First Light

[craigb1970]

After 30+ years occasionally messing about with a 60mm Tasco refractor and several weeks since I bought my Celestron 8SE, the skies finally cleared and I managed to view Jupiter and the Orion nebula :grin: .  I wasn't able to Star Align for some reason but I was still delighted by the views.  Using the 25mm Celestron eyepiece that came with the scope Jupiter was showing two cloud belts and three moons; the Orion nebula looked like the ghost of some giant bird, brilliant!!!!!.   I didn't attempt to use a more powerful eyepiece on Jupiter because it was very windy and focusing was a bit tricky.

I've posted a separate thread  under General Equipment..... requesting any help with the Star Align issue, I'm sure I'll get it sorted next time I get to use the scope.

I need to get a nebula filter soon but I'm still considering the options UHC,  O III, Moon and Sky glow etc, etc,

[Astro Imp]

Great to finally get out there under the stars, you must have been viewing Jupiter later in the evening as earlier you would have seen four moons stretched out like pearls on a string. When you saw only three Io was hiding behind the planet.

All the best for the holidays and clear skies.

[Spaceman1]

First light last night with 8" EdgeHD from Santa! Jupiter looked amazing, with one of the moons rising from behind the horizon. My son made the investment and standing in the cold worthwhile when he summed up the sight. AWESOME!

[swamp thing]

Sounds like you are enjoying yourself, good stuff.

I would look at the UHC for a first filter. These work on a wider range of targets than the O-III.

Moon and sky glow......wouldn't bother with them.

[skywatcher58gb]

Hi You will notice a BIG difference between the Tasco and the 8SE, once you get alignment sorted you will be hopping around the sky like a Pogo stick.  Good viewing.

Dave

[bomberbaz]

Tip for the focusing, attach a clthes peg to it as you would view a clock if you get what I mean. It helps fine tuning yourcfocusing by just using genlte touchs of the peg rather than touching the focusing nob itself and so reduces shake considerably.

Good report and plus 1 for the UHC. You could also try a cheap moon filter for jupiter as this helps reduce glare and gives you greater contrasting views but its a personal thing. Maybe if you could borrow to try first.......

steve