First Light...explorer 150pl.....saturn

[Andy79]

Hi guys its been a long time coming for my first light but tonight was that night!

After messing around with 'google sky map' on my phone i noticed that it was telling me that saturn was literally right in front of me...the skys around abingdon arnt very clear at the moment but enough for me to track the famous ringed planet for almost an hour tonight between 930pm and 1020pm.

So much so i rushed downstairs (telescope in tow) and set it up in the back garden,pointed it at the bright dot in the sky ( the one that wasnt twinkling ) and my word what a fantastic sight!!

Ok the image was small but iv never seen such beauty in the sky before..i was a bit taken back to say the least..even my next door neighbour popped over to have a look and they was just in as much awe as i was.

I could only really see it with my 25mm wide angle relief EP,couldnt at all with my 10mm or X2 barlow fitted (is this right?).

What are the best/recommended size EP's i could be using to see the planets more closely? Any help is greatly appreciated!!!

Well my first light is over but i cant actually believe iv seen Saturn i am so glad with myself for getting into astronomy its a wonderful experience:hello2:

[step_hen]

Congratulations Andy. Saturn is a fine first sight isnt it! The best metod is to use the 25 to centre saturn in the view, then carefully swap in the 10mm and centre again before adding the barlow to the 10mm. you'll also need to refocus each time. It all needs to be done without wobbling the mount which is hard to do, so leave the eyepiece lock nut quite loose between swaps to minimise vibration, as its so easy to lose saturn off the edge of your field of view. I used to have the same scope as you and they are quite long and a bit wobbly at high magnifications, but is a great scope for planets!

Stephen

[Andy79]

Thankyou Stephen i will give that a try next time...am i right in saying the lower the millimetre EP the greater magnification??

Or is it the other way round?

[Astro Imp]

Hi Andy,

Yes completely correct about EP magnification.

Stephen gave good advice re swapping EPs but I find instead of placing Saturn (or any other object) dead centre in the lower power EP it helps to position it slightly away to the east so that while you are swapping the EPs it moves into view.

FYI objects move east to west in your EP due to the earth's rotation.

Hope you have many more good views of this great object.

[Andy79]

Thanks for the advice Alan will give that a try also...cant wait till the sun goes to bed tonight!

[Astro Imp]

Your welcome, hope it helps you to more great views.

Good luck.

[Nexus 6]

Hi Andy, good to read you have got to use the scope, I have stationed my 150 down at the local venue for our astro society but have not actually used it yet although I did have a look though someone else's who had brought their own along on our first meet, had a look at M31 in Andromeda as it was setting, was impressed by the view delivered using a 13mm Nagler giving 57x magnification.

A tip for helping to keep a tripod a bit more stable is to tie a bag with a bit of weight inside underneath it, will help I'm sure.

Will hope to have a look at Saturn on our next meeting if the weather is kind