How does anyone see anything??!

[Gradie]

Ok, so this is less of a serious question and more for reassurance!

I've been confined to public transport the last few weeks and picked up a couple of magazines, one of which turned out to essentially be a collection of amateur photographers shots (I think it was an 'Astronomy' magazine publicstion).

What's got me worried is that most of the shots seem to be taken on Takahashi refractors or enormous Ritchie-Chretien scopes, and a worryingly large number of the images are accompanied by the text 'great for imagers, but poor for observers'.

Now, I do plan in trying out imaging in the long-term, but will be starting out just observing. I'm currently looking at the Skywatcher Newtionian's, probably 150p as I suspect the 200p will be deemed 'too large' by higher powers . Somebody re-assure me that I will actually be able to see things!!

[Ags]

I see lots of stuff with my 102mm scope.

[Carbon Brush]

With a 150p type of scope you will see loads of stuff. Even a 4.5" reflector is OK for a first scope.

Some of us have more more money than sense on kit purchases.

I should rephrase that. We did have more money than sense before expensive kit purchases.

David.

[WayBig]

The best shots in the magazines are often taken with the "best" gear

You should see plenty with the 150 or 200mm scopes that you're thinking of.

Word of warning though...even if you buy the biggest scope you can carry, nebulae and particularly galaxies won't resemble anything you see in the mags.

We don't call them faint fuzzy blobs for nothing!

[MorningMajor]

It depends on what the pictures you saw were - There are some superb "amateur" images in the imaging section here on SGL - but you won't see them like that through any scope - these images are made up of many long exposures with various filters and stitched and merged together wwith great skill from a lot of very talented and experienced photographers (OK, plug over!)

Assuming. that's NOT what your hoping to see - the 150P will give you some wonderful views of planets, doublestars, nebulae, clusters and galaxies - it won't look like those photos, but the satisfaction and awe you'll experience seeing those distant wonders, however dim and fuzzy they can be is what makes it all worth while!

Good luck and enjoy

[Moonshane]

see my recent observing report using a 6" scope - you'll see lots, especially when nights are darker. but they won't look like the photos of course.

http://stargazerslounge.com/observing-reports/147053-superb-night-despite-light-s.html

[WayBig]

but the satisfaction and awe you'll experience seeing those distant wonders, however dim and fuzzy they can be is what makes it all worth while!

Absolutely, that's what does it for me too.

There was a thread on here a few months ago titled "it's not what you see, it's what you're looking at"....which perfectly sums up a lot of the fainter stuff you'll see.

[Daniel-K]

you will deffo be able to see deep sky objects not in colour but if you get to a dark sight find m51 or m31 and it will blow your mind. i had my 66mm refractor and i could see the ring neb last night and the dumbell and i live i fairly light polluted skies the 150p is a good starter scope keep us updated when you get it orderd

[Adamski]

Hiya Gradie, I have the 150pl which is just a longer version of the 150p and to totally reassure you i have seen quite a few things so far. Autumn and winter are the best times of year for viewing because of the longer dark periods and there are more things to see ie: galaxies, nebulae and clusters. Planets are easy to spot when our orbit of the sun coinsides with that of what ever planet is on the same side as the sun. The moon is awesome but very bright when full and hurts my eyes.

[MartinB]

Hi Gradie, first telescopic views of the moon are pretty mind blowing. Other big wows are associated with Jupiter, Saturn and M42 (the orion nebula). Then, to a lesser extent the brighter open and globular clusters.

Most deep sky objects come as quite an anticlimax for the new observer, in fact, it is quite likely you won't be able to see them. They are desperately faint. I spent a long time looking for M1 ( the crab nebula ) and was unable to find it. It was only when I used an accurate goto system and knew it was definitely in the field of view was I finally able to see it as an extremely subtle smudge. After this I recalibrated my eyes and used tricks such as averted vision and nudging the scope. With practice you get better and better and can often start to discern detail in galaxies which you wouldn't have been able to see at all when starting off.

Aperture certainly helps but at the cost of portablity and, to some extent, ease of use.

[Gra]

Gradie, if you are just starting out observing, have you not thought about an 8" Dob instead and around the same price. This will give you 77% more Light Gathering than the 150mm.

Just a thought.

Gra.

[Ant]

Stirling advice given so far.

My own opinion is if you want to see a good representation of what you will see through a scope have a browse of the sketches that are posted on SGL.

Imaging - Sketches and Unconventional - Stargazers Lounge

Carols sketches are very good - but she is an experienced observer so it may take a little time before you see what she does! http://stargazerslounge.com/members/talitha-albums-deep-sky-sketches.html

Cheers

Ant

[sgazer]

hi, you'll be able to see plenty of stuff with the 150p, but most nebulas will be fairly faint grey smudges. If you are thinking of imaging in the future, go for the 150p-ds which is designed to attach a DSLR (focuses more readily). I find the 150p-ds is a good size for imaging.

[Nova]

I own a 150P and am seeing plenty of stuff. Found my first DSO's just the other night M13 and M51. Pretty faint but deffinatly there!!

[Shibby]

hi, you'll be able to see plenty of stuff with the 150p, but most nebulas will be fairly faint grey smudges. If you are thinking of imaging in the future, go for the 150p-ds which is designed to attach a DSLR (focuses more readily). I find the 150p-ds is a good size for imaging.

This. If you don't get the PDS version, you'll have a nightmare in the future when you try DSLR imaging.

[Gradie]

Thanks for all the reassurances guys! The pointer towards the sketches is particularly useful as it gives a much better idea of what I can realistically expect to see. Moonshane's observing report was a great read too!

I am, of course, not expecting things to look like they do in the photographs, but it's good to know what's possible with a reasonably small scope.

I'll definitely keep in mind the PDS suggestion as I already own a DSLR (Nikon D200) and it's highly likely I'll want to try attaching it at some point. I presume that also means I need to be looking at a decent, solid mount that will not struggle with the extra weight.

I have considered a dob, and then later buying an EQ mount, but my concern is that the OTA's with the dobs appear to be different to those sold with the mounts? Certainly looks like they're longer, which presumably would affect stability on an EQ mount, as well as the fact that telescope size is inversely proportional to my wife's happiness!

I'd love a bigger aperture, but I think 6" is probably the limit, although I am planning a trip to a store to get a better idea of actual size.

[HippyH]

I just bought my first scope. But, I've been using 20x80 binos for awhile. Tracking down open and globular clusters is fun. I can see M13 in Hercules (mag +5.9) with those.

So, what will a 150p see?

Formulas - Telescope Magnification

m = 2.7 + 5log D.........m =2.7 + 10.88.........Mag +13.58 is the faintest object 150mm will see.

Your Sky will give you a good idea of the variety of objects withing reach.

Gary

[acey]

Somebody re-assure me that I will actually be able to see things!!

You can see plenty as long as the sky is dark enough: 10x50mm binoculars are enough for most or all of the Messier objects. If the sky isn't dark enough then no amount of aperture will make objects visible. Calculation of limiting magnitude is based on the assumption of naked-eye limiting magnitude: everything depends on how much you can see with the naked eye.

[AlphaRob]

I managed to see my first DSOs M31, M51, M81/M82, M13, the ring nebula and dumbell nebula with my 130P on Sunday night. So anything bigger and a dark sky will give you plenty to see

[JKB]

I have the 150p and am more than happy with what you can see. I have also used it sucessfully with a dslr and taken some good images. OK not Hubble Telescope quality but damned good for me! Look through my posts and you will see some pics taken with the 150p

Good luck and enjoy

Cheers Jamie

[Gradie]

Is it the eq3-2 you use with it? How stable do you find the 150p on it with the dslr attached?