Advice please!

[saturn4me]

Ive just bought the skywatcher skyliner 200p dob.It only comes with two eyepieces -10mm&25mm- i was wondering if i might need any extra eyepieces.Also there is no x2 barlow,should i get one? Also im thinking of getting some filters as id like to see moon,planets,dso's etc in better colour.Which ones should i get and also how much am i looking at? Thanks all:)

[Capricorn]

Try the 10 and 25 first, you will want additional and I would suggest a 12mm and an 8mm.

Filters will not help you see colour in DSO's they don't really have any, just grey.

For the moon a simple ND filter may be useful, can be a bit bright. Equally the scope should have a separate smaller aperture on the front cover, that will reduce the size and so the brightness. Try it first and see.

As for planets not sure, magnify a planet 150x and you may want all the light you can get.

Use the thing several times before buying bits.

[John]

Have you had a chance to use the scope yet ?.

There are so many choices of accessory that a little "hands on" experience will help you know where your priorities are.

If the scope does not already come with them, I would say a collimation tool plus a red dot finder like a Telrad should be high up your shopping list.

On filters, they won't help you see colour in deep sky objects - with the exception of M42 which can show very faint lime green tints, DSO's are all shades of grey !

[saturn4me]

Thanks guys.No ive not used it yet,ive just got some surplus cash for some extras thats all.What about the x2 barlow,do i need that?

[Capricorn]

Chance is that the 10mm isn't great, unless the barlow you get is good then you will get a really poor image.

Tal barlows are reckoned to be good, so perhaps one of them. After them people say the Televue Powermate are good, also several times more expensive.

You will need a collimator to set the scope up, otherwise all images will be poor.

If the 10mm isn't good sticking a barlow on won't help. If the scope isn't collimated pretty well then nothing will help.

Short focal length plossl's will not give much eye relief so you will have to get very close to the eyepiece.

Planetary eyepieces are about £40 and give reasonable eye relief and the BST Explorers, similar price, also do. After that it is the more expensive options. The number of options are huge.

[onesmallstep]

Definitely get a moon filter!

[John]

Your options will depend on how much your pot of surplus cash is - in the interests of us not getting carried away, could you give us some idea what the available budget is for accessories ?

You could easily spend as much as the scope cost you on a couple of eyepieces, a filter or two and a few other "bits and pieces"

[saturn4me]

Your options will depend on how much your pot of surplus cash is - in the interests of us not getting carried away, could you give us some idea what the available budget is for accessories ?

You could easily spend as much as the scope cost you on a couple of eyepieces, a filter or two and a few other "bits and pieces"

Oh yes sorry john,id say about £150.

[JamesM]

I wouldn't say you 'need' the barlow and as others have conformed above. I would wait till you have used what you have to decide on what to get next. As John as said above, keeping the scope collimated is your next 'need' and after that, the ability to locate objects which not only could obtaining a Telrad but also a right angled finder.

Looking at a star map and translating the distance between stars would seem straight forward enough, until that is, you start looking through any optics and discover so many MORE stars that it is easy to lose your way. The Telrad works by allowing you to take the image of its red circles (...that you can dim) seen with one eye to be projected on the night sky which is viewed with the other. The spacing of theses circles also helps you get to grips with distances and how far to move the scope to get closer to where you need to be. There are a number of star maps that you can download with these circles already on them to help finding objects even easier. At the end of the day, the Telrad will get you mighty close to where you need to be simply matching the sky that you can see with your own eyes with your map. The right angled optical finder will in the first instance provide you with a more comfortable viewing position as opposed to the straight through variety which to be honest, can give you neck ache fairly quickly. Secondly, the straight through finder will provide you with an inverted and back to front image of the sky which can add a layer of confusion when locating your chosen object, whereas the right angled finder will only show you a back to front image which makes it a lot easier to use. So both the Telrad and the right angled finder would be next on my 'need' list and only after these would I consider what my eyepiece, barlow, light pollution filter etc needs would be.

When your scope arrives and after a little bit of use, you will no doubt have more questions and ideas about what you might like to do next, so it won't be long before you will have gained the necessary post count and length of membership to access the For Sale section. I mention this as this will provide the best value in upgrading your eyepiece/barlow collection. There are plenty of bargains to be had that are in very good condition and when you next want to upgrade or change them, you can resell them for what you paid for them - effectively allowing you a free trial. This will also provide you with some time to research and try out more exotic eyepieces from more experienced observers found at your local astro club or observing group. This last part is important, because these eyepieces are likely to be more expensive, the advantages proportionately less which will make their effectiveness a subjective decision of whether they are worth the extra expense for you and your scope. There is no rush with any of this as, "....the stars aren't going anywhere" and it is very easy to spend more money than you need to achieve what you want.

Hope that helps

James

[crazyjedi]

Unfortunately the reason you see DSO's in black and white isn't due to a lack of a filter. It's because the cone cells in your eye which are responsible for seeing colour just aren't sensitive enough to detect the tiny amount of light that your eyes receive through the lens. The rod cells in your eyes (which see black and white only) are far more sensitive and do detect the light coming through your EP. Hence you see far off objects in black and white only unfortunately.

I would highly recommend a lunar filter because without one The Moon is almost painful to look at through a scope.

I'd recomend a UHC filter or an OIII filter for your nebulae.

The lenses you have are probably ok to get started but when funds allow consider upgrading to better quality EP's. Perhaps a low powered, wide field EP. These can be expensive but will be worth it especially when combined with an OIII or UHC filter for those planetary nebulae etc.

For viewing planets I rather like the Televue Radians which are very good but opinions do vary. I've seen some very good reports for Baader Orthos. There is an interesting debate going on in the -Equipment - Eye Pieces- discussion forum here on SGL regarding planetary EP's

[crazyjedi]

£150 will get you a good lunar filter and an OIII filter or a couple of reasonable lenses or just one very good lens. You could for instance get a 9mm and 26mm Meade 5000 super plossl with a little money left over for a filter. The Meade lenses are very good and would offer a 60 degree FOV for rather reasonable money. These two lenses would just be straight forward replacements for the lenses you have but I'm sure you'll appreciate the difference when you take your first look through them.

If you get lucky you could maybe pick up the Meade 5000 SWA 24mm second hand for less than £100 which would offer you a generous 68 degrees FOV giving a nice improvement in quality and FOV over your current lenses and still have more than £50 to pick up another lens/filter.

That kind of money does give you some nice options.

Happy shopping

[saturn4me]

Plenty of good advice there,thank you very,very much:hello2:.Ive also learnt that taking things nice and steady will suffice for the time being until ive learnt more about how to use the scope properly.I suppose everything is a learning curve and you learn by trial and error and also what suits best.Again many thanks guys:)

[Moonshane]

my first purchases would be a Telrad (or other red dot finder), a right angled corrected image finder (9x50mm would be ideal) and a decent star map like Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas: Amazon.co.uk: Roger W. Sinnott: Books.

then as John says, wait a bit and buy eyepieces that will match your observing when you know what sort you prefer.

make a dew shield too (maybe from camping mat) which will also reduce glare if you live near houses. oh, yes a Cheshire collimating tool too.

other than that, enjoy the scope!

[perrin6]

If it were me I'd get a 7 - 8mm (for high power planet, moon and double star viewing and a 12 - 14mm for medium power, spending about £70 on each. I've heard the 25mm with that scope is usually good quality and the magnification of 48X is about right for finding objects & observing star clusters and the larger nebulae.

If you like observing galaxies and globular clusters, the 12 - 14mm will be the eyepiece you spend most of the time using (once you have found them with the 25mm)

Planetary nebulae are usually quite small so you would be using the high power for the best view of them.

[crazyjedi]

Has anyone mentioned Stellarium?

Download Stellarium. It's free real time star mapping software that is invaluable.

It tells you where everything is at any given time and date.

[PaulCroft]

Hi Saturn, I have recently bought the same scope and was blessed with nothing but clear skies for the first two weeks. I just got a x2 Tal barlow, though short in supply, and am very pleased with the results. I also looked at a 3/4 moon the other night which was really too bright, so as a quick fix I put on my sun glasses, and hey presto, it worked really well. Try it!

[stolenfeather]

I know for myself, having a Barlow really made a difference in my viewing experience.

Isabelle

[wiseman]

As a relative newbie with the same scope heres my two pennth.

1. laser colimating tool is MUCH better than a cheshire, I will be selling my cheshire, to some poor unsuspecting sap. I bought a baader laser second hand off ebay, its brilliant.

2. Bobs knobs make colimating so much easier, if you get the laser you dont need a 2nd person to help. Bought direct from USA

3. I get on very well with a rigel quick finder and they dont seem to go though batteries like the telrads do, cheaper too. I managed to pop it on using the brackets from the skywatcher finder.

These three things have improved my set up and location time no end. I would get these before you buy anything else. If you have an iphone or ipad, get starwalker app, it shows where everything is, much easier than a book. Failing that a planisphere will also be good, avail on amazon

Turn left at Orion is a brilliant book, v good at explaining where to find stuff, with loads of interesting facts as well.

I would get all that, have a play, then think about eyepieces, I got all mine second hand from ebay or here, or uk astrobuy.

But get the rest of the stuff first, as its what will have the biggest impact on getting going quickly.

Have fun

Wise

[stolenfeather]

I agree with crazyjedi, Stellarium is a definite must and as for a collimation tool,... I say a laser can't be beat. I have a HOTECH myself and it makes collimation a breeze! One must be carefuk though since many laser collimators need to be collimated themselves. I think (unless someone can correct me) that only HOTECH doesn't have this issue.

Isabelle