Skyliner 200 first light

[ONSLOWE]

My Skyliner 200mm Dob arrived yesterday and true to form the clouds arrived with it so I watched TV and went to bed at about 11pm. When upstairs I looked out the window and clear skies had arrived :shock: There was nothing else for it but to go back down hastily get out the scope and give it a try. It was about -3 deg so the mirror was going to struggle going from +18 but what the heck. I lined up the 9x50 finder (much better quality than my previous Celestron 6x30) and gave it try. Saturn was going to have to be first as with my previous scopes. The mirror wasn't at the correct temp and the seeing was average but 4 moons were visible and the Cassini division was occasionally just visible with a couple of bands on the surface of the planet, my highest mag eyepiece is a 10mm giving 120x so not bad. Next I moved on to the Trapezium in Orion which by now was getting quite low in the sky, 4 components of the multiple system were easily visible and M42 was not disapointing given the bright moonlight and low altitude. I moved to the Moon next and was impressed by the detail avaiable with the 10mm using an Orion ND25 filter not bad for a first effort with a warm mirror ! I took in Mizar which was easily and clearly split and did a star test on Capella, collimation looked OK but what I think was the air currents in the tube distorting the diffraction rings, no surprise there. I managed to take in Pleiades and I think M38, nice and clear but I need a widefield 30mm or 42mm 2" to do those justice. By now it was 12.30am and I was frozen so I started to pack up quite pleased that I managed to get anything done at all as I had nothing planned and thought clouds were there to stay. As I looked up i was chuffed to bits to see a minor "fireball" (bigger than a shooting star looking like a firework for a fraction of a second) passing through Taurus. I have seen these before and I am sure you can hear a "fizzing" noise as they pass, has anybody else noticed this or am I talking rubbish. The things that crossed my mind after the session are that the Az mounting was very stiff (now fitted with a few milk carton washers, so i will see if that helps) and that I need a higher power eyepiece for the planets / moon etc (a Baader Orto but which one ?) A widefield 30 or 42mm and possibly a barlow, though I have just read elsewhere that a lower power eyepiece with a barlow is better that a standalone higher power eyepiece :? Would that be true of the Baader Ortho's ? Also I though the focuser had a bit of the Synta glue / grease syndrome. Overall though I am very happy with the scope and would recommend getting one (from FLO obviously)to anybody starting out. Looking forward to the next clear sky

Cheers,

Martin

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

Sounds like good fun Onslowe, glad you managed to get out there under the clear sky.

Captain Chaos

[geppetto]

Nice one Martin

Pleased you got chance to use the new scope.

DOBs take a bit of getting used to but they are one major versatile scope

[FLO]

Nice report Martin

It must have arrived well collimated for you to have seen the Cassini division.

I have seen these before and I am sure you can hear a "fizzing" noise as they pass, has anybody else noticed this or am I talking rubbish.

Funny you should mention that as I saw a spectacular fireball several years ago while lying on grass in a park. I could clearly hear it fizzing but was told later that I couldn't possibly have as it was too far away for the sound to have reached me 'in sync' with the event. I assumed my mind had been playing tricks

However, a few months ago I read an article that explained that the fizz 'sound' travels at an ultrasonic level so if you are near a good transmitter - like grass - then it can be heard. At least it was something like that(?)

Anyhow - you did hear it and don't be told different

[SteelRat]

I was sure I heard one not long back - I thought it made a crackle sound like a sparkler. Glad it's not just me.

[garymcgrory]

Martin,

Enjoy the new scope I've had my 200mm dob for a year now and love it, sometimes feel like a tail gunner moving from one target to the next- great if you have only limited time outside or as is the case now, when it's -6 degrees!

I have a handle on top of the dob just next to the finder which is useful for working the scope for those hard to reach overhead targets great modification but watch that mirror when you start drilling.

Gary