First Night!

[Marky1973]

Ha, well didnt find anything last night....but then that was because I fell asleep on the sofa at about half ten!

There is always tonight.....

[Marky1973]

Well, there really is a massive variety of eyepieces and barlows - very confusing! So plumped, in the end, for a 5mm BST and the Baader Classix 2.25 Barlow which both seem to come very well recommended. Can't afford to get everything I would like in one go, so this seemed like a good way to start. Will plan to get a 32mm a bit later to help with the wide-angle stuff and maybe replace the 10mm (as suggested above) with an 8mm BST when funds allow! Four eyepieces and the barlow should give me enough magnifications to be getting on with for a while!

Clear skies everyone!

[Marky1973]

Right, I'm not going to keep posting in here as if it was some kind of blog, but I managed to get out for an hour last night and got some more great views of Jupiter and the moon looked stunning in the stock 25mm EP.

But, I also managed to find M42 and M43 in Orion and got used to swinging back and forward from that to Jupiter and The Moon as well as catching a glimpse at Betelgeuse and Rigel. So getting the hang of a bit of navigation and Dob nudging!

The nebula wasn't very bright to be honest - I have a lot of light pollution - so will be interesting to try and see it another time at a darker site. But, even so, it was nicely visible in the 25mm EP (a bit darker in the 10mm as to be expected) - the trapezium was nice and bright - not 100% sharp, but I guess the atmosphere may have something to do with that and, possibly, collimation, which I haven't attempted since it arrived so it may be slightly out from the start - just need to pluck up the courage for that one!

But yeah, makes the first night woes forgettable! Shall look forward to more good night and more eyepieces (arriving tomorrow) and my new planisphere, and a new finder scope, and a seat, and....and....and....remortgaging the house!

Clear Skies!

[Charic]

Marky1973.........The 5mm BST is a nice lens, but its at the maximum end of practical use for the Dobsonian. Its great on the Moon, and Jupiter was really good for me during my last session. You need really good seeing conditions. So don't be alarmed, if its just not quite right on the night. If you Barlow it at 2.25X then you might just see a blurry image because at 540x your overcooking your demand. 

The 8mm is a Fine lens to replace the stock 10mm. This Barlowed would give the equivalent 4mm. That then could have made your decision as to whether you needed the 5mm or just  be satisfied with the 8mm+ Barlow. I wanted to buy a full set in any brand, right from the start, Meade 4000 being my initial choice when I joined SGL.  But I'm happy with my choice, and at the end of the Day, I have the opportunity to frame each subject accordingly, to get the best image!

[Marky1973]

Hi Charic - yeah I was umming and ahhing between the 5mm and the 8mm that you recommended - and was at work, so ended up with a snap decision before my boss saw me on ebay.......I was looking at getting a big range of mags across the board and forecasting a  set of BST EPs such as 5/8/12/16/32 if they are available - the 8 to replace the stock 10 as you say, and keep the stock 25 for now as it seems to do a decent job (the 10 seems to suffer a little). With the barlow - which apparently works at both 2.25x and 1.3x I thought this would have me set up......but I can see what you are saying about the 8mm - maybe the 5 and the 8 would be overkill....too many decisions....I guess I can return the 5 and get the 8mm if I don't open it.....thanks for the comments and thoughts though - all very helpful!

[Marky1973]

Well last night was a good night.....although the seeing was pretty poor at times, and the clouds rolled in at about 10:45, I did get to see the double transition on Jupiter, some great views of a very round and very bright moon, a first viewing of Mars (fuzzy and wobbly, but very definitely a planet!) and, perhaps by chance a sighting of M3 - very vague, but where it was supposed to be, so hopefully I can claim that one! As the bright moon disappears, I am hoping we can get some better views of some of the Messier objects...I'll need to make myself a checklist!

And, Charic, you were right - the 5mm was a little too close to the limits of the scope......so I swapped it for the 8mm, which is much better - still a victim to the conditions but, ultimately, a better choice.

If I get some time i might have to write up a "review" of the dob and my experiences.....

[Charic]

Marky1973.........Don't feel you have to buy a full set of eyepieces. Most often the advice is to get a High, Mid and Low powered EP to cover the 3 main areas. But although I wont buy TeleVue EP's I still read their advice, and its said that you should always try to fill the frame as best as you can, so a set of lenses, offers me that option. It's also often quoted that a single optical lens is often better than a zoom or a Barlowed lens, due to the amount of glass in the optical train.

Use that 5mm on Jupiter to good effect on perfect nights, or try the Moon. The Terminator is just awesome on high power.

For a wide angle. the BST's stop at 25mm. So your needing to look elsewhere. Also your often better with a 2" barrel. That brings in the 2" adaptor( supplied with telescope), and then 2" filters ect.  A single 2" filter to enhance the sky, or reduce street light pollution to some degree may help, But don't consider Barlowing the wider apertures, just not worth it. My two choices were the GSO Superview and the Panaview, which is slightly dearer. 

With the EP's I have at present I can go from 480x down to 37x, but these mean nothing unless looking at the Moon at high power, or other targets in perfect conditions. Foe me. just fill the frame as best as I can.  Image scale is really only important if I were having to take proper images with the DSLR. If I can just see a Planet, no matter how small, its good enough for me. I`ll need bigger for bigger/better image scale/resolution. 

EDIT* Its a hard choice, because I like all my lenses, but the 8mm was my first choice, and a good one, followed by the 18mm. That covers any issues with the supplied SW Ep's. Apart from the BST 25mm at a special price, I purchased  the whole set from Alan at Skys!.  You now have an 8mm plus the two SW Ep's) I would try for a 32mm next. . You could go the 12mm BST and Barlow it, giving you the 6mm /12mm combination, as you felt the 5mm was just a little to tight. Also you can Barlow the 8mm to give 4mm, but again may be too much for some objects except the Moon. remember DSO's ect are better captured at low power wide angle, and DARK SKIES?

[Marky1973]

Hi Charic - I should clarify that Alan at Skys the Limit very kindly agreed to swap out the 5mm for the 8mm, so I haven't kept the 5mm......great service by the way, ordered the 5mm monday, arrived Tuesday, contacted Alan Wedensday for the return, ordered the 8mm, which arrived thursday, posted the 5mm back on Thursday, full refund on Friday....can't fault him at all, superb service.

So I now have the 8mm BST and the stock 10 and 25mm EPs, with  a Baader Planatarium Barlow that works at 1.3x and 2.25x - which, all in all, gives me potential magnificiation from 48x up to about 340x - which should be more than enough for me to be getting on with! The moon is pretty impressive under the 8mm and managed to get a few afocal shots with the 25mm EP using just my phone....should all be enough to help me find my way around and figure out the best way to use the scope.

I'll stick with these for a while and get used to using them and maybe think about a wider EP is a month or so...once I am really settled and fully understand it all, then I might thing about a set of 2" EPs.....but I do need to find my feet properly for now......and push myself into the world of collimation.....although I did a star test (I think) last night and defocussed completely from a centralised star and it gave me an image of a pretty symetrical donut.....so presuming I am not too far out at the moment....? Which will give me some time to watch some YouTube collimation videos and try and figure out what the hell they are all on about.

In the meantime, I shall keep checking the weather and plan for my first Saturn viewing at the weekend.....

[Charic]

Yeah......understood the 5/8mm swap #31. A set of 2" EP's gets expensive due to the extra glass.  You will always get the wider views and more eye relief, but its going to be very expensive to have a high mag EP's with wide view unless you shed many pounds towards the honourable salesperson! But your wise to test what you already have for now. The Moon is stunning at 32mm and doesn't shift as fast through your view as opposed to an 8mm?

[Marky1973]

Oh...yeah....I can't even remember what I have written! Must be getting old.....

And the moon was fantastic last night through the 25mm....very bright though....had spots in my eyes are looking at it!

[Charic]

There should be  a small aperture hole in the dust cap on the main tube. If you remove this cap (store the cap on the raised part - only one comes off?) this will reduce the brightness somewhat. It also reduces the Aperture overall, but negligible on the Moon. You can also wear Sunglasses. These are the two obvious cheapest methods, or you can spend some money on a Moon filter. I bought a Moon filter, but just hand held, it doesn't seem to dim. Still need to try on the scope.

[Marky1973]

Ha! Thanks Charic.....I was wondering why there was a small cap on the main dust cap......that saves me having to ask a stupid question.....presumed it was something like that....honest.....

[Marky1973]

Oh,and just seen your edit......yes M42 and M43 - my first Messiers, were much easier to see in the 25mm than the 10mm - certainly more definition around the cloud - just been difficult to see with the moon getting brighter and brighter - as beautiful as it is, I'm looking forward to it disappearing for a bit to see how the Dob performs in a darker sky.....then i need to find a better site with less lighting around......