What A Night

[cabby]

6 whole hours of it. and best of all no clouds!!!

I've got my scope on a nexstar mount and tried yet again to align but ended up just using Jupiter for alignment so at least I could track it and play with different eyepieces. What I couldn't understand was I then told it to look for Rigel etc it was quite a way off yet if I sent it back to Jupiter there was no prob! As the wife said to me it's just a matter of time and it will all fall into place.

I even connected it to Stellarium and had to fight my son off, I'm looking in the ep and it's constantly on the move!! At least I know that works.

I found the Orion Nebula for the first time and that was definatley a big wow!! and learnt a few more stars to help me find my way.

Just packed away, got a sore back from all that standing and a bit cold but a very happy chap.

One question I seem to get alot of vibration with this mount and at high magnification it's a nightmare, I daren't breath on it. Do the rubber pads make much difference?

[Jaxxxxx]

Sounds like an excellent night of viewing I am super jealous!

My Televue Barlow arrived today to replace the super nasty plastic one I was given with my borrowed scope and I was dying to give it ago but had to work and mount is currently in bits being re-greased so let's hope tomorrow is clear!!

[Double Kick Drum]

You will always go back to M42 - Orion. My favourite thing to look at.

6 hours - hard core. I had three one hour sessions in an attempt to avoid dewing up too quickly.

[blusky]

6 whole hours of it.

Glad to hear!

got a sore back from all that standing

Same here A folding high chair is a must, going from the "I want" to the "I need" list...

[Rapallokid]

I had a similiar nights viewing in Oxfordshire. Spooky i also had difficulty in aligning my goto for the first time. It kept identifying Jupiter as Polaris and was never aligned. So I did as you, took a little time and plotted my way around to se what I could remember from all that reading I have been doing during these cloudy nights. I also found the Orion Nebula for the first time. Big Wow. I will definitly be doing a lot more viewing in Orion over the next few months.

Glad you had a great evening.

[brantuk]

"I seem to get alot of vibration with this mount and at high magnification it's a nightmare"

Hi Cabby - this mount is inherently a lightweight when it comes to vibration - I used to have the same problems with my 150P/EQ3-2. Make sure everything is firmly attached including all the leg bolts, mount fittings, and tube attachments (dovetail, shoe, etc) and you can smooth out the focuser tube action.

You can try hanging a heavy weight off the spreader for a bit more stability (eg power supply in a strong net bag), and if the legs are hollow fill them with sand. I doubt the vibration pads will make a lot of difference for observing - more important for imaging with heavier rigs. Hth

[M4lcs67]

I have been contemplating getting the Celestron vibration suppression pads for a while, but the cost of them has put me off a bit. I am told however that they do actually work so I may bite the bullet at some point and get them.

[John]

I have been contemplating getting the Celestron vibration suppression pads for a while, but the cost of them has put me off a bit. I am told however that they do actually work so I may bite the bullet at some point and get them.

They do work but they don't stop vibrations. What they do is dampen down any that start up much faster so the image settles and is observable more quickly.

[cabby]

I had a similiar nights viewing in Oxfordshire. Spooky

Hi Rapallokid, did my post and then saw yours, I wonder how many more people were doing the same! Only had the scope a month, so last night was the first proper use, just hope I don't have to wait weeks for another gap in the cloud!

Hi Brantuk, thanks for the advice, I shall try to hang my power pack from it to see if that helps.

Hi Double Kickdrum, was really amazed at M42 especially with what I could see in my small scope.

Here's hoping we all get cloudless skies tonight