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Not much to see, but what a night


NorfolkGazer

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So I put the scope out to acclimatise at around 1900, hoping that the clouds would clear. I know that I wouldn't get to see much as the moon is waxing to full and it was so bright that any DSO would be nigh on impossible. That wasn't an issue however as tonight was more about getting used to moving the scope and getting to grips with the Telrad. 

I'd read a little about star hopping with the Telrad and how you could put the reticle on various of the apps to find DSO's so I wanted to spend a little time just 'getting used' to lining it up and getting comfortable with it. So, having previously aligned the Telrad with the scope a coupe of days ago in daylight, I wanted to see how accurately I had done it and how easy it was to find objects with it. Orion was fairly visible, but the sword was pretty bleached out, not really visible at all, more a faint ghosting of itself, but after putting the reticle of the Telrad in the rough area and turning the power down so it was very feint, I could just see the sword in the inner circle. 

Using the stock 20mm EP that came with the scope, the sword was smack in the middle of the FOV, and with a little fiddle with the focus, it was soon sharp and visible. To say I was like a kid in a sweetshop would be an understatement. The moon was too bright to make out the Nebula, although if I looked at peripheral rather than straight through the exit pupil, there was a very slight suggestion of it being there. I seriously can't wait for the moon to wax over to new, as I am now more confident in using the scope and Telrad to pick out what I want to see.

Swinging round to the west a little and dropping in the 4mm stock EP (way to much mag for the scope, but just about useable) I managed to bring Mars into view, and got the shiver down the spine thinking about Perseverance roaming around up there.

So, all in all, not a lot to see through the EP, but a fantastic night of discovery in getting to grips with the scope and finder.  The clouds parted every now and then to allow me to play a little and I have to say, for a beginner scope, after tweaking it here and there with the additions recommended by the good folks here at StarGazers Lounge, it is a great introduction to Astronomy. 

The next investment is the BST EP's, and I will use this scope for a while to get used to finding and viewing, but there will definitely be a new scope purchased before the year is out. 

Tonight was a good night. 😄

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