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Hello from Worcestershire

Spile

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Spile

Spile

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hi all

Up at 4am this morning to point my Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian at the heavens for the first time.

Very happy with first two targets - Orion Nebula (before it sank) and Pleiades.

As there were no planets or moon I had to wait until 7am for Venus to rise. Resolved but surprised and a little disappointed not to see a crescent.  My previous scope was a cheap 2" refractor and crescent Venus was easily seen. However that was forty-five years ago and I've only had 8x40 Olympus binoculars in the intervening years!

Lessons (re)learnt

  1. Stellarium and SkEye are VERY impressive but I still love my 1971 Norton
  2. An Avon toiletries bag is a perfect place to hold eyepieces, lens caps and tools
  3. Feet are colder, backs are stiffer and bending over is harder in 2020 than in 1972
  4. Yoga teachers' recommend a viewfinder without a right angle eye-piece
  5. If my old refractor was Sophia Loren then my Newtonian is Jenny Agutter
  6. Small, folding steps are also comfortable place to sit and observe
  7. Put thick walking socks on over a thinner pair at the start of observation periods
  8. Walking boots are better insulators than trainers and both transfer mud  outdoors<>indoors very efficiently
  9. Just because you can't see mud in the dark does not mean that it is not there when you go indoors
  10. Your partner may not wish to see Venus at 6.45am
  11. Just because SkEye tells you that the Spindle Galaxy is visible from your location does not mean that you can find it on your first date with Dobo.
  12. Just because you can find Alkaid, does not mean you can find the Whirlpool Galaxy
  13. Up means down and left means right makes pointing difficult.
  14. Sometimes just looking though the eyepiece at a load of dim stars is wonderful especially when you think what those little dots actually are, how old they are and how far away they are!
  15. Patience is a good thing - M51 will still be there tomorrow (weather permitting)
  16. Plan what you want to see at least the night before
  17. Just because you can see Andromeda my moving your telescope in a different part of the garden, does not mean that moving your telescope is a good thing to do.
  18. In terms of easily finding things, my binoculars are better than my telescope 
  19. I need a finder scope on my finder scope!
  20. FLO are a nice company to deal with - Hi Grant!
  21. You can find the ISS by "accident" without planning a view
  22. The amount of traffic on roads today compared to  45 years ago equates to the number of man-made objects that pass across your eyepiece
  23. The number of man-made objects that pass your eyepiece is alluring and frightening at the same time
  24. You do not need a hearing aid to Skywatch - yay!
  25. A small section of plastic pipe makes a good finder for a finder
  26. Learning star patterns helps you to find "difficult" objects
  27. Starting with M1 may not be the best / easiest way to start a Messier tick list  
  28. When Tina Turner sang "Simply the Best" was she thinking about viewing features on the moon through a telescope?
  29. Doctors should prescribe star gazing to insomniacs
  30. If Castor is the gin of the sky are its partners the tonic or the ice?
  31. Holding a phone to an eyepiece to capture the moon is like balancing a pencil on its flat end
  32. Holding a phone to an eyepiece to capture a planet is like balancing a pencil on its pointy end
Edited by Spile
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Zermelo

Zermelo

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Spile said:

Hi all

Up at 4am this morning to point my Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian at the heavens for the first time.

Very happy with first two targets - Orion Nebula (before it sank) and Pleiades.

As there were no planets or moon I had to wait until 7am for Venus to rise. Resolved but surprised and a little disappointed not to see a crescent.  My previous scope was a cheap 2" refractor and crescent Venus was easily seen. However that was forty-five years ago and I've only had 8x40 Olympus binoculars in the intervening years!

Lessons (re)learnt

  1. Stellarium and SkEye are VERY impressive but I still love my 1971 Norton
  2. An Avon toiletries bag is a perfect place to hold eyepieces, lens caps and tools
  3. Feet are colder, backs are stiffer and bending over is harder in 2020 than in 1972
  4. Yoga teachers' recommend a viewfinder without a right angle eye-piece
  5. If my old refractor was Sophia Loren then my Newtonian is Jenny Agutter
  6. Small, folding steps are also comfortable place to sit and observe
  7. Put thick walking socks on over a thinner pair at the start of observation periods
  8. Walking boots are better insulators than trainers and both transfer mud  outdoors<>indoors very efficiently
  9. Just because you can't see mud in the dark does not mean that it is not there when you go indoors
  10. Your partner may not wish to see Venus at 6.45am
  11. Just because SkEye tells you that the Spindle Galaxy is visible from your location does not mean that you can find it on your first date with Dobo.
  12. Just because you can find Alkaid, does not mean you can find the Whirlpool Galaxy
  13. Up means down and left means right makes pointing difficult.
  14. Sometimes just looking though the eyepiece at a load of dim stars is wonderful especially when you think what those little dots actually are, how old they are and how far away they are!
  15. Patience is a good thing - M51 will still be there tomorrow (weather permitting)
  16. Plan what you want to see at least the night before
  17. Just because you can see Andromeda my moving your telescope in a different part of the garden, does not mean that moving your telescope is a good thing to do.
  18. In terms of easily finding things, my binoculars are better than my telescope 
  19. I need a finderscope on my finderscope!
  20. FLO are a nice company to deal with - Hi Grant!
  21. You can find the ISS by "accident" without planning a view
  22. The amount of traffic on roads today compared to  45 years ago equates to number of man-made objects that pass across your eye piece
  23. The number of man-made objects that pass your eyepiece is alluring and frightening at the same time
  24. You need a hearing aid to Skywatch - yay!

Nice list.
I've seen Jenny Agutter compared with many things over her career, but never a reflecting telescope.  I'm still waiting for my RACI finder to appear, so meanwhile I'm continuing to abuse my poor vertebrae. Have fun with the dob.

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W0nderste

W0nderste

Posted
Posted

He He,

that just reminded me the first time I saw Saturn's rings and I raced upstairs and woke my wife up so she could share the experience.

apparently waking her up at 2am with cold hands was not so exciting for her.......

welcome to SGL

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SStanford

SStanford

Posted
Posted
13 minutes ago, W0nderste said:

He He,

that just reminded me the first time I saw Saturn's rings and I raced upstairs and woke my wife up so she could share the experience.

apparently waking her up at 2am with cold hands was not so exciting for her.......

welcome to SGL

I had a very similar situation. Seems I'm the only one in the house who cares about seeing Saturn's rings or Jupiter's moons... 

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Spile

Spile

Posted
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Posted (edited)

I made up for the lack of planets this morning by ticking off another four tonight. Our moon was a delight and Andromeda a nice bonus.

Note to self - everything up there will still be there tomorrow and the day after. 

Now celebrating with a G+T . Have a wonderful Christmas everyone and delighted to be a member of this community .

 

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Zermelo

Zermelo

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, Spile said:

Note to self - everything up there will still be there tomorrow and the day after. 

with the possible exception of Betelgeuse.  And even then, it would be replaced by something even more interesting.

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Marvin Jenkins

Marvin Jenkins

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, Spile said:

Hi all

Up at 4am this morning to point my Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian at the heavens for the first time.

Very happy with first two targets - Orion Nebula (before it sank) and Pleiades.

As there were no planets or moon I had to wait until 7am for Venus to rise. Resolved but surprised and a little disappointed not to see a crescent.  My previous scope was a cheap 2" refractor and crescent Venus was easily seen. However that was forty-five years ago and I've only had 8x40 Olympus binoculars in the intervening years!

Lessons (re)learnt

  1. Stellarium and SkEye are VERY impressive but I still love my 1971 Norton
  2. An Avon toiletries bag is a perfect place to hold eyepieces, lens caps and tools
  3. Feet are colder, backs are stiffer and bending over is harder in 2020 than in 1972
  4. Yoga teachers' recommend a viewfinder without a right angle eye-piece
  5. If my old refractor was Sophia Loren then my Newtonian is Jenny Agutter
  6. Small, folding steps are also comfortable place to sit and observe
  7. Put thick walking socks on over a thinner pair at the start of observation periods
  8. Walking boots are better insulators than trainers and both transfer mud  outdoors<>indoors very efficiently
  9. Just because you can't see mud in the dark does not mean that it is not there when you go indoors
  10. Your partner may not wish to see Venus at 6.45am
  11. Just because SkEye tells you that the Spindle Galaxy is visible from your location does not mean that you can find it on your first date with Dobo.
  12. Just because you can find Alkaid, does not mean you can find the Whirlpool Galaxy
  13. Up means down and left means right makes pointing difficult.
  14. Sometimes just looking though the eyepiece at a load of dim stars is wonderful especially when you think what those little dots actually are, how old they are and how far away they are!
  15. Patience is a good thing - M51 will still be there tomorrow (weather permitting)
  16. Plan what you want to see at least the night before
  17. Just because you can see Andromeda my moving your telescope in a different part of the garden, does not mean that moving your telescope is a good thing to do.
  18. In terms of easily finding things, my binoculars are better than my telescope 
  19. I need a finderscope on my finderscope!
  20. FLO are a nice company to deal with - Hi Grant!
  21. You can find the ISS by "accident" without planning a view
  22. The amount of traffic on roads today compared to  45 years ago equates to number of man-made objects that pass across your eye piece
  23. The number of man-made objects that pass your eyepiece is alluring and frightening at the same time
  24. You do not need a hearing aid to Skywatch - yay!

What a list. Sophia Loren and Jenny Agutter must be at the top. I started this madness three years ago, how have you survived?

You appear lucid, intelligent, driven and above all full of energy. I hope I meet you one day, shake your hand and a bit of whatever you have rubs off.

Marvin

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