First Light: Skywatcher Skyliner 150p Dob

[Vargojones]

I got my new 'scope yesterday, and set it up all ready. We'd had fairly clear skies over Swindon for most of this week so i was optimistic that i might get some viewing in.

Anyway, i built the mount and got it all set up, had a look outside and cloud, dammit the curse of the new scope had struck, so i went back in to sulk. About an hour later around half 9 - 10 I took a peak out to offer up my curses to the sky gods, only to see stars and a bright moon!

'Scope now outside and fingers crossed for at least a few mins of viewing, first stop the moon. I used the moon as the target to roughly align my finder scope. Then popped in my 25mm EP focused and wow! So much detail and clarity i was impressed and amazed at how quickly it traversed across my field of view. Time to take it a step further and drop in the 10mm EP, first thoughts wowsers the moon really is quite bright. I nudged the mount to view the edge of the moon and it really was stunning seeing these giant craters i'd never seen before in such exquisite detail, breath well and truly taken. I lingered on the moon for a while just soaking in the sight.

Orion was now high in the sky (well high enough) so i decided to have a crack at M42. So i rotated the scope and aligned with the belt, a few tweaks here and there, and there it was M42 looking stunning and misty just hanging there, knowing how far away it was and how long ago those photons left was truly inspiring. Unfortunately the moon was now quite high and the sky quite misty and hazy, detail was being lost. I came back in side, cold, but very happy at having seen such amazing sights. Next on my list Jupiter i think even though it is dropping pretty low early on in the evening.

So would i recommend this scope...definitely, it's a brilliant piece of kit, easy to use and set up, and a good price for those who are looking to start in astronomy. To those worried about getting the hang of a dob mount, it's a piece of cake and took about two mins to get get used to the reversed view/movement of the mount.

I'm one very happy newbie....now what to buy next

[NickMilner]

Nice. I'm looking forward to the Orion nebula myself when the weather clears. It sounds like you had a lot of fun! Are you recording your observations? I'm told that it's a habit to form right at the start so that might be worth looking into.

I'm one very happy newbie....now what to buy next

After looking around SGL for a few days, I'd go with red nail polish and a cat.

[Vargojones]

I need to get a notebook, and mark down what i've seen, but last night was a "make sure it works" session with a few test observations. And good idea on the red nail polish

[nicnac]

i have had a 150P for a bit now and i am definatley warming to the idea of a 250 or a 300

[kevin321]

Glad you had somuch fun. Hope you get moar clear skys for them WOW moments.