[Startrek (Martin)]

The clouds cleared around 9.00pm down the south coast so decided to use my new Skywatcher 12” GoTo Dob ( only for the second time as the first time was cut short by cloud )
Once aligned ( which only took 5 minutes ) I went straight to M42 and popped in an Ethos 21mm “Wow what a view” , incredible detail and clarity and plenty of nebulosity
Next was NGC104 47 Tuc and used a 24mm Panoptic, the detail was amazing until it dropped behind a tree 20 minutes later
The Moon was descending over to the west so I used my 13mm Ethos and got the whole moon with incredible detail ( very stable minimal turbulence )
I went on to finish the night with some double stars and open clusters etc
All in all this new scope exceded my expectations
Alignment is really easy to do compared to PA on my HEQ5 astrophotography rig.Like my AP rig, I’m meticulously in levelling etc makes all the difference with your Goto
Goto is extremely accurate for a big scope, hits the target every time
Tracking is good
I have an adjustable drum stool so viewing is very comfortable at all heights
The only criticism I have is the scope doesn’t come with adjustable feet for levelling, so I bought some furniture adjusters with rubber bushes and that sorted that out
The motor is bit loud but hey it’s moving a fair bit of weight
I do prefer the GSO dual focusers but the Skywatcher is ok I suppose
I was a bit worried about moving this scope around as I’m nearly 60 and a light frame 70 kg but with a Bunnings parcel trolley, a piece of foam and a strap it’s quite easy ( garage to viewing spot about 10m)
I set mine up with Dew heaters on the secondary , finderscope and eye pieces so my nights won’t get cut short by dew. I also fitted a SW fabric shroud which eliminates stray light and dust getting in
My previous dob was a solid tube 10” nudge nudge which got me started in the hobby but this 12” Goto is a real winner
Tonight’s looking ok so can’t wait to get out there and power up

Cheers