My 1st Scope

[Mr.T (Mike)]

Picked up a SkyWatcher 8inch collapsible Dob from Adelaide Optics for $599. Was going to order a 10inch from Andrews but my wife was concerned about storage when not in use!

Can't wait to get it out tomorrow night. Any suggestions as what to look for first? I have the "Star Walk" app on my iphone which will hopefully help me locate objects!

I should probably mention I live in metropolitan Adelaide so I'm not too sure how that will affect things. Maybe I need to cut up my old swag and make a shroud?

[moonunit (Joe)]

First thing to look at?, the moon, then saturn then get up early and have a look at Jupiter, after that orion Nebula, Eta carina, omega centauri, SMC, LMC, 47 tuc. Plus spend some good dollars on quality eye peices.

[Mr.T (Mike)]

I've bought a x2 Barlow. What eye piece would you reccomend for a F/6 dob?

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Hi Mike
Apart from the Barlow, what eyepieces do you have at the moment?

[Mr.T (Mike)]

The scope came with a stock "Super 10mm" and a 25mm eye piece. Don't really know the details, guess they are just stock Skywatcher parts. The Crayford focusser supports both 2" and 1.25" pieces.

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Mike
The two EPs you have and the 2x Barlow gives you 4 focal lengths and as your scopoe I believe is f/6 with a 1200mm focal length that gives you

25mm 48x
12.5mm 96x (using 25mm ep with barlow)
10mm 120x
5mm 240x using 10mm EP with barlow)

You will find that as you up the power, the views get a little less clear as atmospheric condition impact more. You will tend to get the best views most consistently with the 25mm. The stock 25mm EPs tend not to be too bad, a little sloppy at the edge of the field, but certainly usable.
The 10mm will probaly have a much smaller exit pupil and you will have to get your eye incloser to see the image. This makes it a little harder to use. For higher power views try the barlow first with the 25mm as this will preserve the eye relief and exit pupil of the 25mm EP.
I wouldn't rush out and buy EPs at this stage, and especially do not get sucked into buying an EP kit! Premium EPs are pricey and you are always better of learning to use the scope first with the low power ones, then decide what you want in a few months.

Malcolm

[Mr.T (Mike)]

Thanks Malcolm. Unfortunately it's very cloudy and wet here ATM so I guess I'll be waiting till tomorrow to fire up my scope.

[Mr.T (Mike)]

Managed to get out during some break in the cloud. Wow. Unfortunately my finder wasn't aligned with my scope, but I located the moon and had an awesome view of it. It's amazing how quick things move at high magnification!

Edit: I think I need a moon filter though. Damn it's bright.

[2stroke (Jay)]

Find a local club and try out others eyepieces before you buy. A 10mm and a 25mm along with a 2xbarlow will keep you going for awhile, though we grabbed a 6mm quickly and a 2.5x barlow for Saturn when starting out lol. Also get a collimator when you can and get those mirrors nicely aligned.
I just use a street light to align the finder then a star i know, like the pointers with the 25mm eyepiece. Great to hear its working nicely, its a shame when the moons out wait till those dark nights come