first light! (and upgrade suggestions)

[ak47]

after couple of months stargazing with binos i got my first scope yesterday!

it is the well known skywatcher MAK127, i like to keep things simple so i paired it

with an AZ4 mount instead of the Synscan AZ mount that usually comes with it. 

along with the 2 stock eyepieces (10mm & 25mm) the shop owner gave am a Skywatcher 6mm “ultra wide” free of charge. 

 

i went to an amply parking lot above my university, its really dark at night since the place is quiet

far from any buildings and there are no street lights around, still a bit light polluted but it makes a nice place

to observe without leaving town. 

the MAK and the AZ4 make an awesome garb n’ go setup, it took me about 5 min’ to hook up 

+ 10 min cool down and i could watch the moon at 150x and it was bright and sharp even at 250x with the 6mm.

i didn’t have any observation plan nor brought a sky map with me, so i began to watch the planets,

jupiter: a great view, though it was difficult to notice any fine details i could clearly see its lovely strips and its moons also were clearly visible.

saturn: what an amazing sight! i actually screamed “omg!” the moment it showed up in the eyepiece.

mars: a small red disk, i think i saw its whitish pole but it also could be CA, so i don’t really know.

then i went on some double stars, epsilon lyrae etc… didn’t try any DSO because i didn’t know where to look for them, but still I’m very satisfied for the first night with the scope.

 

i made a list of some things i want to upgrade in the near future and would be happy to hear what you guys think about it:

1. a rigel quick finder: the RDF that came stock with the scope is not that great and it also located in a really uncomfortable angle (can be seen in the pics),

because i can mount the rigel wherever i want on the OTA it could be a great upgrade, and it also fairly cheap.

2. wide angle eyepieces: the stock eyepiece are not that good, while the 25 is ok the 10 is just awful to watch. i thought

to get a skywatcher 9mm ultra wide (the 6mm is amazing!) instead of the 10, and an baader hyperion 24mm that should

give me the widest FOV i can get with the mak. I’m even thinking about saving a bit and getting a TV panoptic 24, would it be an overkill in my scope? I'm not planning the acquire more scopes in the near future...

 

anyway, I’m really glad i chose the MAK127, it is compact and easy to assemble while still providing great views,

next time I’m going to try some darker skies and look for DSOs!

 

here some pics of the MAK  + a white smudge that suppose to be saturn taken with my smartphone through the eyepiece (I’m a lousy photographer :])

[NGC 1502]

Looks like you have a nice simple and fast set up outfit   it will get lots of use because of the no hassle approach, just the way I do astronomy myself.

If you saw a brighter area on Mars limb, it probably was the northern polar cap.

Eyepieces are tough to advise on.  The 24mm Panoptic is a cracking eyepiece, but as you suggest, it's overkill for a Mak, the long focal ratio is forgiving on eyepieces. If you do get one, you will love it, and if ever you do get another scope later on, the Pan would be future proof as it will work well with any scope. But you could save yourself a bundle on something much less expensive that will be good with the Mak, tough call....

I'd also get a nice mid power EP myself, something around 12mm.

That RDF looks very uncomfortably positioned, is it possible to mount the shoe somewhere else ?   (  Don't know how that shoe is attached )

A Rigel would be nice, it won't fit the shoe you have, but comes with its own mount.

HTH  Ed.

[swamp thing]

Sounds like your enjoying the scope, great stuff. A quick set up will always see plenty of star light.

Lots of fun to be had hunting those DSO's in the future

I agree with Ed about the Panoptic, great eyepiece, but, needed in a Mak......not really.

Enjoy yourself out there.

[ak47]

That RDF looks very uncomfortably positioned, is it possible to mount the shoe somewhere else ?   (  Don't know how that shoe is attached )

A Rigel would be nice, it won't fit the shoe you have, but comes with its own mount.

HTH  Ed.

the RDF's mount is screwed to the OTA itself so unfortunately i can't move it to another location (without drilling in the OTA, and i don't want to)

the rigel's mount can be attached with a double sided tape in any location i wish, a decent solution.

[Stu_]

Congratulations on your new setup.

I've just attached a Rigel to my 127mak, it's nice & light so it doesn't throw out the balance, I've positioned it at 90* to the right of the original bracket & slightly forward so I don't hit my head on it! I'll be using the original bracket with my RACI finder.

I find the 9mm X-cel LX gives good viewing on planets @ 167x mag. On Mars I can see planetary detail, on Saturn it easily resolves the casini division & on Jupiter I've seen transits & the GRS with it.

I'm still pondering a low mag EP, as the 25mm is the best of the stock ones, as it only gives slight ca on the moon, but a moon filter helps, I've had reasonable views of the Orion nebula & star clusters with it.

For DSOs, a short reflector or refractor will work well on your mount. The AZ4 is on my wish list.

[soundwave]

Hey AK, huge congratz! 

Glad to hear your night was awesome! And many more to come, I'm sure!

If you want, you can download "SkyView" (or any other similar app) to you phone.

It uses the GPS and Gyro to let you point the phone at the sky and see what's there whenever you want

Congratz again!