WOW a 10" dob - very nice... No wonder it's never stopped raining this week!

It's very important to let the scope cool down or the image quality degrades
with all the 'heat haze' or currents in the tube. I usually leave my 6"
reflector out for an hour before I go near it. I put my hand just inside the
top of the tube and if I can still feel warm air rising I know its not
cooled down enough - doesn't stop me observing though ;-)

Not sure if there is a handle or the like for the tube, I'm someone else
will have an opinion on this.

As for eyepieces I'm guessing that the scope came with a 25mm and 10mm
kelner? If so I would go for a low power eyepiece such as a 32mm or 40mm (I
love my 32mm eyepiece) and you may want to consider a 4 or 5mm eyepiece.
Then add in a quality 2X barlow and you'll double your eyepiece
collection...

Regards

Alistair
http://www.geocities.com/the_150mm_reflector



"Steve" wrote in message
...
I am now the proud owner of a new Skywatcher 250 10" dob and I am very
pleased with it, but I would appreciate some advise on the following
questions.

1 - How important is it to let your telescope cool down?. I was looking at
Jupiter and 4 of her moons last night and they all had a slight haze
around
them. The telescope had been outside for about 10 - 15 minutes, is this
long
enough?

2 - I don't mind lugging the telescope and stand in and out of the back
garden, but I am frightened of dropping it or squeezing the tube too much
and damaging it. Is there any kind of handle or harness available to carry
it correctly?

3 - What extra eyepieces would anyone recommend getting next?

Thanks in advance

Steve