First Light with Skyliner 200p

[jdg600]

This is a copy of my notes after my first observing session with my new Skywatcher Skyliner 200p.

15/10/2011 3:43BST

Awoke about 3:00BST and looked out of the window to find clear skies to the south and east. After making a cup of tea and going outside to assess the situation I decided to get the scope out.

This was to be first light with my new 8” f/6 Dobsonian. A few scattered clouds were evident to the north and a light wind was gusting up to ~5km/hr.

I set the scope upon its mount and roughly aligned the finderscope on the Moon by looking through the telescope focuser with no eyepiece in the scope. I also set the focus on the finderscope using the Moon as a target. The Moon was a lovely sight just in the finder.

Returned indoors at about 3:25 BST to let the telescope cool down and to finish my tea. Also to change out of my pyjamas and dressing gown before going outside again.

15/10/2011 4:15BST

First Light! The wind had dropped a little and I would rate the seeing at 2. My first target was the most obvious – the Moon. I found the finder to be pretty well aligned and when I looked through the 32mm plossl - wow! The Moon had a real 3D appearance, far better than anything I ever saw through my old 80mm refractor. The Moon (waning gibbous, 91% full) was also a wonderful sight through the 15mm eyepiece and with the 6mm I felt I could reach out and touch the craters along the terminator. Overall I would say that the 32mm and 15mm plossls gave the most pleasing views of the Moon.

15/10/2011 4:42BST

My next target was Jupiter. I used Jupiter to hone the finderscope alignment. With the 6mm plossl both equatorial bands were clearly visible but no sign of the great red spot – I don’t know if the GRS should be visible at the moment.

15/10/2011 5:05BST

Next I turned to Procyon to conduct a star test. I have so far only aligned the primary mirror using a homemade collimation cap but the star test looks pretty good with similar looking airy discs evident on each side of the focussed position. I’m not sure if the airy discs are slightly off centre or not and whether or not this is something to worry about. I will consult my copy of The Backyard Astronomers Guide today and may try an adjustment this evening using Polaris as a target, weather permitting.

15/10/2011 5:05BST

The Orion Nebula is a beautiful sight in the 15mm eyepiece. Much nebulosity is evident despite the nearby Moon. I decided to try the supplied Skywatcher eyepieces and found that the 25mm gave reasonable views though not as good as with my Celestron 32mm plossl. The view through the 10mm Skywatcher eyepiece was easily as pleasing as that through my 15mm Celestron plossl however.

15/10/2011 5:35BST

Had a quick look at the Hyades cluster which more or less filled the view in the 32mm eyepiece. It didn’t look particularly impressive, possibly due to the small field of view. I have had better views through my old 80mm refractor but it was also a bit washed out by the close proximity of the Moon.

Finally, after spending a bit more time looking at Jupiter (still no GRS) and the Moon I decided I was cold enough and came back inside for a nice cup of tea.

All in all I found this telescope, my first Dobsonian, a pleasure to use and capable of delivering much more pleasing views than the 80mm f/5 reflector I previously owned. Finding targets, albeit easy ones was a doddle with the included finderscope. I had been considering adding a Telrad or similar, but now think I will wait and see how I get on finding more difficult targets with the finder. Tracking was a little difficult 200x but I expect I'll get better at it with practice. I also have ordered a Lazy Susan bearing to try and free up the azimuth tracking a little.

I would recommend this scope to anyone, particularly someone starting out in astronomy. Its easy to use and capable of so much more than a small refractor.

[twotter]

Good report & welcome to the wonderful world of the 200P dob

[swamp thing]

Nice report.

It's not the nations favourite scope for no reason.

Awesome little piece of kit.

Regards Steve

[Orion_the_Hunter]

Great first light with a great 'scope.

[saturn4me]

Nice report.You have a fantastic scope!