First view with 12" Dob and some questions!

[vanwonky (Dave)]

Howdy All, trucked the scoped into the backyard for my first look the other night. Bit cloudy in Perth at the moment but did catch some breaks. Went straight to Saturn and was fairly blown away. Sensational to say the least. What is it about a planet you have seen in pictures thousands of times (and in more detail) in your own scope that is so spine tingling? That first time you know you have it in your sights and then slowly bring it into focus - fantastic. Managed to see the Jewel Box as well before it became too cloudy.

It seems the scope was fairly well collimated out of the box which is just as well since I am still waiting on my collimater to turn up. I can't comment on how good the "seeing" was as it was literally my first time looking through a good scope but Saturn looked pretty sharp (I think) in the 25mm and the 10mm.

So all in all an awesome experience.

My only gripe was the finder scope. I need to learn how to focus it! Also does anybody use or prefer a finder with a right angle viewer. God that thing was hurting my neck! I do have a Telrad now but realise the two are best use in conjunction with each other. BTW is a good place to fix the Telrad just on the other side of the finder scope?

Considering the amount of light pollution around the city (and the moon did not help at the time) are DSO achievable in big towns with the 12"? Also which planets might be viewable? Can't wait to get out there again.

Cheers
Dave

[Rayw (Ray Whiteside)]

Hi Dave, good to hear you are happy with the scope, Saturn is awesome isn't it , my first night was the same as you Saturn and the Jewel box, I sat for ages watching Saturn, I also thought it was well defined, I took the finder scope off after my second night ! I couldn't work it out at all , so at the moment I am just using the Telrad, but not tonight LOL !!

Cheers
Ray

[erick (Eric)]

Good start, Dave

Try for Omega Centauri (globular cluster). I think you will struggle to see galaxies such as the Sombrero and Centaurus "A", but try.

No instructions in your manual on focussing the finderscope? Many have a locking ring at the rear of the objective holder. If yours is like this, then turn that to back it off, then you can turn the objective holder. This adjusts the focus. When it seems right, screw the locking ring back up to meet it to hold it in place.

Yes Telrad beside the finderscope. If you are using a Telrad, then a right angle finderscope, rather than a straight-through, is all you need. Use of the Telrad should place the object of interest into the field of view of the finderscope.

[erick (Eric)]

Oh, and planets - really only Saturn in the evening at the moment. Jupiter, Mars and Venus are early morning currently. Neptune is up before midnight, Uranus after midnight, but both are a challenging find for someone without experience of star-hopping.

[vanwonky (Dave)]

Yes Ray, I think this weekend might be a loss here in Perth. Thanks for the reply Erick. Looks like some late nights (or early mornings) if I want to do other planets. I did try the lockring / objective but I think I lost patience as my neck was giving me jip. Maybe I will try it off the OTA instead.

[Mliss (Mel)]

I was wondering when you'd get that scope out of your lounge room.

you did well to see anything with all this cloud about. Saturn will be one of my first targets too - i can't wait.

[vanwonky (Dave)]

Originally Posted by Mliss

I was wondering when you'd get that scope out of your lounge room.

Well I did have to use a fridge trolley to do it! Of course separating the OTA from the base would have made it a carry by hand job - with some effort. Two people can carry it assembled using the tension handles but I do feel a little bit dubious about doing that for some reason. I reckon I will add the extra handles as mentioned in my other post soon.

Put the Telrad on this morning so looking forward to trying that but I think I will definitely get a right angled finder scope sooner than later.

[Mliss (Mel)]

i keep getting this image of all these people falling over and getting trapped under their scopes. I hope this isn't a premonition

Hopefully you'll get a break in the clouds tonight to test out your new 'new' toy. please write back if you have the time, i love hearing what every one has been seeing.

[ZeroID (Brent)]

Congrats on a good start, it can only get better from here.
I'm not sure what your LP level is like in Perth but in Auckland I can see DSO's with my 10". I've picked up Sombrero, Sculptor and a few others so you should get the hang of it with a 12" soon enough. Certainly no problem with globs and the big nebulae.

[vanwonky (Dave)]

Brent, the light pollution in Perth I imagine would rate as fairly bad. The moon hasn't been helping though. Looking forward to seeing the Sombrero galaxy. Fingers crossed.