Saturday, December 06, 2014

Skywatcher Heritage 130P


My new telescope. Although I already have a Skywatcher 130m complete with EQ2 mount and Skywatcher 80ED Pro I decided to add to my collection.
I wanted a 'Grab and Go' type scope that is light and folds up into a small compact size, the Heritage 130P fits the bill perfectly!

I am amazed at this scope, the Dobsonian mount makes it easy to use on a small table and is very well made. The tube extends and contracts easily. I have to be a bit careful with stray light as the tube is open so as I found, the garden light next door did get into the tube. The answer is simple, just move the scope into a shadow and it works fine!




The images of stars are and the Moon are very clear, certainly as good as, if not better than my big Skywatcher 130m. With the 130m I always had problems acheiving focus with a DSLR camera and could never use it. However, with the Heritage 130P it is possible to use a DSLR by simply shortening the adjustable tube until the DSLR acheives it's focus.
The two eyepieces are of good quality, but I already have a set of good eyepieces which work really well on the scope. The Heritage 130P also comes with a Red Spot Finder, which is perfect for finding the objects for viewing.
Before buying the scope I looked at lots of reviews as I was a bit concerned about the simple, but novel focus unit. It is unlike any that I have used before, you twist the top of the eyepiece holder and it moves on a thread. Simple, but effective, I found it quite easy to use and no problem at all focusing, even with my DSLR and webcam. You can see from my previous post of the Moon that it focuses quite well!



This scope is good value for money for both beginners and like myself, for someone that wants a small, compact and powerful telescope.

Thursday, December 04, 2014

Lunar Mosaic



Last night I took my new Skywatcher Heritage 130P telescope out to have a look at the Moon. This was the first time that I have had a chance to do this with cloudy skies.
I love this scope, it is the same as my Skywatcher 130m, but reduces to a small size and is very light and easy to set up. One problem that I always had was taking photos with my big Skywatcher 130m, it is that it is a Newtonian scope and you cannot attach a DSLR camera as it will not focus.
I tried with my new Heritage and this did the same, but there is a difference...the tube length is adjustable!

Last night I tried with my Canon DSLR and shortened the adjustable tube to find focus on the DSLR...it works well!

The image of the Moon was taken using my Philips Toucam Pro II, it too had problems focusing, but a slight adjustmant on the tube length brought it into focus.