Celestron C6-XLT - A Newbies First Light!

[peonic]

So my poor postman has been complaining over the last couple of days about the large number of parcels he's had to lug up my driveway as Rus packaged up all of his kit and shipped it to not-so-sunny Ipswich. I felt a wierd mixture of excitement and guilt opening up all of the boxes, excitement at getting my hands on some kit that's so far removed from the beaten up Celestron PowerSeeker I've been using for the past few months it's not funny, and guilt that I'd stolen Rus' hobby away from him.

The sheer volume of kit that arrived suprised me (and annoyed SWMBO, but I promised to clear away a suitable space to store it all), and the attention to detail that Rus went to making sure everything was packaged securely, and that I had everything I might need was amazing.

So finally last night, the clouds dispersed and it got dark, so I rushed out into the garden. The combination of VixenGP mount, SynScan GOTO and Celestron scope left me with more than one manual to read, and I have to admit I was a little concerned that I'd make a gaff in getting things setup. My concerns were unfounded - putting the kit together was childs play, and it didn't take long to get everything connected, and the scope roughly polar alligned. Coming from the PowerSeeker 114 and it's extremley flimsy mount to the Vixen/EQ6 combination was like going from a bicylcle to a Harley Davidson - OK, i'm going to get a hernia carrying the new mount outside, but the previous one used to shake if a fly landed on it - whereas even in last nights strong wind, the Vixen/EQ6 combo didn't even wobble.

Attaching the scope to the mount, I plugged in the SynScan controller, connected up some power and switched everything on - and promptly ran into my only issue of the night - the allignment stars I was being asked to point to weren't ones I knew. After a couple of failed "well I *think* it's that one!?!" attempts, I staggered back into the house and grabbed my laptop. Firing up Stellarium and actually checking the stars I was selecting were the ones the SynScan was asking for had a 3 star allignment completed in under 5 minutes.

From here, it all goes a bit hazy, as I was like a child in a sweetshop with the 'guided tour' option. Messier after Messier was placed smack bang into the centre of the eyepiece every time - and I managed to see more items in the first 5 minutes than I had in the 4 months that I've been using the PowerSeeker. Next time I get some clear sky, I promise I'll be more scientific and serious about the hobby and at least make notes about which objects I'm viewing, rather than just going "ooooooh!" a lot

Highlights of the night for me were M11, which snapped perfectly into focus, and seemed to want to pull my eye into the eyepiece as more and more stars where revealed. M13 also looked fantastic.

On to some galaxies - M31 and M51 were visible, but took a lot of work to even pull out the slightest hint of detail - need to work out an anti-streetlight strategy I think. Ring Nebula also looked superb, didn't managed to see much of either the Cat's Eye or Triffid however.

All in all, an excellent night - and I'm very pleased with my purchases, and now a little more guilty about taking Rus' toys away. I've still got the ST102 to try out, and then to have a crack at trying to get some images captured. If someone could be so kind as to arrange a couple of months of clear skies over East Anglia that would be cool, I've got a lot of work to do!

Peonic

[geppetto]

Next time I get some clear sky, I promise I'll be more scientific and serious about the hobby and at least make notes about which objects I'm viewing, rather than just going "ooooooh!" a lot

Nah! just keep oooooohing a lot

Nice one mate and congrats at getting set up and running so quickly.

I'm sure Rus will be pleased that his gear went to somebody who appreciates it

and will enjoy it.

Have loads of fun and clear skies to your new gear

[Albireo380]

Good "First Light" report Peonic. There is nothing like zooming around from Messier to Messier, and that slightly surprised and then excited feeling when they all appear in the eyepiece. GOTOs certainly have their advantages. M11 and M13 are great objects to observe and would have given you those "WOW" moments that we all crave.

Tom

[Whippy]

Nice one Peonic. You got to love that 'tour' button .

Tony..

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

Sounds like a lot of fun to me. I noticed last night that the bits between the clouds were going black, which hasn't happened for weeks. the sky is on the way back!

Kaptain Klevtsov

[legion48]

It warmed the cockles of my heart to read your first light report Peonic. I hope you/we get many more chances to use our gear soon.

[SteveL]

Nice report Sir!