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Orion XX12i First Light Report

Started by pbrayton, 01/03/2010 03:41PM
Posted 01/03/2010 03:41PM Opening Post
I had the scope out last night for its first viewing. I was viewing from my deck in Parker, CO which is a SE suburb of Denver. I put the telescope out on the deck a couple of hours before sunset to help with temperature acclimation. I know, the deck is one of the worst places I could view from but we still have snow here on the ground. The first view was of Jupiter was through a tree and over my neighbors house. Obviously the view was horrible, but my expectations were low. For some reason, I was getting two images of everything that would not merge into one image. I decided to go ahead and try out the Intelliscope system. It was easy to use, point the tube straight up, turn on the hand control and point the scope to two different stars as directed. It took about two minutes. I had the scope take me to the three Messier clusters in Auriga and each time the object was within the view of the 35mm eyepiece that came with the scope. Using the Intelliscope hand control was easy, however it does not like the cold. I'll have to devise a pouch/hand-warmer for it. As the scope cooled down (I was not using the built in fan), the images got better and the seeing also improved. I later switched to a Stratus 13mm eyepiece and looked at the Orion Nebula which was pretty spectacular! The Trapezium was easily split, I didn't see any of the other stars that are in that area however I don't really know where to look. I could have sworn that I was seeing some green colors in the nebula. I took a quick look at Mars which was in the trees, just above a neighbors house and right next to the Moon. I was able to see a polar cap, which seemed to be fairly bright and large. Nice detail on the Moon along the terminator, I didn't look at the Moon for very long, the seeing was lousy (roof again) and I was getting cold. Overall, I am very pleased with the performance of the scope. Everything worked as I expected and it much easier to transport than my CPC1100 was. I need to learn how to collimate the optics, the owner of the telescope store where I bought it showed me how to align the scope with the collimation cap but, I think I can do better with a laser and barlow.
Posted 01/03/2010 03:51PM #1
Sounds like a good first night! You are lucky to get out with a new scope within the first couple of days of owning it. The fan should help with the cool-down time. Tube currents are not much of an issue with the truss design, but hopefully the fan is designed to help scrub the boundary layer from the front of the mirror. As far as the Trapezium goes, on a night of good seeing, the E and F stars will be there for you in that 12"...you won't have to know where to look. They will be there looking back at you!
Posted 01/04/2010 12:40AM #2
Pete, Just as important as the mirror cooling is the collimation.
Being the scope is an f5, its real important.
You will need more then the collimation plastic cap the scope comes with.
Posted 01/04/2010 12:56AM | Edited 01/04/2010 12:58AM #3
I need to learn how to collimate the optics, the owner of the telescope store where I bought it showed me how to align the scope with the collimation cap but, I think I can do better with a laser and barlow.

Pete:

I agree.

My suggestion is spend some money and get a good one. The inexpensive collimators are marginal, a sloppy fit in the focuser, out of collimation when you get them, won't stay in collimation, have a poorly shaped spot, wear out batteries. If you are in this for the long haul, having a quality collimator is not only a big help but it is also the least expensive because it is a lifetime instrument.

I started out with a 1.25 inch Howie Glatter just about 10 years ago, it's still working though it did require a slight adjustment a couple of years ago when I dropped on the concrete floor from 5 or 6 feet... I now also have a 2 inch Howie with the Blug. It's a wonderful tool, fits nicely in the focuser, arrived collimated, stays collimated, batteries last for years, it has a tight, circular spot that makes setting the secondary tilt very easy.

You can made do with a inexpensive collimator but I suspect the first time one arrives at a dark site, sets up only to find their collimator is out of wack, the idea of a quality collimator will seem quite attractive.

Howie machines them himself in his garage and they are nice and he does support them...

Oh well...

Jon






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