First I reviewed collimation with them and validated the secondary was centered in the drawtube, and the primary clips were visible looking through the focuser. Then stuck in the Hotech laser and showed them the adjustment screws, then adjusted the mirrors while explaining what was happen, and why.
Next up was aligning the finderscope. I swung the main scope over to Arcturus and let them play with the adjustments on the finder to get Arcturus centered there as well.
Since it was their first time using the scope, and because I have never driven a Dobsonian before, I decided to stick to targets that could be lined up in the finder for viewing through the scope.
We hit Mizar first, as it was readily visible from the deck, and is an interesting object. View was nice and crisp and Alcor was shining brightly in the field too. After that we messed around with trying to split them naked eye. One was able to, then both. Since I had the cataract surgery in March, it is a piece of cake for me.
We moved to the observing spot for the night, backyard with a relatively open view to the South, not quite level, and got to work. First up was Jupiter, which I lined up in the finder and had them practice focus and swapping the 25mm and 10mm eyepieces. They were amazed at seeing the four moons all strung out beside the planet. They couldn't pick out the bands at this point.
We tried a bunch of different platforms for the scope, including a table that was too tall for any of us, and a trunk that was a good height for objects low in altitude.
Next it was on to Saturn. I let them drive finding and lining up the target, which didn't go too badly. Then we were on to the squeals of delight when they saw the rings though the scope! More swapping eyepiece and general amazement.
Then on to Alberio. This was more of a challenge to get lined up, as the Moon and bright sky made it difficult to see naked eye, and its position near the zenith made using the finder a bit challenging. After we put the scope on the ground it became a bit easier to use the finder. Eventually they got there and were properly impressed by the easily visible color difference in the two star.
At that point they wanted to revisit Jupiter. This time the bands were readily apparent and one of them reported seeing a red spot, which I was able to verify.
We were coming to the end of the evening, and the Moon was right there next to Jupiter, so I let them burn out whatever night vision they had by looking at Luna. They were impressed with the details and the craters.
We packed everything in and laid into the brownies that had been prepared as my bribe. One of them asked about trying to take photos. It turned out that they don't have a camera other than an iPhone, so I mentioned that the next time they took the scope out, they could get the Moon in focus, and lay their Phone up to the eyepiece and fire away.
As we were driving home, I asked my wife when she thought they might try some photos. She answered that they were most likely already out there snapping pictures. Sure enough, by the time we got home, they had posted some pictures of the Moon on Facebook after they dragged the scope back out after we left.
All in all, a good experience all around. Next up, using coordinates to find things, and star hopping!
Bob
