StellaLyra 12" First Light

[Mr Spock]

It didn't take too long for my patio to (almost) dry out after being flooded all weekend. Time to whip the big fella out...

First job, in darkish twilight, was to fine tune the collimation. It took a few minutes to get there but looks good now. Next job was to align the finders - even easier. Then it was just waiting for the scope to cool as it had been in the house since delivery.

First target had to be M42. Starting with the 22mm (x69), the view was something else. I've never looked at M42 with anything larger than 250mm before. And despite my light polluted skies (mag 4.5 in that direction) I could detect a faint greenish hue. I could also make out the running man. With the 13mm in (x117) the 'wings' went beyond the edge of view. Switching back to the 22mm I was again struck by the amount of structure on view and the colour, now more easily seen. This was way better than the 10".

Next target was M1, the crab. A bit disappointing really. Just a faint smudge with a hint of detail. Maybe need a filter to do it justice. Nearby Σ742 looked brilliant with it's evenly matched components. Even at x69, 3.9" separation is wide and a doddle. With star shapes that small, I can see this scope going sub 1" easily.

One thing it's really good at is clusters. With the 22mm, M37 was spectacular. I could have spent hours just looking at that. Just idly scanning through Auriga was entertaining enough. I think the scope is going to get a lot of use just doing that.

Sirius looked clean and stable, but I didn't use enough magnification to tease the pup out. It was really bright though!

My only criticism is the mount. It might move easily but it's almost flimsy. Far too much like jelly. I'm not sure how it's going to do at high powers  The 16" I had my hands on last autumn was much sturdier.

[OK Apricot]

Glad you finally got the big lad out. Without getting to a good location under good skies, it'll never get the chance to do itself any justice. Seen M42 in amazing detail recently and your description hit home how much better a larger mirror will be. Really an awesome sight, isn't it? 

[wookie1965]

I do not need a big Dob I do not need a big Dob keep saying that to yourself Paul forget great reports like this you will get over them.😆

[cajen2]

1 hour ago, wookie1965 said:

I do not need a big Dob I do not need a big Dob keep saying that to yourself Paul forget great reports like this you will get over them.😆

No, you don't need a big dob, Paul.....a teeny weeny 8" would do you nicely!

Just come back in from running in mine...still having problems with finder focuser and alignment, as there's nothing far enough away to focus on: surrounded by houses here.

Still, some great views - I'm having to view old favourites just because I know where they are!

@Mr Spock you must be irritated with your mount! I have to say mine's great: either because my scope's lighter or I'm better at IKEA building than you! 🤣🤣🤣

 

[wookie1965]

I had a 200p and sold it I still regret that now. 

[Stu]

1 hour ago, cajen2 said:

Just come back in from running in mine...still having problems with finder focuser and alignment, as there's nothing far enough away to focus on: surrounded by houses here.

Once you’ve found something you can find easily, say M42, have you tried aligning on that?

[cajen2]

Yes, I went out again tonight and did exactly that! 😄👍 I still can't focus the RACI, though. I know what to do but it just doesn't seem to work. I get fuzzy blobs, which are often enough to guess which stars they are, but it isn't very satisfactory. I'm going to take it off the scope tomorrow and have a play with it.

[cajen2]

1 hour ago, wookie1965 said:

I had a 200p and sold it I still regret that now. 

Use it as an excuse to "upgrade" it to a StellaLyra! Having used both a Skywatcher 150p and the SL, I can honestly say that the optics are comparable, but everything else is just so much better on the SL.

A little birdie's just told me that @FLO are upgrading the SL 6", plus introducing some other new dobs.....👍

[Epick Crom]

Nice first light report @Mr Spock. M1 is a real nemesis of mine, only "seen" it once with averted vision so far. Tried for it last night but nothing again. The ash from the Tonga volcanic eruption is affecting seeing down here so that's my latest excuse for not seeing M1 yet again 😊

[Mr Spock]

I picked it up in the 102mm a few weeks ago. It's a bit misleading because it's larger than you think.

[Mr Spock]

On 21/02/2022 at 20:50, Mr Spock said:

My only criticism is the mount. It might move easily but it's almost flimsy. Far too much like jelly.

I've just had a good look at this. It's play in the base. I moves easily on the bearing but is also unsteady. I'll have to think of someway to make it more solid.

[Stu]

1 hour ago, Mr Spock said:

I've just had a good look at this. It's play in the base. I moves easily on the bearing but is also unsteady. I'll have to think of someway to make it more solid.

Do you think they are all likely to be that way, or is there a problem with your Michael? Have you checked with FLO?

[cajen2]

2 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

I've just had a good look at this. It's play in the base. I moves easily on the bearing but is also unsteady. I'll have to think of someway to make it more solid.

I have to say there's no play in the base of my 8". Is it worth taking the bearing apart again and maybe try the ring ball race the other way up?

[jetstream]

5 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

I've just had a good look at this. It's play in the base. I moves easily on the bearing but is also unsteady. I'll have to think of someway to make it more solid.

Great report, aperture really does make a difference. Is there a center bolt that you can tighten a bit to reduce the AZ bearing clearance?

[Mr Spock]

Just had the base to bits. There's a metal sleeve which fits around the az bolt and through the bearing plates. I removed that and the whole thing appears more stable. 

Next to attend to is the rocker box, which lives by its name... I've tightened the bolts but it makes no difference. 

[Mr Spock]

Second light. Collimation was way out. I had to redo it from scratch. Not sure why it would be so far out  Adjustment does seem a bit sloppy though.