First night with my telescope

[sound]

Hello Everyone

Have been a member of the forum for the last month or so but this is my first post and firstly I would like to say I have found loads of invaluable information, help and advice and thanks to the members for answering my messages with question and queries.

As a result of this on Friday I took possession my Skywatcher 150p, with goto on an EQ3 mount.

Saturday I put it together and eagerly awaited night time, that after did a bit more reading on how to align it ready for my nights viewing thinking this is gonna be a doddle.

Boy was I wrong Saturday night came set the scope up in the garden , and thought great here we go , an hour and half later I was still messing around with it trying to get it level , polar align it , re-adjusting the view finder and probably the hardest thing for me was getting my eyes used to looking through the eyepieces, and to cap it all I was getting colder and colder despite a jacket on.

So my actual viewing time was extremely limited and I basically didn’t see anything of significant interest and felt somewhat deflated by the whole experience.

However Sunday night came completely different story , having previously marked the position of the tripod in the garden the night before , and then doing a few more minor adjustments to the alignment wearing a further layer of clothes I was up and viewing in about ten minutes absolutely fantastic.

Actually seeing the moon in a lot more detail was amazing, and when I located Saturn and started to view it I thought wow this is amazing.

I know that I have to still do a few more fine tweaks to the alignment in order for the goto to work a little more accurately and start to learn the sky myself but I can honestly say that whilst the first night was somewhat disheartening and a bit shambolic due to my lack of experience I would say to any other newbies out on there first night stick with it , and whilst the first night might not be a great success , I am sure the second night will be.

Best Wishes

Phil

[pvaz]

EQ mounts have a bit of a learning curve so that's normal that you're struggling with it. With a few more sessions you'll be ready to give lessons on how to use an EQ!

Use a few layers of cloths, the worst thing is to feel discomfort while outside. I use wool cloths beneath and water/wind resistant pants and coat with hood on top.

Take your time during the day to understand how the mount moves, how to do a meridian flip, etc. Also align the finder during the day on a distant object so you wont need to fiddle with it in the dark. Just don't point at the sun!

[Chris H]

You'll have it well and truly figured out in no time at all. I've just read your thread about adding some new eyepieces and now having read this one two I wouldn't invest in any just yet take you time to work out what you like to observe most and then tailor your collection (believe me it will become a collection) to your needs. Whilst your working that out save some more money and you can get something that will be an excellent addition to your astronomy gear.

[orionhunter]

all i can say is that the first view of saturn you ever see, makes up for everything else.

im still in awe of of it all.

(like a child and im nearly 60!).

[HawkEyes]

that is exactly what happened to me, it took me the whole of the first night to fighure it all out and the next night offered brilliant views of saturn and 2 of its moon along with the moon in incredible detail. i have just got to say that the most fustrating thing about astronomy is the weather; its a real pain