Couple of questions

[HutchStar]

Hi all, so my telescope finally arrived this week. It's the skywatcher 200p dob, so far everything's going smoothly. Set it up ok, checked collimation which looked fine to me, got the finder scope lined up. Perfect.

Just 2 issues so far, was hoping for some advice.

1. I'm struggling to find any objects in the sky. I managed to find mars and the moon, but I've failed at finding specific stars/m31. I know the best way to find things is to star hop but when I look through the eye piece I struggle to work out which star is which. Any beginner tips?

 

2. When I was out tonight I got dew on both my eye pieces. I know I can get a dew shield for the telescope but is there anything I can do to stop it happening to my eye pieces? Or is there a way to dry them while I'm out? The scope was fine.

 

Thanks as always!

Edited November 3, 2020 by HutchStar

[Kon]

A beginner here as well (waiting for my 200 DOB to arrive) but stellarium is a good app to use. I also use nightsky on my iPad. They have been handy for some astrophotography.

[John]

If you can keep your eyepieces a little warmer than they outside temperature (in pockets or a foam lined case ?) they will have less tendency to mist / fog up.

A red dot / illuminated reticule finder can make getting the scope pointed at the right part of the sky easier. It can be combined on the scope with an optical finder for a really effective pairing. Using a low power eyepiece when initially observing through the scope to then confirm acquisition.

The Telrad or the Rigel Quikfinder are popular additions to a dobsonian alongside the optical finder. I have the Rigel on my 12 inch dob:

 

Edited November 3, 2020 by John

[IB20]

As per John’s advice, I have added a telrad reticule finder (this gets affected by dewing) alongside the straight-through 9x spotting scope that came with my 200p. I find they complement each other well.

The SkySafari app is my most used tool in navigating the night sky, I try and identify the constellations and orientate myself outside of looking through the scope first. Once I know where the object I want to find is, I can start to star hop from the brightest stars in the nearest constellations or asterisms, and I’ll use my lowest mag eyepiece to help do this. 
 

I keep my eyepieces indoors and only take the one I’m using outside to prevent them from dewing up.

[Sunshine]

I find that my tetrad is all i need when targeting objects, it helps greatly to know and identify the constellations containing the objects you are targeting as well. Using an app like SkySafari makes this a lot easier, once you've identified the constellation you can more easily position your scope through the tetrad (or other reticle finder) to where the object is relative to the stars of its host constellation. It takes some practice but, you will catch on fast, i can point my tetrad to a spot and almost every time, the object is within the fOV of m eyepiece, objects i cannot see naked eye. If you believe the object is close but cannot see it, slowly pan around gently guiding the scope, also, always start with a low power eyepiece when targeting. Using a high power eyepiece to target is like trying to spot a fly through a straw.

Edited November 3, 2020 by Sunshine

[Starwatcher2001]

When your eyepieces are not in the scope, keep them covered or in a pocket. One tip is to use a cardboard box, or better yet a plastic storage box, on it's side on a table next to the scope. You can use it like a cubby hole to put eyepieces, sky charts, notes, tablets etc to keep the dew off them. Taping a small red light to it makes a handy observing station.

Star-hopping is one of those skills that comes with practice. I always think it's worth playing during daylight looking at distant buildings and the like (away from the sun, obviously). Try to get used to how the scope feels, how far a "nudge" takes you both in the finder and the eyepiece. Get a sense of scale in terms of how much "sky" you're actually seeing through your finder and biggest eyepiece, and of course the orientation - which might be different between your eyepiece, finder and the sky itself.

Under the stars, find a constellation with some close bright stars, maybe Cassiopeia, Lyra or Delphinus and practice sweeping between them. You'll quickly develop "muscle memory" and within a short while panning around will become natural. 

I use a "goto" scope now which is easier, but feels somewhat "disconnected" from the sky itself. Kinda like the difference between striding through the countryside and taking a bus. Goto is quicker, but not as much fun.

[Louis D]

1. Try loading Skeye on your phone and then strapping it to a non-ferrous part of it or put a large block of foam in between and use it in DSC, push-to mode.  You can align on Mars and go from there.
2. Buy long eye relief eyepieces and wear eyeglasses at the eyepiece.  I've been doing this for 20+ years and have never had an eyepiece fog up.  The eyeglasses act as a vapor barrier to prevent body moisture from fogging the eye lens.

[AstroNebulee]

16 hours ago, HutchStar said:

Hi all, so my telescope finally arrived this week. It's the skywatcher 200p dob, so far everything's going smoothly. Set it up ok, checked collimation which looked fine to me, got the finder scope lined up. Perfect.

Just 2 issues so far, was hoping for some advice.

1. I'm struggling to find any objects in the sky. I managed to find mars and the moon, but I've failed at finding specific stars/m31. I know the best way to find things is to star hop but when I look through the eye piece I struggle to work out which star is which. Any beginner tips?

 

2. When I was out tonight I got dew on both my eye pieces. I know I can get a dew shield for the telescope but is there anything I can do to stop it happening to my eye pieces? Or is there a way to dry them while I'm out? The scope was fine.

 

Thanks as always!

Hi @HutchStar

A 9x50 right angled finderscope may help you star hop better as a good field of view and the sky is orientated the same as you look at it with your eye, eg right way up and right way round that makes it so much easier for me to star hop with my skywatcher 150p. Also a 32mm ep would be good to give you a wider field of view especially for M31 and M42, then once in the centre of view then you can change ep to a lower one to get more detail if you wish. Clear skies 

Edited November 4, 2020 by LeeHore7

[HutchStar]

Thanks all, lots of good advice here 

Hoping to get outside and have another go tonight. Kids go to bed at 8ish and its supposed to be clear until 10 so fingers crossed!

[Gfamily]

On 03/11/2020 at 22:51, HutchStar said:

1. I'm struggling to find any objects in the sky. I managed to find mars and the moon, but I've failed at finding specific stars/m31. I know the best way to find things is to star hop but when I look through the eye piece I struggle to work out which star is which. Any beginner tips?

As well as using apps as others have suggested, it can be an idea to take a pair of binoculars out with you as the wider field of view can make it easier for you to get  a better idea of where the scope needs to be pointed. 

They can be used as an intermediate stage between 'naked eye' and 'finderscope' 

You can also build your own star hop charts to try to familiarise yourself with how to move between the bright stars and your targets. Attached is one I prepared for hopping to M81 & M82 using Cartes de Ciel and MS Word 

Word 

[bomberbaz]

I would basically concur with all the advice above. Telrad or rigel finders used in conjunction with the provided finder scope works very well.

BTW @JohnI like your finder setup, looks like you can operate the two effectively with minimal head / body movement.

Regarding your eyepieces dewing up. Have you been putting the eyepieces into the rack on the dob base, if so don't bother. When not in use either put into your pocket to keep it warm, making sure there is nothing else in there (eg car keys) that could scratch the lens or buy a dedicated case to use for your eyepieces where they can be left when not in use.