Last Tuesday I picked up my new delux 12 inch GS-980 dob from Andrews communications. While I was there I also exchanged the usual 4 plossls for the 15mm 2” 80 degree eyepiece, 9.5mm and 5.2mm EDs, and a Cheshire eyepiece, and paid for the price difference. The 30mm 2” 80 degree eyepiece already came as a bonus with the telescope. But I did have some hassles with getting a proper mount for the telescope, however the problem was solved by the end of the day, anyway this is another story for another day.
The telescope was easily constructed by evening that same day, however they could have provided better instructions for the telescope to clear up some initial confusion about its construction.
Unfortunately I have been plagued with bad weather since receiving the scope (AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!! The curse!!!!!!!), but even from the first night I have been taking it outside to observe whatever I could glimpse through gaps in the clouds. So as you read this review of my observations keep in mind that I was observing through much less then ideal conditions. On some nights cloud cover was over 90%!!!! But I was so eager that I would wait patiently for patches of the sky to clear up and usually ended up observing targets through partial cloud cover. Even on nights and times when the sky was much less cloudy it still seemed a bit “dirty” with low clarity, probably due to humidity, and some nights I suffered from a bit of turbulence in the atmosphere. And due to constant movements of clouds overhead I wasn’t able to spend long periods of time observing most targets, and with some I only managed to observe them just for less then 5 minutes.
Anyway, first light was on Sirius which appeared very bright in a backdrop of fainter stars. I actually used this star to help align the finder scope which was done quite easily. I then turned the telescope towards M42 which was just awesome. The first thing I noticed was a distinct bluish tint to the nebula. My best view was through the 15mm at 100x which revealed an abundance of detail in the cloud closely resembling pictures you see in magazines. On another night I also had the chance to have a look at M78 in Orion, I was a bit disappointed in its appearance since all I could see was a very faint glow surrounding several faint stars.
The first Globular cluster I observed was NGC 4833 in Musca, normally I would have chosen a better target to first view but that’s all that was available due to the weather. Anyway this glob was still nicely resolved into faint stars, but I am sure it would appear much better under more ideal conditions and when its higher above the horizon. I also tried to find NGC 4372 another Glob in Musca, but for some reason I was unable to find it despite being of similar magnitude to NGC 4833.
I eventually did get to see Omega Centauri, unfortunately my first view of this great globular was when it was fairly low in the horizon and through partial cloud cover. But even so I was still able to resolve it into hundreds of stars right to its centre with higher magnifications. On latter nights I did get to see this glob under better conditions and it looked marvellous and I believe I may have seen some colour in some of it outer stars. Some other globs I observed include M4, M80, NGC 5286, and NGC 2808. M4 easily resolved into stars but appeared a bit faint due to being very low in the horizon and with the half moon nearby. NGC 2808 easily resolved into stars at 160x and looked great even at 290x having a similar appearance to 47 Tucanae.
The Tarantula nebular was a real treat appearing very bright and showing a wealth of detail. At 100x I observed many arcs of gas in the nebular resembling those in photographs. The whole LMC was filled with numerous bright nots of nebular and other DSOs but I was unable to spend any time studying them due to weather.
Eta Carinae was nice with plenty of bright stars sounded by a large expanse of nebula. However I must admit I was a bit disappointed since I was expecting it to be brighter and more detailed. I remember seeing it looking a bit better even with my 4.5 inch reflector, but this was under better weather conditions and a little darker skies.
In regards to planets I observed Saturn and Jupiter which where very bright and large. Saturn looked awesome at 290x and when the atmosphere would steady it looked just like the pictures in magazines but only smaller. Jupiter was too low in the horison to have a good look, at higher magnifications it looked like a shimmering fireball. But I was still easily able to make out the two major cloud bands and the darkening around its polar regions. There was one night when I was sure I could just make out the red spot as well as hints of other features in its cloud bands, but it was hard to tell due to it shimmering madly. Its four moons appeared as small discs at higher magnifications. Also I personally didn’t find it too much of a hassle tracking the planets at 290x with this dob.
Even now while I am writing this review its pouring down with rain outside and I am still waiting for a good night out observing with my new scope
. Lets just hope that the curse is not proportional to the size of the telescope
or it will be raining for weeks to come
(sorry to you guys in Sydney). But then again this could be a great way for breaking droughts, just get everyone to buy a telescope
.
Well thanks for reading everyone.
Clear Skies,
Joe
Get it out to dark mag 6.5 skies when you get the chance. It will be like doubling the aperture you have there under mag 5 skies. 
Btw, good spread of magnifications you have there with your upgraded EP set.
