Help with first purchase please

[Hixx]

Hi,

I'm new on here and to astronomy so some help would be greatly appreciated.

After borrowing a celestron 130 slt for a week I think I want to get into the hobby and have started thinking about what to buy in terms of scope and mount.

Scope wise Im thinking about an Orion vx8 newt with 1/10th mirrors or the explore scientific 152 comet hunter mak-newt.. Trouble is I can't make up my mind..

I would like a scope suitable for planetary and ds observation that would also be a suitable scope for ap which I will probably try at some point.

Mount wise I'm leaning towards the EQ6 pro syntrack

Could I have your thoughts please

Cheers

John

[damnut]

hi John,

Oh Gosh!, now then most of us have a mix of all the above, buyt I would advise going to a local meet before spending your hard earned cash. There you will see what other folk have and what may suit you best.  However you cannot go wrong to start with a pair of binos a star atlas and a copy of stellarium which can be found here ;--- http://www.stellarium.org/ .

Bang for buck a 200p dob is excellent value for money for a first scope.

[Starlight 1]

Hi John and welcome, I was much the same as you, unsure which way to go, looking at the world through rose-tinted glasses.  Decided on getting the book "Making Every Photon Count"

by Steve Richards (Steppenwolff on this forum), its a very good read with lots of information and I would consider it to be good value for money, and will point you in the right direction.

[Hixx]

Thanks for the book recommendation I will definitely be looking into that along with stellarium.

Can I ask why you would recommend binos damnut? I'm happy enough-ish reading a star map and binos would be a step back after the 130?

[damnut]

Hi Hixx,

Its a chance with binos and a star chart such as 'sky&telescope pocket star atlas' to learn the sky. The binos such as a pair of 10*50 will  have a decent widefield making objects easier to find and you will not be discouraged from using your scope if you cannot find 'stuff'.

Once you have found things like M31 (andromeda) it becomes far easier to locate and observe. Going to a meet of your local astro group will show you whats available and will suit you best making your first choice of scope a keeper. If you can stretch to the 200p dob it  will last you for years!

[wuthton]

John, welcome to SGL.

"Good" telescopes for visual and good telescopes/mounts AP are usually mutually exclusive unless you are remortgaging your house to pay for it. Aperture rules for visual but matters little for AP, it can be considered a hindrance.

Your mount selection is excellent for AP but be aware that the Syntrek version has no handset and requires a laptop to function, have a read about Eqmod (Eqascom). If you are not reasonably computer savvy go for the Synscan version.

A good starter scope for AP is the Skywatcher 130p-ds which is also cheap as chips. Have a look in the Imaging Discussion section as there's usually a 130pds thread knocking about in the first couple of pages to show you what is possible.

The Skywatcher 80ED with reducer is another good choice and requires less fiddling around but is more expensive.

And a big +1 for reading Every Photon Counts before you buy anything.

I can't comment on a good visual scope as I haven't looked through one in years.

[fondofchips]

Hi John and welcome, I was much the same as you, unsure which way to go, looking at the world through rose-tinted glasses.  Decided on getting the book "Making Every Photon Count"

by Steve Richards (Steppenwolff on this forum), its a very good read with lots of information and I would consider it to be good value for money, and will point you in the right direction.

+1 for reading Steve Richards book "Making Every Photon Count", I'm an observer and still found it very useful.

Thanks for the book recommendation I will definitely be looking into that along with stellarium.

Can I ask why you would recommend binos damnut? I'm happy enough-ish reading a star map and binos would be a step back after the 130?

Binoculars are a quick way to start Astronomy, and as all types of astro equipment they are good at a particular task.  The ultimate in grab 'n' go, I use them a lot when I'm working due to me have little time for using a scope.

In IMHO all stargazers should have binoculars, in any case as aperture fever kicks in and your scopes get bigger they are also very useful for finding targets in the night sky, like Comet Lovejoy for example.

Binoculars are different, not a step back from the 130.

Cheers,

Fondofchips.