First Light - New Celestron 8" SCT XLT

[nearlycritical]

I would like to share my fist experience using my new telescope last night. I ordered a Celestron 8" SCT XLT from Andrews Communications and had to wait 6 weeks for stock to arrive, but finally received it on Friday 13 June. I also received several accessories to get me started: 9mm and 15mm GSO, 2.5x GSO Barlow, and a kit to attach my Canon 40D. I'd like to give a quick shout out to Andrew and Luke, they were very professional and helpful (and I have been is sales for 10 years so I appreciate good service!).

On Saturday 14 June, I took the scope to my father's property about 40 minutes drive fro Brisbane. We spent about an hour that afternoon assembling the tripod and scope. About 6pm we moved to the front yard for a quick test and view of the moon before a few more family members arrived for dinner. It was a cool clear evening, although this is my first time ever using a scope I would judge the seeing conditions above average. With the Celestron 25mm EP the moon looked fantastic at about 3/4 full . Plenty of detail where the light and dark side met with little to no shimmering. I then changed over to the 9mm EP and was met with a slightly dimmer but much closer view of the moon. Still quite stunning although a constant but weak shimmer was visible.

I left the scope outside to cool a little more while we had dinner and then had time for another hour of viewing. At this point I didn't bother with alignment, I was happy to adjust the position of the scope manually. The next target I turned to was the Southern Cross pointers, specifically the bottom pointer double stars. I could just make out the separation with the 25mm EP and 9mm showed the separation very well.

By now the time was approx 9pm and Jupiter has risen above the trees on the horizon. Using the 25mm EP my fist view was fantastic. Jupiter showed off 2 visible bands and 4 moons were aligned off to the side. Next I switched to the 9mm EP, the view was closer but not as clear, I could still make out banding on Jupiter but no Spot. I look forward to seeing Jupiter again soon, hopefully when its higher in the sky and with better than average eyepieces.

That's it for now, I hope to update you all on my further experiences.

[madtuna (Steve)]

congrats!! now fire up that 40d and show us some pics!

[AlexN]

Indeed! Pics speak a billion words!

Jupiter at the moment in brisbane is best between midnight and 2am.. even from a light polluted area like where I live, Jupiter is a stunning sight!

[Matty P (Matt)]

A great first light, congrats!

You were very lucky to get clear skies the day after you recieved your scope. I had to wait a 2 weeks before I had a chance to use my scope when I recieved it.

Keep at it and capture some pics.

[Tandum (Robin)]

Off to a great start with a darker location than brisbane metro to visit with the scope. Whatever you do, don't plug in that camera and start taking images That starts one of those addictive obsessions that leads down a slippery expensive and time consuming slope

[nearlycritical]

Thanks for all the comments, I'm still getting familiar with the scope and when I am confident can start tackling fun things like the other planets and messier objects etc

[renormalised (Carl)]

Congrats on the new scope!!!. You're going to really enjoy using it... even if you do start find yourself obsessing about piccies, and images and image processing, and.......................

[richard omeara]

Very interested in the kit you got.I have a C-11 and are thinking of geting a 40D.Any info would help heaps . THANKS

[nearlycritical]

Originally Posted by richard omeara

Very interested in the kit you got.I have a C-11 and are thinking of geting a 40D.Any info would help heaps . THANKS

I hope to spend time familiarising myself with the camera + scope combination over the next month. I don't have any illusions of taking great photos in the near future, but I will certainly share my experiences.

The camera itself is fantastic, I have had it about 8 months and recently traveled to NZ and got some nice pics with various lenses.

[AlexN]

Yeah you can't go wrong with a 40D... Ripper of a camera...