Help with Skywatcher 130 needed

[RichD]

Hello,

I'm new to the forum and to astronomy and I've just bought my first scope, a Skywatcher 130 with motor drive.

I've been a bit of a star gazer since I was a kid, occasionally using binoculars but never had a telescope before.

After setting up without too much trouble I did a bit of Jupiter watching. I got a fairly clear view and I could see the 4 large moons but I could only see very, very faint detail on Jupiter, although it was still very impressive. Should I be able to see more?

The scope came with 2 eyepieces, 25mm and 10mm, and a Barlow lens. I was using the 10mm with Barlow. I'm not sure about the quality of these lenses or whether I need a more powerful lens.

Jupiter seemed very bright so I tried a moon filter, which is the only one I have, and I still got a pretty good view but I didn't see any more detail.

Should I be using a filter to look at Jupiter?

Any advice on improving and/or using this model Telescope would be very much appreciated.

[Zapp]

I have the same scope and with the standard eye pieces your view sounds about right, although it might be worth checking the collimation. I have invested in a new lens and the difference in quality is noticeable, I can make out more detail of jupitar even though it is a wide angle lens that I bought. Once I invest in a new barlow I hope I will be able to see more. Make sure you buy the right lens for your scope, you can over magnify which will make things less sharp.

The members market is a great place to pick up good deals on lenses, although you need 50 posts.

As for using a filter, i'm not sure if it would improve things as I don't have a filter to try with. I would be interested to know though!

[RichD]

I have the same scope and with the standard eye pieces your view sounds about right. I have invested in a new lens and the difference in quality is noticeable, I can make out more detail of jupitar even though it is a wide angle lens that I bought. Once I invest in a new barlow I hope I will be able to see more. Make sure you buy the right lens for your scope, you can over magnify which will make things less sharp.

The members market is a great place to pick up good deals on lenses, although you need 50 posts.

As for using a filter, i'm not sure if it would improve things as I don't have a filter to try with. I would be interested to know though!

Thanks Zapp, it's nice to know I'm at least using my scope properly, hopefully.

[oldfruit]

Hi, from my own experience a moon filter will help sometimes by reducing the glare. Also light blue filter no 82A and medium blue filter 80 A have been useful but these came with a set that i bought. You can buy coloured filters and they are relativly cheap.

I thimk though that patience at the eyepiece is helpful as the longer you look the more subtle detail you will see.

Seeing conditions are also a factor. No matter how good the scope, if the seeing is bad you will not see much detail at all. Just try to observe as often as possible and you will find that there will be times when the seeing will improve.

[RichD]

Hi, from my own experience a moon filter will help sometimes by reducing the glare. Also light blue filter no 82A and medium blue filter 80 A have been useful but these came with a set that i bought. You can buy coloured filters and they are relativly cheap.

I thimk though that patience at the eyepiece is helpful as the longer you look the more subtle detail you will see.

Seeing conditions are also a factor. No matter how good the scope, if the seeing is bad you will not see much detail at all. Just try to observe as often as possible and you will find that there will be times when the seeing will improve.

Thanks for that, will keep trying

[Welrod50]

Rich,

I've just bought the same scope and asked for eyepiece advice on a seperate thread. Had some sound advice if you wanna take a look.

As for filter - I don't have any yet, so I just remove the 2" cap on the main body mirror cover and this dims the view down nicely. It helps a great deal too with Venus - and I reckon it will dim the moon down a lot also, although I've yet to try this.

Good choise of scope. I love mine!!

Scott

[Beardy30]

i agree go for the moon filter , sounds as if your images are as they should be but a basic moon flight will reduce glare, bare in mind that depending on where you are the light pollution will effect your view but it is a great scope i love mine to bits

[mallorcasaint]

Remember that using a 10mm with a x2 barlow will effectively wash out the image due to over magnification and reduction in light. Better to try your 25mm with the barlow. That was my experience with my 130p.