just got my new skywatcher 200 dobsonian

[Guest DAZBOP815]

had my first stargazing session last night with my new dob but everything i looked at seemed very unclear and small , i could see better with the naked eye can someone advise me what im doing wrong if im doing anything wrong at all 

[tuckstar]

Congrats on the purchase, welcome to the Dob Mob. Setting circle and wixey next! A great scope so don't worry it's nothing major. The seeing was not very good last night even with my little frac. The size of the image will depend on the eyepiece that you use. Do you know what size eyepiece you were using?

[Doc]

Nice scope Darren and it's a scope most of us at some  time have used. The object looking unclear is most likely you raking through the focuser to quickly and missing the sweet spot. The object looking small is most likely what Andy said, you have a low mag eyepiece in the focuser, to make the object larger insert a high mag eyepiece something like a 10mm one.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 3, 2016 by Doc

[Guest DAZBOP815]

1 hour ago, tuckstar said:

Congrats on the purchase, welcome to the Dob Mob. Setting circle and wixey next! A great scope so don't worry it's nothing major. The seeing was not very good last night even with my little frac. The size of the image will depend on the eyepiece that you use. Do you know what size eyepiece you were using?

i was using super 25 wide angle that i got with the scope 

i was using the super 25 wide angle that i got with the scope 

[Brantuk]

Yep - your dob is 1200mm focal length and the 25mm eyepiece gives only 1200/25=48x magnification. I typically view Jupiter or Saturn at 180x to 200x  mag, and reserve lower powers under 100x for large nebulae and open clusters. Then you need to factor in the "seeing" - last night wasn't as clear and transparent as it could have been.

You've got some great gear now and it's unlikely to be anything you did wrong. However, astronomy is as much about learning how to use the gear and judging what conditions it will work best in - on top of all the target and finding expertise you need. But don't worry - you'll soon pick it up as you become more experienced - joining in meetings will help advance that knowledge rapidly. See you at the next one.

[tuckstar]

There you go Darren all the answers you could want. I use higher magnification for planets as above. The higher the magnification the bigger the image, but harder to get focus. But you don't get all the moons in the fov with Jupiter unless you use lower mag. Your 25mm will be great for finding objects and bigger nebulae and galaxies.

If it's clear tomorrow night I might pop over to Wymeswold if you want to try some different focal length eyepieces out.

Edited June 3, 2016 by tuckstar

[Guest DAZBOP815]

ive got 2 eyepieces with my  scope i tried the 10mm last nite as well but couldnt see anything through it 

[Brantuk]

When you drop down to the 10mm you raise the magnification up to 120x. What they don't tell you in the manual is that you also narrow the field of view. So you are looking at a smaller piece of sky which may or may not contain the object you were viewing with the 25mm (in a wider fov).

The trick here is to align the finder with the scope using your shortest eyepiece (ie the 10mm). Do this in daytime using an object a mile or two in the distance like a church spire or pylon tip. Ensure the finder cross hairs are on the object and the object is smack in the middle of the eyepiece in the scope. Now you'll see stuff in the 10mm at night when you use the finder to find it.

Also - when you step up to the 25mm - the object will always be in the wider fov (it doesn't work the other way round). Hth

[Guest DAZBOP815]

4 hours ago, Brantuk said:

When you drop down to the 10mm you raise the magnification up to 120x. What they don't tell you in the manual is that you also narrow the field of view. So you are looking at a smaller piece of sky which may or may not contain the object you were viewing with the 25mm (in a wider fov).

The trick here is to align the finder with the scope using your shortest eyepiece (ie the 10mm). Do this in daytime using an object a mile or two in the distance like a church spire or pylon tip. Ensure the finder cross hairs are on the object and the object is smack in the middle of the eyepiece in the scope. Now you'll see stuff in the 10mm at night when you use the finder to find it.

Also - when you step up to the 25mm - the object will always be in the wider fov (it doesn't work the other way round). Hth

thank you for the advice it is all much appreciated ?

[Daz Type-R]

If you are still struggling, give me a shout, I have the exact same scope so can pop round and give you a hand.

 

Welcome to the dob club 

[Guest DAZBOP815]

4 hours ago, Daz Type-R said:

If you are still struggling, give me a shout, I have the exact same scope so can pop round and give you a hand.

 

Welcome to the dob club 

will do thanks