First light Dobsonian 200p

[AndyxSara]

Well got my new scope a few days ago set up was nice and easyand tonight i was pestered by the kids to test it out.....so looked at the moon first as that was the easieiest thing to see, and wow i was blown away couldnt believe what i was seeing....never looked through a scope before so i was amazed and so were the kids....next they wanted to see beetleguese which was another easy object to get..and then we went jupiter and my god how beautiful was that i was stunned i had to step back and take a deep breath, i couldnt believe how clear it was i could clearly see both bands and moons so we spent a good half hour on that before we came in as it was cold.....cant wait to start seeing more stuff but i dont think thats a bad stary at all.

sorry it was brief.

[Hzadbhat]

Sounds like a really good first view. Mine was similar, but I also included the cloud in orion.

We're all sure that your viewing will get better if you stick with it.

[AndyxSara]

im actually still amazed haha...whats a good barlow for the dob?

[Hzadbhat]

I've got the 2" that came with mine. Am going to upgrade to better optics over the next few months though. There's lots of threads here to help you with advice, but the best tip i've found is to go to a star party or two and use other gazers ep's etc (withtheir permission of course) in your scope.

[Apollo Paul]

Thats what i observed on my first session.

I assume you are using the supplied 25 and 10 eyepieces.

I didnt like them. The 25 was awful. The 10 o.k on the moon, Jupiter gloomy but 2 bands visible.

I would upgrade the eyepieces rather than buy a barlow at first. A barlow on the supplied 10mm would not be pretty anyway.

You could keep the 25mm if you are satisfied with it. You dont have to spend a fortune on an upgrade.

If you dont have to view with spectacles unlike myself, the BST eyepieces get rave reviews here. They are just under £50. I would purchase an 8mm for moon, planets and globular

clusters. That will give you x150. I wouldnt go less magnification than this. My meade gives me x136 and is not enough

for planets. I barlow my 17mm to give x159 and x176. At x159 Jupiter came alive. So an 8mm should be fine.

The second eyepiece upgrade depends on what you like to view. Or you could do what i did and buy an eyepiece suitable for

locating objects. Your choice of magnifications and FOV will be personal, as will the money you spend, so thats up to you.

As for a barlow. I would purchase one that gets good reviews from users, also a x2 barlow that has the option of x1,5 with it, so you have a better spread of magnifications.

There is no rush. You could spend time with what you have, then you will have a better idea of what you want.

[MAN or ASTROMAN]

Congrats,Andy! Hope you continue to enjoy your scope.Nice touch to get the children involved-I'm sure that it will be a memory to stay with them,even if they don't develop a real interest in astronomy.

[Itabot]

Congratulations, great isn't it.