First, second, third.... light (and early frustrations with my new telescope!)

[tharpley]

I've been following the forums here for a few months now, since purchasing my first scope back in January, and have decided it's time to post something!

I'm using a Skywatcher 150P on the EQ3-2 mount and so far have been really pleased with what I've managed to see.

First light was the M42 nebula in Orion - excitedly viewed through an open window from our attic floor flat in Aberdeen (far from ideal viewing conditions I know, but in my eagerness to try out my new scope I was too lazy to get everything set-up outside at ground level ), which was a beautiful hazy glow in the 25mm eyepiece supplied.

Second light (and my first viewing from outside) was Jupiter - which I spent nearly an hour looking at; only just able to make out some of the banding in the atmosphere, but still very impressed.

Third light was the Moon - WOW. Seeing the Moon for the first time through a telescope was incredible. For something that you think you know so well, getting to look up close like that really opens your eyes!

A lot of the time since then has been spent under thick cloud... but I did manage to get a few attempts in at viewing Mars close to opposition and take a few photos of the Moon (prime focus using a DSLR).

In the last couple of weeks, I've started trying to view some DSOs and following some of the Deep Sky Tours in Sky at Night magazine. My initial excitement soon turned to frustration though as I realised how difficulty it can be using the supplied 6x30 finderscope for navigating the skies (mostly caused by getting totally lost and confused over the orientation of things and which direction I needed to be moving in the flipped finderscope view).

After a few unsuccessful nights with the scope, I did finally manage to get somewhere over the weekend though - managing to star-hop from El Nath in Auriga down to M36, M37 and M38 using Turn Left at Orion as a guide (along with Sky & Telescope's Star Atlas), which was very satisfying.

I think I'm starting to get more used to using the finder now, but I would appreciate any advice people have on their experiences of locating things in the sky and maybe answering a few questions I had:

Is a 6x30 finder lacking and should I consider replacing this?

Does anyone know the FOV for this Skywatcher finder, as I'd really like to make some rings for use on my star atlas? I've looked online and seen estimates of between 6-7 degrees.

What are some good things to look at as a beginner? My home observation sight is fairly restrictive (being in Aberdeen, with my house blocking a large part of the Southern horizon...), but I plan to get out into the countryside soon to somewhere a little darker.

Many thanks.

PS If anyone else has the EQ3-2 mount, I can highly recommend following the advice in a separate post to fill the hollow tripod legs with sand. I bought 4kg from the Early Learning Centre at the weekend and did this, along with creating a weight to hang from the mount, and it has made a HUGE difference to the tripod's stability.

[Nova]

Filling the tripod legs with sand???? what a mighty fine idea!!!

I have the same scope as you and yes I can sympathise with you about the 6x30 finder, not only is everything the wrong way round but have you tried using it for looking straight up?

This was the first item I changed on my setup and bought a 9x50 right angled correct orientation finder which solved the problem. I did the circle's on a star map thing that you speak of. I downloaded a star chart from here

JR's website on Deep Sky Astronomy

and used Cappella as my star of choice as it was nicely situated and easily recognisable. I centered it in my finder and matched up all the stars I could see around it through the finder (you may need a dark sky for this) to what was on the chart and using a compass on cappella in the center out to the furthest star I could make out I drew my first circle and measured its diameter. This then gave me the FOV for that particular chart scale. I then went on to do the same for my eyepieces. This was my first real project that I did last year. I have since bought a telrad and now life seems almost to easy when it comes to DSO hunting. For me the first DSO I found was M13 in hercules. It was hard to find because although it had been described (a fuzzy blob) I didnt really know what to expect. When eventually I found it I was able then to find it again and again simply because I knew what I was looking for.....what it actuallay looked like. Chances are you may have already skimmed over it without noticing

[Daniel-K]

the sand idea is great my friend has done the same thing and it makes avast improvement in stability im sure he said he just took a screw out and filled them that way if you want me to ring him and ask i can. would deffo get a better finder as well.

[tharpley]

I did try using it to look straight up, while searching for M81/2 in Ursa Major and quickly gave up... I'm no contortionist and using it at that angle was pretty much impossible!

Thanks for the advice on an upgrade and the suggestion for determining the FOV - I've just finished printing out the A and B atlases from that website already (saw a link to them in another post on here), so will definitely be trying that out.

[tharpley]

the sand idea is great my friend has done the same thing and it makes avast improvement in stability im sure he said he just took a screw out and filled them that way if you want me to ring him and ask i can. would deffo get a better finder as well.

Yes, it's really simple to do. You just remove the screw from the top of the central (extendible) legs and they slide right out. Then you can take the top plastic cap off and pour the sand in.

You need to make sure you give it shake/bang every now and then, as you're filling, to make sure the sand compacts nicely.