Post by jeremy on Aug 2, 2011 15:43:56 GMT -6
It was difficult watching that my scope arrived in Chicago in the UPS warehouse on Friday, but would not be delivered until Monday with the clear skies we had on Friday and Saturday, but it did finally arrive!
I was able to put together my new Orion XT8i Intelliscope yesterday without any issues (that I'm aware of yet). I was able to collimate the scope, and line up the site with the Willis Tower. I then crossed my fingers for some break in clouds last night to see something, anything. Finally around 9:30pm there was a very slight break where Vega was.
I thought maybe I could see the ring, but the haze or thin clouds did not make that possible. I was able to see Vega and several surrounding stars. I was happy to see the spotter scope worked well and was pointing me right to what I lined up. The scope moved freely, and felt good.
I also tried to get the intelliscope computer working, but that isn't dialed in yet. I didn't verify I was level, as straight up is the first point to spot. Hitting Vega was easy, but finding another star was tricky. About the only other star I could see was Deneb, so I used that as my third point. I suspect the combination of not making sure I was level first, and selecting two close stars were most of my challenge. The computer gave me a warp factor of 12, so I was pretty far off.
No worries though, I'll get it there. Shortly after starting, the clouds took over the stars again. I feel good I got to see at least something. Looks like the weather will be good tomorrow, so I am starting preparations now. Once I get this last alignment part sorted out and build up my comfort with the scope a little tomorrow, I plan to bring it out to the next star party!
Thank you everyone for your feedback, and advise along the way. Looking forward to seeing everyone soon!
I was able to put together my new Orion XT8i Intelliscope yesterday without any issues (that I'm aware of yet). I was able to collimate the scope, and line up the site with the Willis Tower. I then crossed my fingers for some break in clouds last night to see something, anything. Finally around 9:30pm there was a very slight break where Vega was.
I thought maybe I could see the ring, but the haze or thin clouds did not make that possible. I was able to see Vega and several surrounding stars. I was happy to see the spotter scope worked well and was pointing me right to what I lined up. The scope moved freely, and felt good.
I also tried to get the intelliscope computer working, but that isn't dialed in yet. I didn't verify I was level, as straight up is the first point to spot. Hitting Vega was easy, but finding another star was tricky. About the only other star I could see was Deneb, so I used that as my third point. I suspect the combination of not making sure I was level first, and selecting two close stars were most of my challenge. The computer gave me a warp factor of 12, so I was pretty far off.
No worries though, I'll get it there. Shortly after starting, the clouds took over the stars again. I feel good I got to see at least something. Looks like the weather will be good tomorrow, so I am starting preparations now. Once I get this last alignment part sorted out and build up my comfort with the scope a little tomorrow, I plan to bring it out to the next star party!
Thank you everyone for your feedback, and advise along the way. Looking forward to seeing everyone soon!