First telescope, paid today arrives Wednesday

[june (June)]

Hi Guys,
Finally purchased our very first telescope, Guan Sheng 8' Dob, from Andrews Communications, which arrives Wednesday. I paid for it today and just over the moon, I'm about to burst I just can't wait.

I also purchased extra's like a moon filter and nebula filter. Hubby doesn't know yet but I figured, well he wont mind once he starts stargazing hahaha, I did have a budget but went over by a fraction.

Anyway, because we've never owed a telescope before, is there anything important we need to know? Is it pretty straight forward to set up and do we need to set it in a special way etc, etc???????

Yes, this is all new to us and I thought, well what better place to get some knowledge.....

I feel so stupid...LOL but oh well, better to feel stupid, than to wreck the telescope before we even get to enjoy it.

Oh and I also live in the suburbs with light pollution which is why I thought I'd purchase the nebula filter, is there anything else you guys think I should get??? HHHmmmmmm, that was a pretty silly question wasn't it, as I already know the answer to that one...hahahaha.

Well thank you so much guys and look forward to hearing from you all, have a fab, fab week end and I will be sure to take photo's of the scope once I've got it set upthi s time next week, we should be stargazing with you guys, wooohooooo!!!!!!

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Well done June, hope you get years of enjoyment. The GSO dobs are very easy to set up, just take your time putting it together! When I bought mine the instructions were not very helpful, but do give you a general guide.
The only other advice is learn how to collimate, though once it is right the 8" doesn't need a lot of further adjustment.

[Ian Robinson]

Good for you .... you'll have a lot of fun if you keep your expectations realistic .... BTW start saving your pennies .... you just entered a black hole (money wize).

[Robh (Rob)]

Hi June,

An 8 inch is a good size to start on and DOBs are fairly easy to use. When you can, get someone to show you how to collimate the scope with a cheshire or laser. Initially, just assume the scope is well collimated.
Find a bright star (or say Jupiter) and centre it in a low to medium power eyepiece in your scope. Align (centre) your finderscope on the star. Double-check a few times.
When looking at objects, it's always easier to start with a low power (the eyepiece with the largest focal length), centre it, then move to a higher power.
If images look sharp and clear and stars look like nice points then your on the way to some great viewing. Keep in mind that poor atmospheric seeing can degrade viewing. Compare one night's viewing with another. The nebula filter should help in the suburbs.

Lots of great viewing!
Regards, Rob

[june (June)]

Hi guys,
thanx a bunch for your advice on collimation, see I would have just assumed that it was done before at the shop Oh well, I guess it won't hurt for me to give it a go.

I also wanted to ask, can you use dob's to take photo's? I have no idea where I heard this but I recall someone saying that you couldn't use a dob for astro-photography.

I really love the photo's that everyone take and I have interest in this part and would eventually like to get into it as I think would be a plus for some of the graphic design ideas I have in my head.....

I'm so grateful for all the advice and thank you so much guys for sharing your wealth of knowledge, its just grand...have a fantastic week end guys and looking forward to stargazing next week

[erick (Eric)]

June, read up on this article for photography with a dobsonian reflector.

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/63-201-0-0-1-0.html

Simple start - point it at the Moon, focus and poke your camera phone or digital camera into the eyepiece and snap some shots. This is called "afocal". If that works, try Jupiter when its moons are nicely lined up either side.

[june (June)]

Thanx heaps Erik, I will give it a go, it arrived today, I'm over the moon and hubby loved it. Only thing stopping us is this damn Melbourne weather, aaahhhh, what can you do.

So we've got it together, I'm going to take pictures of it, I'm hoping the clouds will blow away from here and the night is dry and nice for us to give it a go and try to collimate it...LOL...so in the mean time I'm going to do some reading on collimating the dob and hope to get out there. Thank you so much for that info, I'll surely give it a go...cheers guys...MERRY XMAS

[june (June)]

Thanx Robh, I'm reading up on collimating, hope to get it out there, the telescope arrived at 3pm, we've got it all set up, it didn't make it under the christmas tree for long...hahahaha...anyway, will take some pictures of it and I can see some little breaks in the clouds, just hope it doesn't rain again...thanx for your advice...cheers and Merry Xmas

[CoombellKid]

good timing, with the moon heading for newmoon. I used an 8" for
about 6 years. It's a great size scope to get you going.

Dont worry about collimnation, sounds difficult... but once done a few
times you'll be an expert.

G'luck!

Cheers,CS

[stephenb (Stephen)]

Hey June, welcome back and congratulations! I know last time we spoke was a while ago. And I see you are responsible for the last week of Melbourne weather??

Don't let the Melbourne light pollution get you worried. There is still plenty of things to see. And there is always Snake Valley in March

I look forward to some first light reports.


Stephen.

[spacezebra (Petra)]

Congrats June

May you and your family have many hours of observing pleasure.

Cheers Petra d.

[june (June)]

Thanx guys, you know that I finally got it out last night got to see a few stars and was just blown away and then it started spitting...well hubby had a heart attack and quickly packed it away....tonight is so hazy up in the sky so I'm just a bit nervy as I've been hanging out..."MURPHY's LAW" I tell yaa...hahahaha thanx a bunch everyone for advice and for support, will have some pics at some stage soon, everyone have a MERRY Chrissy and keep safe xooxoxoxoxox cheers