baptism of fire -first night

[pallas15]

Not really a question more of a run down of my first day/night observing. that may help newcomers.(feel free to move post if needed ) Took delivery of my new skywatcher 130 scope yesterday afternoon-thanks FLO.Ooh the box is quite heavy,wonder what a 200 feels like(hint to the wife).

PLUS POINTS:

Packaging good and strong,everything secure and not damaged.

Instructions seemed clear and easy(however this is after serious internet searches previously.)

scope easy to assemble i.e. everything fitted.

seemed collimated.

MINUS POINTS:

Even for a small scope the size and weight may surprise some people

A lot of the thumbscrews and fasteners are plastic..care needs to be taken not to strip threads etc.

So took the scope outside to set up the mount.Set lat dial to 52d----levers a bit stiff and quite small.

used spirit level to level tripod.

used compass to (roughly) set the mount facing north-----sky blocked----pooh.

attached OTA and balanced the scope--quite straightforward.

Now this is where inexperience and the learning curve kicks in.It took my brain quite a while(Id be too embarrassed to say HOW long) to relate to the fact that up is down and left is right.Tried to find a distant object to view but trees nearby were too close to focus even with the 25mm EP.Then faintly in the distance I saw the moon.Now its very big-----so its gotta be easy to line up right------again I wont say how long it took but I used it (eventually) to line up the red dot finder.What I didn't realize was the difference using the other supplied EPs.The moon was just a sliver but adding the 2 x Barlow made it hard to find again due to the stronger wobble you get being zoomed in more.Tried the slow mo"s but lost it ( ).Tried the 10mm--couldn't find it.

PLAN B: went back to the 25mm and centered the moon(ish)------re calibrated the red dot more accurately.

Thought id give the setting circles a go..I know there not THAT accurate but worth a look.

ONE:set the DE angle to stellarium -3d----assuming id gone the correct side above 0......+ above - below.

TWO:set the RA to 11h58m

THREE : centered moon and checked setting circles --The DE was about 3d out but that's not too bad...at least it was in the EP.

FOUR:Added the barlow and really keyed in the red dot finder and the setting circle.

FIVE: Got used to the fact that to get a comfortable viewing angle I had to rotate the tube..think its common practice.

SIX: decided to wait for evening.

LEARNING CURVE 2

SHOULD HAVE WAITED FOR MY RED LIGHT TORCH TO COME:..now wheres the slomo?..wheres the locking nut?.Gradually as my site became accustomed to the dark it got easier.

loosened the RA/DE locking nuts,switched on the red dot,rotated the OTA to get comfy.

Lined up Arcturus in the red dot.

Looked in eyepiece ......yeah its there...not quite center but its there.

centered with slomo...focused(harder than i thought it would be--not much tolerance between airy disc-focus-airy disc)..must be smoother.

Messed with red dot (just to be sure) and jumped over to Alkaid.Very nice.One thing I didn't realize was how many more objects become visible...amazing.

A few degrees below in the EP was another fainter object.. don't think it was 24cvn...hoping it was m51..angle and distance seemed right.

Every thing just then seemed to click .Every, and I mean EVERY object I lined up with the finder was in the eyepiece,I was worried cos a lot of people say its trash but I found it really good.Checking the setting circles at various points showed that they aren't pinpoint but good enough to get you close if you correctly set the RA on a centered object.The main issue are the increments are printed in lines which are possibly a degree wide so they"ll never be spot on with the smaller scopes.Setting the coords for acturus on the circles I decided to go to Deneb.

Using the RA/DE I lined up the circles at 20h41m and +45d high.

Checking the EP Deneb was in view..slomo"d to center and checked the circles.A few degrees out either way but definitely worked well enough.I suppose if I'm out a bit with my polar alignment or level then this doesn't help.

All in all an enjoyable night finishing at 3am...shattered and aching but very happy...The 130 aint the biggest or flashest but for the money....well worth it....

[K3ny0n]

Thanks for this post mate.

I should be ordering my 200p goto tomorrow. I'll remember your post when I come to the stumbling blocks

Rob

[pallas15]

Thanks for this post mate.

I should be ordering my 200p goto tomorrow. I'll remember your post when I come to the stumbling blocks

Rob

glad you liked it.Realised that no matter how much research I did , the real thing was totally different..