What can i expect to see through a Skywatcher Explorer 200p?

[The_PSY3NTIST]

Hi Guys, Has anyone got any pictures that have been taken through a Skywatcher Explorer 200p (8") ? Mine should have been here by now but the snow seems to have ground the shop to a halt. Thanks

[tinvek]

trouble with pictures is they always show more than what you can see with the naked eye.

suffice it to say you'll be able to see a lot of faint "fuzzies" and items like the orion nebula or andromeda galaxy will be nice and clear, you may be able to see a hint of colour with the orion nebula.

best idea though is not to get any expectations and just enjoy what the scope reveals, no matter how we try to rein in our expectations, we are almost influenced by those pesky pictures into expecting just a little bit more than what the scope delivers.

just enjoy it and discover the scope's capabilities for yourself

[Matthew.Blake]

The Orion nebula looks blue and, well, nebulous through mine. Sadly Andromeda is nearly always just above a street lamp when I can get out so I can only see the core and usually only with averted vision.

[Doc]

The Orion nebula looks blue and, well, nebulous through mine. Sadly Andromeda is nearly always just above a street lamp when I can get out so I can only see the core and usually only with averted vision.

Strange as M42 always looks green to me. Depending how dark your observing site is you should see most of the Messier objects, but I agree they won't be as astounding as the photo's but just remember most of these are hundred's of thousands light years away some evem greater thats whats amazing.

[barkis]

You will get a lot of exciting views through your 8" reflector.

You will be able to resolve stars in globular cluster, great views of open clusters, see the Crab Nebula, Orion Nebula, Good sights of Jupiter, Mars, Venus, when not too close to the sun.

There are lots of objects that are available to see through the scope. A piece of advice though, some objects are faint, and although you may feel a little disappointed, don't be. Remember many of these things a colossal distance from us here on earth, and a cursory glance will reveal little, spend time on them, as your eye becomes accustomed to the faint light, you will see more, and when you think you can't see anything, just tap your scope gently, and what was invisible will probably reveal itself. You can use averted vision too, which simply means looking with the corner of your eye.

The Orion Nebula is a magnificent sight, so make sure you really feast your eye on it, and not just a cursory glance.

Enjoy your new telescope. You're going to love it. Another tip, don't try and over magnify anything, use the eyepiece that gives the best result for you, and according to the seeing conditions. Some nights will be better than others. Keep an eye on your scopes collimation, that is important to it giving you the best performance it can.

Ron.

[mdstuart]

With an 8 inch dob you can certainly find over 200 galaxies...but they are pretty much all very small very faint sometimes wispy but varied in shape light grey blobs...

BUT they are still AMAZING...

Try these starting with the brightest ones. Best at the moment are those in Andromeda, Perseus and UMA after 10pm..

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?k...2QUZPT3c&hl=en

Mark

[The_PSY3NTIST]

Thanks for the tips guys Cant wait for it to arrive! Thanks for the spreadsheet aswel.. Think there's a steep learning curve ahead would be good to see some pictures from someones 8inch just to see what its capable on the astrophotography side of things

[Astro_Baby]

You could also take a look here http://www.12dstring.me.uk/fov.htm - set it up for Sky-watcher 200 and a 10mm or 25mm eyepieces and it will give you an idea.

Its not perfect and you wont see color as in the pics but it might give a rough approximation.

You could also take a look at this thread http://stargazerslounge.com/beginners-help-advice/81096-what-expect-my-telescope.html the scope under discussion was a bit smaller than yours but it may give some pointers and some reading for you.

[John]

While you can gather some general ideas of what you can see through a scope I feel it's rather misleading to talk about specifics because what a particualar person can or can't see on a particular night at a particular location will vary widely from someone else using the same equipment. The size of scope is only one factor which determines what can acually be seen, and sometiemes not the major one. Other factors are:

- seeing conditions (these can vary minute to minute, hour to hour)

- light pollution

- other light such as moonlight

- the experience of the observer

- the dark adaptation of the observers eye and any optical issues they have

- whether the scope is properly collimated and cooled

- optical quality of other componants, eg: eyepieces

So when you read that your scope can show the great red spot on Jupiter, the Cassini division in Saturns rings, the spiral arms of the galaxy M51, it can, but all the above factors will influence what you actually see through the eyepiece on a given occasion.

I'm not trying to dampen enthusiasm in any way - an 8" newtonian is a very capable scope, but it's actually rather difficult to predict exactly what you will be able to see with it. One thing is for sure - the more you use it , the more you will see with it !.

Have fun

[Macavity]

Only two targets, but perhaps the right order of magnitude (sic!) re. what I see with a mere 5" scope on M31. And that with averted vision thrown in too. <G> But I think, with a 10mm eyepiece (f=1200mm) it hints at some sort of "threshold" for viewing DSOs at around 8-10"? Spiral structure becomes clear-ish for apertures > 12" etc.

Eyepiece Simulator - Dobsonian Telescope Community MyDob.co.uk

I sense it would not be beyond the wit of wo/man to improve (slightly) on such things (to illustrate brightness, resolution) since this is a common enough question. Of course results should be take "*** grana salis", but are better than nothing?