NEWBIE

[The Outsider]

Hi folks , I'm a complete newbie here and to the hobby.I need some advice please.

I've bought a Skywatcher 130/900 and have had a couple of nights attempted viewing so far.

I took my telescope outside to 'settle' for a couple of hours before use.all excited I focused in on Jupiter ! Problem is I only seem to be able to get blurry images with the 10mm ep and it's far worse with the 2 x barlow . I can see the planet and some of it's moons but the Jupiter itself is not a circle and is fuzzy and seems flooded with red,blue and various dazzling colours when using the barlow especially.

Basically Jupiter appears as a fuzzy yellowy blob with no detail whatsoever whether using an ep or ep plus barlow..It is not a sharp,clearly defined circle.

What am I doing wrong?

the barlow really does blur images and no matter what I do I cannot get it to focus sharply.

Am I expecting too much?

cheers , would appreciate any help

[Beardy30]

the environment around you and conditions can effect it you need to make sure also you don't magnify to much have you calibrated correctly as this can effect it

[swamp thing]

Jupiter is pretty low down in the sky this is never good for discerning fine detail.

Observing evening, the seeing is pretty awful as there is a lot of air currents at this time of day. This coupled with the planets low elevation is always going to make it difficult.

Regards Steve

[The Outsider]

Thanks guys. Ive had another session looking at Jupiter tonight and managed to focus it nicely with a 10 mm ep on its own. However I still see just a creamy yellow disc with no banding whatsoever. Its very frustrating and dissapointing. I desperately want to see the bands. I tried averted vision too.

Ive abandoned the barlow because its useless. All it produces is blurred images.

I dont know where to go from here...keep looking i guess.

Skywatcher 130 mm

[John]

I think you will need to wait for Jupiter to be better positioned for viewing. It's way past it's best now. It will be better placed in the Autumn / Winter of this year.

When it's as low as it currently is, you are looking through more atmosphere which, as Swamp Thing says, obscures the details somewhat.

[knobby]

Why not stay up late and try Saturn

[Double Kick Drum]

Thanks guys. Ive had another session looking at Jupiter tonight and managed to focus it nicely with a 10 mm ep on its own. However I still see just a creamy yellow disc with no banding whatsoever. Its very frustrating and dissapointing. I desperately want to see the bands. I tried averted vision too.

Ive abandoned the barlow because its useless. All it produces is blurred images.

I dont know where to go from here...keep looking i guess.

Skywatcher 130 mm

Averted vision only really comes into play with feint objects because the most light sensitive part of your eye is not in the centre of your pupil. This is useful for nebulae and galaxies.

For detail, you will see more by just looking directly at the object.

[The Outsider]

Thanks for the sound advice guys,it's really appreciated.

I got up really early this morning and had a look at Saturn.I could see some of the rings briefly but again it was a blur.I've been so delicate trying to bring it into focus.The only view acceptable was with the 25 mm ep.With he 10mm it was blurry and the barlow a total waste of time.It's like there is a film of vaseline over the lenses.

I appreciate that the seeing wasn't very good this morning and pretty soon it clouded over totally but still I'm certain there's a problem.

I'm afraid to attempt collimation .

Other than that I will just percivere .

[richbyers]

hi taking a look id like to raises these points

- are you letting your scope cool to the temperature outside before viewing?

-i have a 130mm and i can use the 10mm eyepiece, so i think there is still something wrong here

-if you are affraid to collimate then jsut try a quick test- unfocus a star and look at it- it should look like a polo sweet, if not then you know that could be the problem

- i find that a barlow on my 10mm using the 130 pushes the useful limit too much, and will result in a big loss in quality

- check the scope isnt dewed up- nothing more annoying than dew on the mirrors

-as already stated dont throw everything out of the window as a lost cause until you get a decent night with good transparecy

[rwilkey]

Hi, and welcome to SGL, telescopes are often in good collimation when they are delivered. It does no harm to check. Unfortunately the 10mm ep supplied with your scope is not the best quality, so it's limitations must be taken into account. You might consider replacing this at some future date, once you have got used to using your new telescope - congratulations by the way!

[Lenny147]

I have the same scope and it well known that the 10mm and the barlow supplied are really not very good. I take it your 25mm is fine, i would look into purchasing some new EPs especially to replace the 10mm and barlow. I replaced them and it has made a huge difference, hope this helps

[The Outsider]

Thanks so much. Ya I will buy a better ep or two at least I think and see how that is.I'm determined to stick with it and then see how things go over several weeks.

[rwilkey]

Time and patience is the key to the enjoyment of astronomy, in my view.

[Lenny147]

I think its a great scope, i purchased a Tal x2 barlow and Vixen npl 25mm to start and the difference was amazing. Both can be purchased through FLO

[rwilkey]

Excellent choice Lenny147, what a difference those two items make!

[The Outsider]

Cheers Lenny and Rwilkey.

I've just been looking at the ep's I have and the lenses look grimy and mottled.the Barlow has black speckles on the lens which I suspect has come from the black plastic surround.

I'll keep on keepin on with it and if that fails I think i will do what you did Lenny and buy those pieces.

[Lenny147]

I only bought those EPs with the help of some very helpful members of SGL

They work great with the scope and a little updating really does make a difference.

Now all you need is clear skies