spent about half an hour checking the plethora of open clusters sprinkled in or near the Milky Way. The sky was one of the best this season so it was a jewelled spectacle and the ED150 reveals such sharp colours enabling me to distinguish the cooler stars in some of the clusters particularly the occasional red giant. As Monoceros reached the meridian I moved to the open cluster associated with the Rosette. Now, for all my efforts over the years, the emission nebulosity has eluded my eyes but tonight with this newish 6" frac I was somewhat taken aback to see a doughnut appear in the view. Switching to a view with the UHC filter was nothing short of astonishing! It wasn't just there; I was falling into its centre. Texture, depth and dark globules were easily discernible. The extent was slightly larger than the FOV with the 20mm so I slewed slowly around and the perimeters and varying consistency of the Ha emission were easily picked out. I spent a long and happy time soaking this up; it was truly outstanding. Thoroughly recommended. I retired happily to the warm kitchen and toast.
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Hello all! I just installed this Lacerta 1:10 Micro Transmission focuser on my 8” Skywatcher Dobsonian. It is a direct replacement for the stock focuser and works extremely well. I was surprised at how easy it was to install! Ordered it from 365Astronomy and got fast shipping.
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This is probably my options as of now:I will definetly buy a 12mm BST Starguider A 2X BST Barlow( So thats 100x and 200x magnification) AND Either: 15MM BST STARGUIDER VS 25MM STARGUIDER My dobsonian telescope will include:A 25mm and 10mm Eyepiece . So the obvious awnser is to go for the 15mm BUT i ve read in reviews that the bst s have are noticabely better than the eyepieces that come with my telescope.So i am wondering, should i buy the 25mm or the 15mm BST? Also is it worth to barlow either 25mm eyepiece to make 12.5mm and ditch the 12mm i am definetly buying for a 6mm one? i am thinking not because if i barlow the 6 mm it will give me 400x and i think that is too much magnification for the image to appear clear , plus i will also barlow the 10 mm to give me a 240x the acceptable limit for good clarity / magnification ratio (i ve read that and not sure if its true or not). Thanks again for your time and help! This forum has been very polite, welcoming and kind to noobs like me just getting into the hobby XD I hope i can one day look back at myself and laugh at my ignorance! This site has been truly amazing and i hope i can stay a member for a long time to come! Thanks as always Clear skies everyone Kronos -
Heyaaaa. Its been a long time!(not really its been 5 days :P) its me againn ! As you have seen by the title i am in a delleema (misspells ftw) between eyepieces Here are 2 eyepieces i can buy with my budget https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prettyia-Eyepiece-Telescope-Skywatcher-Astronomy-Multicolor/dp/B012JC3274/ref=sr_1_9?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1547060539&sr=1-9&keywords=prettyia+eyepiece (ik its 3 eyepieces but there is no other pack that delivers to my location than only includes one) and https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-eyepieces/skywatcher-uwa-planetary-eyepieces.html But with that excact same money i can buy this! https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-eyepieces/sky-watcher-sky-panorama-eyepieces.html holy moly 82 degrees! Something is telling me to ditch the cheap Zoom eyepiece and the planetarys and just buy the panorama eyepiece from the money i would use on the planetarys and the 8-24 instead. Does anyone have any expirience with that particular price range zoom eyepieces or the planetary or the panoramas? Also can you reccomend me a size (7mm 15mm)?(there is no way i m buying the 22mm one) my main targets will be dsos as well as planets so. I will be using those in my Celestron firstscope and in my future ( i ll buy it in like 3 months lol Skywatcher heritage 130p) telescopes: Focal lenghts :Current telescope:Celestron firstscope 300mm FL Future telescope:Skywatcher heritage 130p 650mm FL To sum up:Get the 2 or the panorama? If i get the panorama which lenght?(7mm or 15mm)? (i want a size that compliments planets and most dsos ) ( i live in the southern hemisphere {so no orion nebula for me} (my favourite DSO) for now atleast) Thanks for your time ! Kronos!
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Presenting my first attempt at Bi colour imaging. This is the Rosette Nebula (NGC2244), which is located in the constellation of Monoceros. Telescope: Orion 80ED Mount: Sky Watcher HEQ5PRO Camera: QHY9s Mono Filter wheel: QHYFW2 Filters: Baader 7nm Ha, 8.5nm OIII Exposure: 300sX30Ha, 300sX22 OIII captured on the nights of 1st and 8th January 2019 Stacked in Deep sky stacker, proceed in Pixinsight, finished in Photoshop
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Hi everyone. I have recently purchased Skywatcher Esprit ED100 and the first time when I used the telescope I found that the scope tends to slide. I tried to fix this issue by tightening the screws. I couldnt find any luck so far. the scope keeps on sliding. Can any one help me with this issue. Did anyone encounter the same issue?
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I need a a really accurate,easy to use collimating tool. I have a used laser collimator but it does not fit snugly in the focuser so I feel it’s not very accurate. The idea of collimating causes me some anxiety anyway, so accurate and easy is the key! Can any of you offer any suggestions to help me out?
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So, I have gone and got myself a Skywatcher Star Discovery 150p, which has so far proved to be a very good little scope and I've had some very good results. I have now got the bug for imaging and have gone out and got myself a second hand Nikon D5100 and verious other equipment needed to do this, only to now find I can't get Prime Focus!!!!!!!! So the only way I can image is using a barlow x2 which obviously changes the F ratio from F5.5 to F11 slowing everything x2 this isn't to bad for planetary imaging but for DSO images not so good!!! After searching through lots of videos on to do this all I can find is...... I can either butcher the standard rack and pinion focuser that's fitted on it by cutting it down and rethreading it or by moving the primary up by 20-25mm, which seems a shame to do a brand new scope still under warranty! The only other option I have come up with is changing the focuser to a Skywatcher Low Profile Dual Speed Focuser For Newtonian Reflectors. Could anyone out there shed any light on this before I spend another £130 on the new focuser. Thanks -
Hello all! The weekend that just passed we went to my girlfriend's parents. The skies in that rural area are pretty much as good as you can get. I don't have an SQM reader, but Clear Outside estimates 21.91. I didn't take the EQ6R with me, I still consider it a big lump of iron, and the AZ-EQ5 should be on its way back this week as a Stellar mount. So I used the EQ5 which was left in the car for a while. While the tracking/guiding on the RA axis is quite good, the DEC control jumps a lot after multiple consecutive guiding commands, I blame the "enhanced" handset. So with all the drawbacks, I tried to do align the mount as good as I could and I put the 72ED with the ASI1600 on it and a finder-guider. Perhaps also focus could have been done a bit better, FWHM in the subs was 3.x. Below is a quick process from last night, no deconvolution yet and a purple area at the bottom that I have to fix. 58x120s lum, 30x120s each RGB. Last version:
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Cheap Mount for SW Heritage 130p
Kronos831 posted a topic in Getting Started General Help and Advice
Hey guys! Its me again... I know what you are thinking there is not such thing as a cheap mount for astrophotography...and i agree with you! I just want to know if there are any significantly cheap mounts (under 100 pounds) for my skywatcher heritage 130p that can give me maybe 15-30 sec exposure time max. Thanks Kronos -
So guys after lots of advice reaserching and reading for the last 2 months i ve decided that i m going to either get a Skywatcher 200P(DOB) or a Skywatcher Heritage 130p(DOB) If i get the Dobsonian i ll be using it about once or twice a week (if i have clear skies that is) i ll be taking a taxi to a semi dark sky location(atleast darker than my light polluted neighborhood) about 1.5 km away so the transportation cost will be close to nothing.I ve heard lots of great reviews about this neat 8" telescope and am tempted to buy it !(its going to be for visual i am aware of the earth's rotation) On the other hand the Smaller more portable Version the Heritage 130p is a very neat telescope for its price(i ve heard) Its half the price of the 200p! I ll be taking this out almost every time i get out of the house(for walks or meetings with friends etc) I ve read part of the thread in cloudy nights and it seems like a great telescope! I ve even seen some very nice pictures with it (i know u need a mount). So what do you think guys? Should i go for the 200p or 130 p? I need the best value for money!
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Hey guys it's me agaiinn. Recently I have been thinking about which telescope i should buy(its going to be my first telescope!!!!!) I have narrowed it down to 2 choices! The Skywatcher explorer 200p and the Skywatcher explorer 200pds I just can't seem to chose oneee. I want to do Astrophotography and i have heard that the Dual Speed focuser is going to help a lott. can someone please explain how? I m a total newbie and have just begun reading about Astrophotography. On the other hand i ve heard that some eyepiece s will need an extension tube to help them achieve focus (due to the secondary mirror placed closer to the primary) and i really want to see through the telescope my self.I dont know if the extra 140€ that i have to pay to get the focuser and the pds and eq5 (rather than just getting the 200p and eq5 combined ) is worth it .Does it really make that big of a difference?? I hipe somebody can help me Thanks -Kronos
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Hello all! I want to upgrade the focuser on my Skywatcher 8" truss dobsonian. I want a dual focuser that's a direct fit to my Skywatcher. Any suggstions ?
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Thanks to FLO for my new ED150 DS Pro received on Wednesday. I was aware @John was down to test one so I delayed posting for a bit plus the delivery brought the clouds. I will post my initial findings and thoughts and top up as I go. I own or have owned an ED80 and an ED 120 but I no longer have the latter to do an objective comparison. The first feedback applies to the outer packaging. As discovered by others it is inadequate for the item. In my case the outer packaging was ruptured at the pressure points under the narrow white plastic wrap bands. I imagine the bands are used along the supply chain to manoeuvre the package. The gross weight is 26kg so it’s difficult to manhandle for an individual. Fortunately, the flight case was in perfect condition and hopefully has protected the contents. SW could learn from Lunt and double box their items. The flight case itself is typical SW and has considerable strength and weight. There is a lot of unused space though, with cut outs ready for a significant number of accessories which I can only assume is for another market. My version has the OTA, an M48 Canon EOS adapter (why?) and a threaded adaptor to allow connection to the draw tube. that’s it, no diagonal, EP, finder etc like other Pro offerings. The OTA weighs just over 9kg which is the same as my SCT 9.25 but unlike the latter is much easier to handle as it’s a lot narrower. So attaching it to my AZ EQ 6 is a doddle. I have to be sure to carry it level because like every other SW I have owned the objective end cap is loose so tilt the OTA and it falls off. I usually add a bit more felt to solve the issue. i was lucky to have about an hour of clear dark sky last night so was keen to do a star test for obvious reasons if you have read @John ‘s thread. The eagle eyed among you will have seen that the focuser is essentially fixed and has no provision for easy rotation during a session so one needs to rely on rotating the diagonal. My Moonlite which can be switched between the 80 and 120 does not fit the 150 so I eagerly await the adaptor . I used my ES 82’ 4.7mm EP on Altair to run an initial star test. The CA profile has been well covered by @John and my experience is almost identical including the slight hexagonal appearance in some situations. In my case the in focus and in and out focus transitions revealed absolutely perfect collimation. A big sigh of relief there. Interestingly I had placed the scope outside for about an hour at roughly 21 degrees but the initial star test was too unsteady but 20 minutes later it was very steady. Using in addition to the 4.7 my ES 14 and 20mm eps i moved on to look quickly at some targets such As Iota Cass which was clearly defined as a triple with distinctive colour ranges, M27 which had a typical grainy appearance very similar to the view in the SCT and M81 and M82. Considering it was not astronomical darkness the dark centre of M82 was very well defined. The best view though was of M57. The detail in the ring was dramatic and high mag was easily tolerated. I must have stared at it for 15 minutes. I tried the Blinking PN in Cygnus and although a small target even with the 4.7 the brightness was remarkable and the structures defined. By now I was tired but tonight and tomorrow look good so I will try and post more findings from a visual perspective. Just to say that the mount had no trouble at all in swinging this beast around and I didn’t even need to do a new alignment from the last session with all targets centred in the EP when using the Synscan database. i must say I’m quite chuffed and a big thanks to FLO for excellent communication on this item. -
Hi, i seem to have a dirty lens on the telescope side of the lens. Anyone disasemble this before ? I already checked the camera, filter, and focal reducer seperatly, the "staines" are from the telescope-side of the lens (already cleaned the outside of the lens to) Flat frame
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Hello everyone, As you can probably tell I’m brand new to the community. While I’ve been passionate about space related topics for my whole life, I’ve finally taken the leap and I’m about buy a simple astrophotography rig. Ive done a fair bit of research and, like many, I’ve decided that the William Optics Zenithstar 61 APO refractor is best suited for my situation. I plan to use my canon 600D/T3i as the main imaging camera and I also plan to use the Skywatcher Star Adventurer as a tracking mount for this scope. However I have a few questions: 1: I seem to be confused about how I should connect my DSLR to the Z61. As far as I’m aware, all I need is a T-ring and the WO Flat 61 Field flattener and I should be good to go. Is that correct? 2: will I need a dovetail bar to mount the Z61 to the star adventurer? Or can I directly mount the z61 to the base of the star adventurer? (This was demonstrated by Trevor Jones from astrobackyard with his Z61 and the ioptron Skyguider Pro.) Sorry for such a long thread; I’d just hate to finally get all my gear together and find out that some gear is incompatible. Thanks for the help!
