First light SW 300P GoTo

[Gazabone]

After several weeks deliberation I decided to upgrade my 10" SW 250 P (manual) to the 300P GoTo.  I deliberated between 12" and 14" and after some kind people on SGL gave estimates of the size of the 14" base I chose what I thought would be the sensible option of the 12  over the 14 (despite suffering a mild bout of aperture fever).  Having received the scope on Tuesday last week I'm very grateful for the good folks on SGL, I think the 14 would have been more than I could sensibly handle!

Such a shame that the moon was well up on Sunday night for its first outing but I'm well chuffed with it.  M81 was rather washed out but Jupiter blew me away.  The GRS almost jumped out at me, fantastic sight!

I then turned my attention to M57 and saw more detail in it then I've ever seen before, especially with a 7mm nagler.

M13 was utterly resplendent, I found it best observed with a 17mm Hyperion, certainly far better than the 13mm.  I saw far more individual stars in the cluster then I've ever seen before.

I finished the evening with a peek at M51 and despite the bright moon, I could still discern a rough outline with averted vision and the two cores were quite obvious. I can only imagine how it will look on a decent clear, dark and cloudless night. 

The scope arrived well packaged from FLO and the base assembly instructions were clear enough to follow, I really enjoyed the fun of putting it all together.  The base and scope are fairly heavy and I wouldn't dream of lifting them both as a complete unit as I used to with the 10" however, individually, they are quite manageable if a little cumbersome.  Setting it up for use is straightforward and alignment was beautifully easy.  It holds collimation well, especially given its a collapsible tube.  

Overall a real joy to use and I'm really looking forward to take it to a good dark site in the reasonably near future.

Happy viewing all. ??

[laudropb]

Very nice report on your first light. You sound well cuffed with the scope and I look forward to your report from dark skies.

[John]

Great report !

12" aperture is a really nice balance of real deep sky potential and practical managability by 1 person.

I've been tempted to move to 14" or 16" occasionally but when I've seen such scopes I've been reminded why 12" is the "right" size for me and my observing circumstances.

[rockystar]

Nice report and very jealous:)

 

[niallk]

Congrats  Hope you get many clear nights to enjoy it!