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Just got back inside from the first decent observing session with this little scope.
Seeing was only just average. Reasonable transparency. Mag 5 visible naked eye @ zenith. Mossies were ferocious!
Mirror is spherical with a little astigmatisim. I used all eyepieces 20/15/9/6mm (45-150X)
Trapezium, A-E visible, F hinted only. Pleasing views of surrounding nebulosity.
Eta Carina, Homunculus hinted only. Pleasing views of surrounding nebulosity. I was surprised I could not see the Homunculus more clearly.
Saturn, a bit low in the sky, Cassini division clearly visible, several cloud bands hinted only.
PN (2438) in M46, Pleasing views of M46 and M47. PN visible with averted vision no filter.
The dob mount gived reasonably smooth and balanced motions in both altitude and azimuth. The lazy susan altitude bearing does allow a little vibration when focusing, however I found this acceptable at 150X.
At 100X and up you certainly notice the spherical mirror when trying to achieve focus. I got the impression 150X is about the limit for this mirror.
In summary, quite acceptable performance for a new starter. Should be a good scope for kids at public viewing nights and a suitable hire scope for CAS.
Cheers
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