I caught Jupiter tonight

[Wordy]

1 hour ago, pblackwell said:

Hey thats the telescope I got a few months ago. How are you finding the Skywatcher Explorer 130M?

If I'm honest I got it last year and haven't really used it that often, got it out last night as I've decided I'm really going to get into astronomy this year. 1st time I've seen Jupiter through it and although it was small I could see the bands & 5(I think) moons and it was amazing, seen Saturn through it as well and that was just as good, could see the ring clearly.

The mount vibrated a lot even with the slightest knock & the altitude adjuster seems to have jammed in place(going to have a look at it tonight), also using it without the motor can be a pain as the fine tuning adjusters seem to come lose after a couple of turns. I don't think it will be long before I upgrade it.

[Mak the Night]

8 hours ago, Wordy said:

If I'm honest I got it last year and haven't really used it that often, got it out last night as I've decided I'm really going to get into astronomy this year. 1st time I've seen Jupiter through it and although it was small I could see the bands & 5(I think) moons and it was amazing, seen Saturn through it as well and that was just as good, could see the ring clearly.

The mount vibrated a lot even with the slightest knock & the altitude adjuster seems to have jammed in place(going to have a look at it tonight), also using it without the motor can be a pain as the fine tuning adjusters seem to come lose after a couple of turns. I don't think it will be long before I upgrade it.

The slow motion controls are tricky to fit on and there is a bit of a knack to it. The male connector on the mount has an indent on one side and it is best to connect the female end of the slo mo to it with the thumb screw securely over the indent so when tightened the end of the thumb screw sits in the indent. Usually, that secures it. Occasionally they pop off for me as well lol.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Congrats on catching the king of planets. Jupiter is always special. Not just all the dynamics on the disk, but also the stately dance of the moons. Never ceased to amaze.

[Wordy]

10 hours ago, Mak the Night said:

The slow motion controls are tricky to fit on and there is a bit of a knack to it. The male connector on the mount has an indent on one side and it is best to connect the female end of the slo mo to it with the thumb screw securely over the indent so when tightened the end of the thumb screw sits in the indent. Usually, that secures it. Occasionally they pop off for me as well lol.

Yeah I know to get the screws lined lined up with the indent it's just they keep moving out while turning. 

I'm using these issues as an excuse to upgrade to a better mount anyway

[Mak the Night]

3 hours ago, Wordy said:

Yeah I know to get the screws lined lined up with the indent it's just they keep moving out while turning. 

I'm using these issues as an excuse to upgrade to a better mount anyway

Oh right, that's a pretty good excuse lol. Yeah, they aren't a very logical or intuitive design if you ask me anyway. A few nights ago I set my 102mm Mak up on its EQ 2 and was sitting comfortably facing south (viewing Jupiter IIRC) thinking I had set everything up well (I double check the slo mo connectors usually) and really enjoying a good session with my bino's when one of the slo mo's came off as I turned it. I think that's a pretty good reason for me to start looking at better mounts!

[Linda]

Your first recognizable glimps of the planets are great, even if it is through a tree. I saw Saturn for the first time this morning, also partly through a tree. But luckily it came out of the trees as well. Still awesome to clearly see planets that stand so far away from us. Let alone all the DSO's that are even further away.