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37 minutes ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

Hi and welcome , I certainly wouldn't describe myself as a pro but I have owned quite a lot of scopes . So , for your budget your options in terms of quality are a bit limited . Firstly we need to know what you are interested in seeing .. is it the moon and planets or some fainter deep sky objects . 

I have a couple of suggestions , skywatcher sell a flex tube reflector telescope that comes with its own mount its called skywatcher flex tube 130 which is only slightly over your budget . The only possible draw back is the fact that you would need to use some kind of table to put it on . At the moment there is a 150 bresser dob up for sale on the forum its a fantastic first scope and it's up for sale for 150 pounds . Second hand equipment us usually well looked after so don't discount it . The other first scope is up fact not a scope but a good pair of binoculars . Some of the night sky wonders are best seen in binoculars ie the plaides openstar cluster . 

You will probably get a lot of people with a lot of good suggestions on here in other words you've come to the right place 

Good luck in your journey in astronomy 

Cheers for the reply! I guess for now viewing planets and closer nebulae are what I’m interested in currently. Thanks for the suggestions I’ll have a look into them now. Also stupidly never really thought of binoculars as a thing to look at the sky with so thanks for that suggestion too 😂. Another question I have leading on from that , if you don’t mind me asking , for the skywatcher flex tube 130 you suggested, do you know whether I’d be able to attach it to a tripod instead of having to use a table or surface to use it? Thanks

On 20/12/2021 at 21:45, Nathan Ray said:

Hi Graham,

astrophotography would go way beyond your budget as @bomberbaz suggested. 
 

I have a similar set up to what’s recommended above and personally I’m very happy taking pictures using a phone adapter as it’s purely for my own pleasure and I have done this on a 130p dob in the past and enjoyed it.

I see bomberbaz has now recommended the 150p heritage, I had the 130p version which is what I was talking about above. 
 

After a while, I wished I went for a higher aperture which is why I now own the Sky-Watcher skyliner 250p.

Again I will be taking pictures with a phone adapter and my iPhone 12 with nightcap app.

You say that going to the park is not essential? 

 My advice is get the biggest dob you can, a phone adapter and have fun.

Nathan

Hi mate,

Looking to get a phone adaptor for a telescope I hope to get soon. Just wondering what phone adaptor you have as I’ve got an iPhone 12 too so would rather be safer then sorry knowing I’m getting one that works well and will fit with my phone. 

Cheers.

Hey everyone! Hope you’re all well!

I’m a newbie in the world of astronomy and exploring space with more then just my eyes. I’ve been looking for months now for a good, first telescope to start with. I’ve stumbled across many telescopes that seem good at first but once I search around a bit there’s deeper complaints. I figured I’d come on a forum like this and ask, I guess, “pros” what their opinions are. I most recently looked at the Skywatcher Mercury 707; does anybody know if this is good? Or any suggestions as to where I can start? My budget would be around £150.