First Scope - Skyliner-250PX 10" Parabolic Dobsonian Telescope

[sam mayo]

thanks that has cleared it up a bit must b frustrating being asked basic(stupid questions) i apologise but have a few more . when u say jupiter fills the eyepiece is that sarcastic ? thats my most favriouble planet to observe embarrassed as i am to say my first scope was a a horrendous" scopes r us" type(as a present) that can see 6oox on the box (yea right) but i only used it once for fear of it putting me of astronomy but i have the bug and have always loved science but it healthy to have realistic expectations so not to be disappointed .but using binos is a great thrill so im sure it will be euphoric upgrading,do u still use binos or r they gone when the telescope comes out they seem v handy thanks ,sam

[John]

..... when u say jupiter fills the eyepiece is that sarcastic ? .....

No, I'm just trying to be realistic Sam

With a 250px dobsonian the maximum magnification that will provide good views of Jupiter will vary between 180x and 250x with the higher figure needing excellent observing conditions to be useful.

Many small scopes are sold with outrageous claims made about their magnification, eg: 600x,. The reality is far from that of course and those poor scopes can put people off astronomy, unfortunately. Not you though, I'm sure

Most astro viewing is done at low or medium magnifications, eg: 30x - 100x. Higher power is used on the moon and planets but 600x would be rare even for a very large and expensive scope under the very best conditions.

You will get great views of Jupiter and Staturn with a 250mm dobsonian but they will not be large objects through the eyepiece.

[sam mayo]

thats great im there nw makes sense thanks if i came across funny with the jupiter coment it came out wong,u been v helpful thnks for ur time,sam just out of intrest wat do u use for observing

[John]

thats great im there nw makes sense thanks if i came across funny with the jupiter coment it came out wong,u been v helpful thnks for ur time,sam just out of intrest wat do u use for observing

No problems Sam - glad to be a little help

I've got some refractors and my largest scope is a 10" newtonian.

[sam mayo]

can u get a goto for the ssw10" ,is that wat u need for astro imaging or just an equatorial mount !!

and not litle help much help! thanks john

[mdstuart]

I have the 250px and it does give great views of the sky. It collects far more light than smaller scopes so you can see more.

It gives great views of the globular clusters like M3 and M13 which you should be able to see even in light polluted skies...

It also excels on galaxies. I have now seen over 500 in mine but bear in mind that only about 50 of these are what I would call bright and only a handfull show anything in terms of detail. You will not see the detail you get in photographs..

It also is great for star clusters such as the double cluster in perseus etc.

Do get a book or two. Try the Illustrated guide to astronomical wonders which lists a few hundred items, what you can see and how to find them..

Enjoy..

Mark from Bristol...

[sam mayo]

thanks just orderd 1 book shuld help lots,bristol not to far from me bet thers a liitle light pollution ther,do u ever take pics with ur ssw?

and v helpfull thanks

[Scott]

Hi sam, all the advice you've had hear is spot on and i can't really add to it other than to tell you my experience as another newbie. jupiter was the first planet i saw when i got my scope (smaller than yours. 8") and was absolutley blown away with what i saw. naturally i wanted to see it as big as i could but soon realised that seeing a smaller target that is sharp as a tack is much better than a larger image where the detail becomes less sharp. i guess what i'm trying to say is it's not always about size.

also, as previously posted, don't worry about extras too much. use what you've got and it'll become clear soon enough what you want/need.Some extras are almost a must such as collimating tools either cheshire or laser (i'm not getting into that debate) wlile others are just things that we'd really like but can get by without. you'll soon see which are which.HTH

Scott

[Tinker1947]

A Telrad to point it in the right place, Stellarium is a free download maps out the night sky really nicely, also has a Telrad option so what you see on the screen is what you see through the Telrad, i would go for a quality Low Power (High MM) EP this will show the faint grey fuzzies, better, then once centered use the supplied 10mm to view, this again a better quality High Power EP will show more detail, just depends how deep your pockets are, but take your time get used to using it....its a great scope....

[sam mayo]

think i have everthing i need to know anything else would be to much lol thanks every 1. now i just have to wait to weeks to purchase cant wait and will keep you posted with results if your intrested or not lol im sure your patience has been tested and im grateful you didnt give up o me many thanks,sam glos

[Scott]

ya gunna love it i'm sure

[aurochs]

That's a big first scope. I got the next one down (I think it is), the 200P which is 8" I think, as my first proper scope. I would say a collimating tool (I bought the Premium Cheshire with my scope), is pretty much mandatory.

Other than that, I am going to be really happy to have a right-angled finder scope as the standard is a pain in the neck to use. But, as the tube of the 10" is probably longer I am guessing, maybe it won't be so much of an issue.

I'm just a novice though, I haven't had my scope for a week yet. I was daunted by collimation as well, maybe more than most, but after you do it a couple of times it isn't bad at all really. And just remember not to obsess over every little thing if it's not completely perfect. My own scope didn't look exactly perfect but star tests show it as being aligned nicely. On the other hand, like I said, I am a beginner also so I might not know what I'm talking about. I direct you to Astro Baby's guide as it is the one I learned from and gets recommended a lot (for good reason): http://www.astro-bab...ation guide.htm

[PreludeToADream]

Sorry if some of my advice is repeats of what others have said.

It's a great 'scope - I've got one myself and it's given me fantastic views, even though I'm in quite a light polluted area. A lot of DSOs are visible no problem.

Start with what you get with the 'scope and you'll have enough to be getting on with. But do get a book like Turn Left at Orion to help you navigate the sky. The finderscope isn't bad, but I prefer Telrads, so you might find it easier to use one of them. You can pick them up at quite a reasonable price if you look around a bit online.

The 10mm eyepiece isn't much good so you might want to get a replacement for that. You may want a lower magnification eyepiece for wide views (some people use these to find objects in place of a finder, it's all personal preference). You also may want something a bit more high powered (say around 5-7mm) if you want to do some planetary viewing. Plus a barlow doesn't go amiss as it effectively doubles your eyepiece collection. The Tal barlows are great cheap barlows.

A collimating tool is useful as the 'scope will need re-aligning now and again, though I've found it doesn't need tweaking too often. A red torch would be handy if you've not already got one.

Other than that, all I recommend is a warm coat and a chair for the garden.

[Mike73]

It would be fantastic to get an idea of exactly what people have seen through this scope so I know what to expect!

I think this may help you, I used a 8" and 12" dob to sketch these but you get the idea

http://www.pbase.com/mike73/messier_sketches

[fiftyonedegreesnorth]

Great choice of scope - I to have the 250PX (flextube version) - not had it long and only had about 4 decent nights to use it, but so far I'm very happy. As I'm 6' tall I found I needed to raise it off the ground to make observing more comfortable so I bought a water butt stand (£15) and with a slight mod to stop the feet sliding on the top now raises it 300mm off the floor for easy standing observation (a chair would be an alternative - I might get an adjustable shooting stick for simple transportation at about £25)

If yours has the straight-through finder scope (as mine does) you may find this challenging to use at first - so as mentioned earlier a right-angled finder or a telrad may be a future investment. As I'm still new to telescope observing, when I look through the finder scope (8x50) I see far more stars than with the naked eye and then struggle to be sure that what I'm pointing at is what I think I am! So I might go the Telrad route soon (about £40).

Regarding eyepieces (EPs) I agree with PreludeToADream's comment that the 10mm EP (x120 magnification) is dissapointing (I wear glasses and find looking through it like looking down a "soda straw"). The 25mm is fine for geneal observing (giving x48) and so Im looking to replace the 10 with possibly the 8mm Hyperion 68 (£100)- which gives x150 but with a similar field-of-view as the 10mm plossl. I might go for the Badder 8-24 MKIII click-zoom (£190) or as a kit with a 2,25x barlow (£250) as this will give me a wide range of magnificartion in one EP (I know this may not be as good an image as "prime" EPs but for my level of observing I believe it will be just fine! - check out some other threads for comments).

As the scope is "fast" at f/4,7-5 then you will read many reports that it needs good quality EPs=expensive. Whilst this may preclude some cheaper EPs there are many reasonably priced ones out there (what I've found is that even with the Hyperion you get softness around the edges of the view - centre in focus; edges not and vice-versa, but as they give a fairly wide field of view I will simply move the scope so the edge items are then in the centre if I want to look at them!).

I was very lucky to be able to try out some other EPs before spending money - so how about joining your local astronomical society to meet likeminded people, some of whom are only too happy to help.

Good luck

Richard.

[sam mayo]

so will the eye pieces that come as standard any good to start with money is going to be tight for a while after i brought the scope,

also i was wondering if the ssw10" can be used for solar observing and if so what is needed(dont trust my own skills to use diy filters or whatever it is that is needed.

[EntropyStar]

so will the eye pieces that come as standard any good to start with money is going to be tight for a while after i brought the scope,

also i was wondering if the ssw10" can be used for solar observing and if so what is needed(dont trust my own skills to use diy filters or whatever it is that is needed.

'Good' is a relative term when it comes to eyepieces, as you've never used a proper scope in anger before you will be mightily impressed with the views you get through the standard EP's, when you've had a chance to get some better EP's or looked through someone else's then 'good' suddenly seems an overly generous thing to call them. They'll get through your first few months of observing whilst money is tight but you really should upgrade them to get the best out of your scope. The 25 mm is much better than the 10 mm in my opinion of the two. The view through them in comparison to other 'good' EP's lacks contrast and the image is often very soft around the edges, also the field of view isn't great. As I said they'll get you by until you're ready to upgrade, but you will defo notice the difference even with a modest £40 upgrade.

Yes you can look at the sun through it, you can buy filters ready made (£75+) or you can make one yourself. Solar film isn't too expensive to buy (around £20 for an A4 sheet) and very simple to make a basic filter. The the telescope dust cap has a 3" hole with a detachable cap, I taped some solar film to the back of the dust cap covering that hole. It took me 2 mins of effort and will give basic views of the sun. Don't expect to see flames or any solar flares etc. You'll see the sun in white light covered with sunspots as anything else requires very expensive filters (not the £75 ones I mentioned) or more simply a different scope.

I wrote a report after owning the 250px for a month, you may find it useful. I look back now after owning it nearly a year and after upgrading and spending time with the scope it's much better than I explain in that report.

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/126232-first-month-with-the-250px-%e2%80%93-beyond-first-light/

Recommend upgrades to get you started:

Telrad Finder - £35

Garden stool (to sit on!!)

A good night sky book

Patience

Patience

Patience