First night out with 200p Dob last night

[PaulR18]

Since buying my first proper telescope last week I spent several nights cursing under a blanket of cloud.

Last night (after a day of heavy snow in the West of Scotland) was clear despite a few hours early on of slight cloud cover. After 8pm the sky was clear.

I was amazed by how clear things were through this telescope. Jupiter looked clear with the supplied 25mm EP and the 4 moons were easy to see. The 10mm EP brought out two clear red stripes. Pleidades was amazing so many stars twinkling away. Then I looked throught the finderscope to aim towards the Orion nebula and on the way a bright object flew across the view and I was able to track this for a few seconds through the finderscope (must have been a satellite). I was amazed after moving down from Orions belts to clearly see the Orion nebula in the finderscope. Through the scope however I was blown away - my first ever view of a nebula!

I also looked at Sirius and it was like looking at a distant disco ball with a twinkling array of bright colours and 4 long spikes north, south, east and west.

I was absolutely frozen but its was brilliant!

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Congrats on a lovely scope, and on your first light!

[Double Kick Drum]

Congratulations on finally getting some use of your scope.

The Orion nebula is a very fine object and Jupiter is always worth going back to.

[estwing]

well done...have you got good dark skies?

[PaulR18]

I was out in my garden last night but we have a road with streetlights way at the back but I got on great despite this. I stay 10 minutes away from Loch Lomond though so I'm taking a trip there tonight. Bit of advice... am I better to go higher up? I know two quiet deserted spots and one is near the banks of the Loch and the up is up a hill in a glen but I'm worried about some hills blocked the lower horizon.

[JamesM]

Congratulations on getting your scope and in finally getting some observing done (...weather such a pain!). Personally I wouldn't worry too much about the lower horizon as the atmosphere is thicker there in any case and so views will often be distorted anyway. The best views are always going to be towards the zenith but ultimately, viewing a dark sky that is free from light pollution is the one single thing you can do to improve the views through your scope. Keep us informed of how you are getting on and have you decided on what your next targets will be? If you haven't done so already, you might want to download a free piece of planetarium called Stellarium for some ideas.

May your clear spell continue!

James

[Khw]

Glad to hear you are enjoying your new dob, good choice by way ! Keep at it there's plenty out there, all the best kev

[Obi Wan Ken00bi]

Nice enthusiasm, nice report.

Somehow I've never thought of looking at Sirius other then using it for alignment through the finderscope.... Next time out I'll give her/him a try using the bigger gun and see some of that Saturday Night Fever!

[floppygoose]

Great to hear how much you're enjoying your new scope, excellent choice by the way. Let's hope the skies clear enough soon for some decent sessions. Sounds like you already have a reasonable location, although it's always worth trying new ones. You will soon find your preferred sites which give the best views, and many happy hours.

Good luck

Phil