First Light - Celestron Nexstar 130SLT

[Slim]

A lovely clear night up in Newcastle even if the moon was as bright as the street light right at the bottom of my garden (boo, hiss!). This is my first ever telescope. I was planning on getting a Skywatcher 200P but the delay in stock arriving in the country gave me time to reconsider and I decided to go for something much more affordable as a first scope. I can always sell and buy big at a later date.

So set it all up, completed the sky align on the second try and immediately set the scope to point at Saturn with the 9mm EP that came with the scope. Didn't even need to focus, there it was and even though I'm 37 years old I let out an audible Wow! It was absolutely amazing. So amazing in fact that I went and got the wife out of bed to have a look, she was less than enthused at the thought of getting out of a warm bed to stand out side in the relative cold. She had a look through the EP and said, 'Oh my god, it's a planet'. Said warmth forgotten in an instant!

After a couple of minutes she tootled off back to bed and I spent the next two hours messing about. I made out two of Saturn's moons, Titan and Rhea I think. The moon really was a glorious sight tonight even if it did light up the heavens. So much detail and so much to look at on it's surface.

So my first nights astronomy ever was a huge success and was a truly inspiring time. Can't wait to spend time getting to knwo the heavens and see some even more spectacular sights.

A couple of better quality EP's and a 2x Barlow are now on my shopping list and will be heading out west along the old military road to find a good dark site as soon as I can.

[david o]

Nice one Slim ! Sounds like you had a great first light

Here's hoping you get many more clear nights.

[palebluedot]

I know the feeling Slim. Glad you had a good time.

[Crunchard]

I've never been able to get the wife to look through the scope much but last week I dragged her outside and she was equally amazed at seeing Saturn .

"Wow ... that's incredible" and a big smile (well I thought it was a smile, she may have stepped on a small stone or something )

[Slim]

Thought it best not to start a new thread to share my next bit of excitement.

I can now tick of my first Messier! Messier 13, the great cluster in Hercules. I suffer with really bad LP being only a couple of miles from Newcastle city centre but I received a Baader Neodymium filter today which seems to have improved things somewhat and allowed me to see my first.

Was a fantastic sight and kinda blows your mind when you think about what it consists of and how far away it is. The first of many I hope!

[inksmithy]

Slim, in about a fortnight, I'm expecting to have gone through the same process as you, bought my first proper telescope and doing some lonely astronomy on the roads between Newcastle and Carlisle.

I'm based in Corbridge and have been scoping out some useful spots around here, I'll let you know how I go when I get my telescope - I'm looking at pretty much the same as you, either a 150P/200P or a Nexstar 127 will do the job.

Alan

[Slim]

Slim, in about a fortnight, I'm expecting to have gone through the same process as you, bought my first proper telescope and doing some lonely astronomy on the roads between Newcastle and Carlisle.

I'm based in Corbridge and have been scoping out some useful spots around here, I'll let you know how I go when I get my telescope - I'm looking at pretty much the same as you, either a 150P/200P or a Nexstar 127 will do the job.

Alan

Hi Alan,

Definitely give me a shout if you find any good spots. I've been up along the military road a couple of times before I got the scope and just got out the car and looked up. It's amazing how much more you can see when you get away from Newcastle if a little eery. Was actually planning on maybe popping along there tonight with the scope if its another clear night.

Keep me updated on how you get on.

Neil

[inksmithy]

Will do, definitely.

At the moment, I'm without a vehicle, so I'm tending to look for places within a reasonable walking distance of Corbridge - I figure I can come up with some sort of trolley arrangement for the gear, if I need to.

Found a couple of what look to be nice spots, but I have a couple of weeks yet, so I'll keep looking around.

Alan

[Slim]

Will do, definitely.

At the moment, I'm without a vehicle, so I'm tending to look for places within a reasonable walking distance of Corbridge - I figure I can come up with some sort of trolley arrangement for the gear, if I need to.

Found a couple of what look to be nice spots, but I have a couple of weeks yet, so I'll keep looking around.

Alan

Don't suppose you will suffer with LP in Corbridge as much as we do in Newcastle either, so should get some decent views from the back garden. They have an observatory up at Kielder that hold regular viewing nights where you can go along and have a look through their big scopes but also a viewing platform so you can take your own scope along and experience what I imagine are some very dark skies.

Neil

[inksmithy]

I've been looking at that, yeah, I believe they have a star camp coming up in the Autumn, I'm thinking about signing up for that - could be a blast.

There is a little bit of LP around here, but I think there are loads of little tricks you can combine to reduce it down.

I'll say one thing though, the night sky around here can be pretty spectacular.

If you are on the military road looking for a place to observe from, turn right a bit past the Robin Hood pub and head towards Matfen. I wouldn't go into Matfen itself, but there are some nicely situated spots on the side of the roads around there which seem to have big skies and very little LP. Not much traffic either.

Alan

[Slim]

I've been looking at that, yeah, I believe they have a star camp coming up in the Autumn, I'm thinking about signing up for that - could be a blast.

There is a little bit of LP around here, but I think there are loads of little tricks you can combine to reduce it down.

I'll say one thing though, the night sky around here can be pretty spectacular.

If you are on the military road looking for a place to observe from, turn right a bit past the Robin Hood pub and head towards Matfen. I wouldn't go into Matfen itself, but there are some nicely situated spots on the side of the roads around there which seem to have big skies and very little LP. Not much traffic either.

Alan

I know the area well, had my wedding reception at Matfen and try and play a couple of rounds of golf there every year. Might go up tonight while it's still light and try and find a little spot that is tucked away. Thanks for the tip.

Neil

[jarralad]

hi slim and ink.

have you thought of derwent resevior.we use it a lot(sunderland astro)our main site is closed at the moment,millshield,work getting carried out.but pow hill just outside edminbuyers,is just as good.

ken.

[Slim]

hi slim and ink.

have you thought of derwent resevior.we use it a lot(sunderland astro)our main site is closed at the moment,millshield,work getting carried out.but pow hill just outside edminbuyers,is just as good.

ken.

Hey Ken,

Thanks for the tips. Will check those out as well.

Neil

Edit: Just had a look on the durham.gov.uk site for Pow Hill and it looks just the ticket. I take it the car park is open of an evening and it's just a case of setting your gear up in a nice quiet spot?

[jarralad]

hi neil.

we are having a night there,next weekend,weather permitting,lol.more than welcome to come along.just p.m. me if you want any more information.

ken.

[Slim]

hi neil.

we are having a night there,next weekend,weather permitting,lol.more than welcome to come along.just p.m. me if you want any more information.

ken.

Thanks Ken. May well take you up on that offer if the Mrs and little one haven't dragged me off somewhere!! I'll post it here just in case you missed my edit above: Just had a look on the durham.gov.uk site for Pow Hill and it looks just the ticket. I take it the car park is open of an evening and it's just a case of setting your gear up in a nice quiet spot?

Neil

[Rover]

Enjoyed reading your post and pleased you are enjoying it.

It might be worth having a look at Newcastle Astronomical Society (you can find it through google.) We meet up for observation sessions and it's a great way to get to know others that share your enthusiasm. It's a great way to learn the sky and try different equipment. It's just a shame that we are near the end of the night sky viewing although solar view remains very popular with some members.

[inksmithy]

You might laugh at this one, but I was off for a walk the other day and rather than take our normal route, I decided to follow one of the bridle paths leading all over the place around here.

Ended up passing through these fields and given that I'm constantly trying to find places within reach which will give a decent bit of sky, I had a look around and as I had suspected, its like sitting in a vast bowl, with almost 180 degree of skies in every direction.

Now, while the bridleway is public access and there is a certain amount of vehicular access there, I reckon the polite thing to do would be to ask the farmer if he minded people setting up there.

I want to have a look at it on a clear night, but I have a feeling LP would be minimal. On that map, you can see I've marked a blue line, there is a hedge there which would cut out an awful lot of lights from cars along that road.

Haha, its kind of entertaining finding a good place - I cant wait till I get my scope, I tell you what.

Alan

[Ad Astra]

Hi Slim,

It sounds like your first night out was everything is was supposed to be - magical, wonderous, and shared with someone you love!

Congrats mate, I predict many, many enjoyable years in the hobby for you!

Dan

[mdstuart]

Sounds a great evening..Try a few double stars on the next outing, the pole star and cor coroli which is under the plough are good starters..

Mark