The clouds finally lifted, and last week I got the check out my new NexStar. After setting up the red dot finder, I was ready to go.
Having already entered my latitude and longitude info into the scope’s computer during one of the cloudy nights, alignment was very easy. From my backyard I could see the moon, Saturn, and Mars in the sky, so I decided to try using the Solar System Align. I got the moon centered in the scope, hit the button, and the scope immediately began to track.
I still love my dobsonian, but it’s so great to let the scope do the tracking instead of having to nudge the scope every few seconds. I think it’s really going to help with photography.
Next I hit the button for the scope to slew to Saturn, and there it was, right in the center. Then I told it to go to Mars, and the result was the same. Very satisfying. Although I do hope to learn the constellations better, the GoTo functionality is going to be great for short sessions where you want to see something quick.
So far so good. I hope to post some moon or Saturn pictures in the next couple weeks.