First light report

[drumsolo]

At last I finally got a chance to use my new sw200pds last night and had my first look at Saturn. Wow was my first thought and excitedly changed to higher mag eyepieces to try and get more detail. It looked stunningly bright even through the wispy cloud and moon lit sky, the rings are amazing to see. After Saturn I tried my luck with a DSO and found M3 which was a small grey smudge but a galaxy none the less, woo hoo! At 1230 I packed up but can't wait to get out again.

Definitely need to buy a red torch to help find things and not kick the power lead and have to re align the mount doh!

Can anyone tell me what the highest mag eyepiece I could get for the 200pds, I currently have a 9mm.

Also I found focussing tricky moving the wheel just made the object move and shake like mad, any tips to help with this would be greatly appreciated.

I feel like I have now joined the club!

Stuart.

[russ]

Make sure everything (tube and counterweights) is balanced up nicely. The 200PDS should be quite steady on the HEQ5 Pro. There will still be some shake but it should damp out quite quickly. Rough focus first and then use the fine focus to nail it. You only need the lightest touch on the fine focus knob.

There is a motor focus option available for £50 if you find the shake intolerable.

Congrats on seeing Saturn......amazing isn't it!

Btw M3 is a globular cluster and a really nice one. If you have another look you'll see it is actually a ball of stars. The 200PDS should have no problems resolving the outer portions into individual stars. And well worth tracking down M13 in Hercules, another globular cluster and a wonderful sight in the 8".

[DOBBY]

hi drum..glad ya had a good night

the wife has the same set-up...200pds on Heq5 pro...back in april she had her 1st view of saturn...next day she bought a 4mm eyepiece (& barlow)...& yep... saturn looked bigger , however... i'm not so sure the image was as crisp & at the higher mag you noticed every shake & vibration... for me, the 10mm with the barlow gave about the max for where we live...under a dark sky it may be different

[Adamski]

Hi stuart, sounds like you had a good night. Some petrol stations sell 24 led torch things, I used a peice of red acetate to cover the led's, it cost £3 all together. Don't know about mag without knowing the focal length. I find that if i keep my hand on the RA adjuster with a very slow turning pressure it compensates for the jiggling when focusing and if there is a bit of wind. Hope this is a little bit helpful.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Nice start seeing Saturn and M3. M13 is a must see, as said before. The ring nebula is also very nice in an 8".

[Chris H]

Saturn can take magnification quite well, I have occasionally used x300 on it with my 10" Dob. On nights of average seeing x200 is suitable.

[umadog]

Good stuff!

[Astro Imp]

Hi Stuart,

Well done, Saturn always excites, while its available to view I always have it on my list of "must sees".

Yes you've definitely joined the club.

All the best.

[Telrad]

Stuart, congratulations! It's an inspiring sight - Saturn in all it's glory drifting past your FOV, Cassini's division and observing Titan, Mimas, Dione, and Enceladus is incredible! It still captivates me now, even just thinking about the first time I viewed Saturn..

Well done! All the best!