First attempt with supa dob

[astroeddie]

Guys,

Weather didn't play the game last night at all.

It was nice and clear until darkness, if we can call it that, fell. Then clouds rolled in.

There was a gap around 11 30pm. I swung the scope onto M57 using the supplied 25mm 1.25" Super Plossl.

WOW

It was huge in the F.O.V. and actually looked mottled. Without a doubt its the best view , if briefly, of this Planetary Nebula

I tried the auto tracking, but my scope wasn't level. It stayed in the F.O.V. for around 5 minutes then I had to adjust the scope.

IF that's how DSO's look in summer skies, I cannot wait until I return from sea in early December.. Still 9 weeks of play time left yet though.

Will add to this thread once the skies allow.

Eddie

[haitch]

Oh yes...apertures IS king. M81 & 82 should also still make decent targets in the lighter skies then, of course, plenty of globs up at the moment - M13 should be like a pincushion of stars in that. Enjoy!

[nightvision]

Aperture matters, that's why I am always concerned when beginners buy a smaller goto-scope instead of a larger dob. You can always learn to find stuff but not having enough aperture can never be overcome by finding something quicker or easer!

[PRICEMAN]

M57 is brilliant. Was my first DSO and find myself always going back to it.

Leigh

[astroeddie]

This is my 6th scope in 17 years of my astronomical career.

My previous was a C11 GoTo. My two previous dobs where 217 and 254mm respectively.

I love the lighter nights Clusters. Sketching them was and always will be my favourite.

Saturn was clouded out last night. Cann't wait to see her in the new scope.

Eddie

[nightfisher]

glad to hear you got a bit of a first light, this has got me thinking about a big dob instead of an obsy when i move house

[Telrad]

Sounds really good Eddie!

It's good to know you had an excellent first light, and many many more to come! Good luck. Thanks for posting!

[nightvision]

You've owned some nice scopes there Eddie, any chance of comparison/appraisal. I am really curious about how the different focal lengths influenced/effected your observing.

I have only owned faster scopes F5 300-dob and an F9 100-ED to date.

Tony.

[astroeddie]

Here goes MY ten bobs worth....in order of ownership

1) Tasco 60mm Refractor ..... good first scope, views of Saturn and Jupiter nice and crisp

2) 217mm F6 DOB...... first real scope. Amazed at how different things looked compared to the tasco. Nice scope but got the technical fever

3) Meade LX10 8". Excellent DSO scope, but soft on planetary views. Had trouble with adjustment knobs, so sold that on for a song.

4) 254mm F5.6 DOB .... made by a mate. Awesome scope. BEST I've owned. Mounted this onto the HEQ5.

5) 150mm F8 Refractor. AWESOME on planets and very dark images of DSO's.

I sold these two to get my C11, BIG MISTAKE

Well, the story on those two scopes, the lad came for the Newt/HEQ5, and took the refractor on good faith, never to be seen again. If I ever bump into him any where,

6) C11 ......awesome on DSO's and astrophotography. AVi's etc. But my location meant I never got the most out of this fella. One winter evening I slew to 140 different objects. Great piece of kit. But visually the planets where inferior to my 10" Newt.

7) Equinox 80mm refractor. mounted onto my C11, cracking scope. If they made a 150mm version of this it would be a world beater.

8) 305mm F5 Dob ....... ?

Throughout all 17 years of astronomy for me, I've always had a pair of 15x70 helios binos. Excellent kit.

Not too indepth but my thoughts on above scopes.

Eddie

[nightvision]

Thanks Eddie that's very informative. A 10" newt on a HEQ5, bet that looked impressive, did the mount cope OK?

I think for observing I will be sticking with big dobs.

I have been playing about with optics for decades but never built a complete scope. At the moment I am working on a DIY 100mm quadruplet f4.5 scope, when I get a good mount I intend to use it for astro-photography, the first version had a few problems, next version should be better.

Tony.

[astroeddie]

Yep,

The HEQ5 coped with the OTA admirably.

You'll have to post pix of your super Quadruplet scope. Sounds exciting. My mate made my 10" scope withan Oldham Optics mirror set. It was awesome, but fell in love with the ads for the C11. Sold that and the 6" frac to make space. BIG mistake.

We live and learn.

Best of luck with the build Tony, keep us posted.

Eddie

[swamp thing]

Hi Eddie

Gotta love the views from ya big Dob.

Good hunting and clear skies

Regards Steve

[WayBig]

glad to hear you got a bit of a first light, this has got me thinking about a big dob instead of an obsy when i move house

...but get yourself the big dob and you're going to need somewhere to keep it.