Recieved my telescope today?

Question

So happy finally got my 10" Sky-watcher Dob. Skys are bad tonight so cant test it as snow clouds.

Question... Should i collimate it immediatelly? or should it be ok from the box? Complete newby so unsure as yet.

P.s thanks Geoff for the advice and help on my last Q's, love the scope!!

Answer 1

I would always, always collimate it, before each and every use. Many Newts are fairly hopeless at holding collimation and tend to lose it simply being moved around yet alone shipped. If you don't have a laser collimator I'd suggest investing in one as a priority since it makes collimation much easier which translates into it being done and being done more accurately.



Collimation shouldn't cut into your observing time at all since you can do it while the telescope cools. It does make a dramatic difference - I have seen far too many otherwise good telescopes hopelessly hampered by poor collimation. Many newbies believe the blurb in the manual - that it was collimated at the factory and needs no further adjustment - and swallow it. Is suspect that is to cut down the support costs than anything to do with it beign unnecessary. Look around on the net at expert guides - no independent source will advocate trusting factory collimation.



Scopes do differ in how well they hold collimation - some can survive between sessions without collimation shifting much at all if they are handled gently, whereas others lose it entirely the moment they are moved. However, I have yet to see one for any money that can handle typical courier treatment and retain anything like proper collimation. This is particularly true for your scope since it is fairly fast at f/5 - collimation becomes much more critical at short focal ratios.



As an acid test, look at the Trapezium in Orion at low power - say around 40x. Even at that power it should be easy enough to resolve into the separate stars on even the humblest scope. However, it is beyond a badly out of collimation scope at any power and in my experience many scopes as shipped fail this test which should be a no-brainer.



This is not a matter of experts getting the absolute best of of their equipment, it is a matter of simply getting them to work acceptably. I cannot overstate how much effect collimation has: a $1000 scope can be outperformed by a 60mm toy refractor if the collimation. You have spent decent money on a reasonable scope. Fail to collimate it and that is nothing more than a waste of money.

Answer 2

Yes, always at least check collimation before use. If it is right you have lost nothing, although especially after shipping I can virtually guarantee it will be out. I also agree on the importance of collimation: there are two types of amateur astronomer - those than collimate and those that don't. The former get views that the latter would not believe possible on the equipment.



The non-collimators fall into two camps. The first believe poor views are just the price that has to be paid since their scope is somehow at the cutting edge of optics (despite costing only $300) and those who claim to have split so-and-so a star are obviously liars. You do see this kind even here specifying truly ridiculous equipment for trivial targets - Andrew's example of the Trapezium is a good one although since it is resolvable in good binoculars it is if anything too easy.



Alternatively they conclude their scopes are too primitive, buy more expensive scopes and still get no better views. They then decide astronomy is rubbish because you can't see anything. Believe me, I have seen both these eventualities happen repeatedly.

Answer 3

Well it's a bit small, but yes, there are pleanty of things to look at. First off though, your telescope is a richest field newtonian reflector. These are a little different from run of the mill newtonians. They are designed to provide a wide field of view and so are excellent for viewing large star clusters and the band of the milky way visible this time of year. You should also be able to see when they are out... Some detail on Jupiter Saturn and it's rings. Mars and some detail on it The ring nebula The Helix nebula The Orion nebula The Andromeda Galaxy Galaxy M33 A few more of the brighter galaxies and nebula And many many star clusters You should buy a sky map book or program which show the location of these objects and also tells you about them, such as the magnitude. You should be able to see things as faint as 6th magnitude from areas with a moderate amount of light pollution, and things much fainter under dark skies. You will find that the lower powered eyepieces generally offer better quality views. Planets are what you'd want to work up to higher powered eyepieces on, but before you do, let the telescope sit out for a while to "cool" because this allows the telescope to reach thermal equilibrium with the environment. This is important because things tend to expand when warm and contract when cool so it distrupts the optical system as the dimentions of the telescope are changing, resulting in poor views. You may also have trouble using high power if there's a lot of turbulence in the atmosphere.

Answer 4

Definitely at least check collimation with a proper tool - either a cheshire eyepiece or a laser collimator. Eyeballing is difficult even for fairly experienced users and is VERY difficult to do accurately - a few millimeters is all it takes for everything to be slightly out of focus. As others have said newcomers will then believe those slightly fuzzy out of focus views are simply what should be expected. Frequently they will not even realise they are looking at fuzzy out of focus views. It doesn't matter how good the scope or how delicately you handle it, it will NOT have retained collimation when being shipped.

Answer 5

Congratulations on your new scope. You have just learned the number one lesson of all astronomers in the world. Each and every time that you or any of your friends receives new equipment, there is a 99% chance of bad weather that night. This is a jinx that we all live with. I know it sucks but that is just the way that it is.



Orion products are usually right on with collimation when shipped. Unless someone really handled the box roughly during the shipping, then you probably will not have to mess with it right away. Still, if the bad weather is getting you down and you can't resist, you can try to collimate it again so that you can at least play with your new toy a little even with the cloud cover.

Answer 6

I would collimate it. Transporting the scope occasionally bumps it out of collimation. So it should be checked at least. And you may as well get familiar with the procedure, so now's a good time to start. Congratulations on your purchase. Sounds like an excellent choice. Clear Skies!

Answer 7

It would not hurt to at least check it. It is pretty easy to do. I would recommend getting a laser collimator, if you don't already have one, one with the 45 degree window, they are very handy, and makes the adjustments quick and accurate. Not too familiar with that scope, is it a truss tube? If so they need collimation after each assembly of the tube, at least, solid tubes hold alignment much longer. Collimation can be done accuratly without a laser gadet, but it is much faster with.

Answer 8

My experience with new dobs out of the box is they have been in collimation. I'd leave it for now. You do realize that buying a new telescope causes clouds to form, right?

I think 10" is a great size for a telescope. Still sort of portable, but large enough to show good deep sky.

Answer 9

I would say that about 9 out of every 10 scopes I've tested from SkyWatcher have been in perfect collimation when I unpacked them, so I'd leave it be, rather than mess things up from the beginning. Put your eye about a foot back from the focuser without an eyepiece in place, and look for concentric reflections...your eye should be in the centre. Once you get it under a clear sky, point it at a star and throw it slightly out of focus. A star in the middle of the field of view should show concentric circles with the image of the secondary mirror in the exact centre.