DarkNorth

It was more stuff you see are sunrise /sunset which tends to be Venus and occasionally Mars, I don't expect to see Mercury- but i did already read Mars is best viewed next in 2020 anyway. Neptune and Uranus were in the sky on one night but it was too cloudy - the night I did look out they were too far to the east to view at 10pm. And one seemed more in the North. I did notice around midnight last night they were in the right place in the sky. But really my viewable time is going to mostly be around 10pm or later as it gets dark quite late in the North of England, so short of viewing things bright enough to see in twilight theres not too much point going out sooner. I got the 200p in answer to the question someone put - I thought I said that when I mentioned my ability to move it - namely I can - but I am attached to TPN which makes it awkward rather than heavy. Does anyone know the aFoV for the default 10mm / 25mm eye pieces or at least the TFoV so I can work it out? It may not matter much - it's more for accuracy on stellarium. I'm going to buy a couple smaller eye pieces for now going by whats been recommended in other forum posts - to give me an idea and go from there.

I've found these :- https://www.theplanetstoday.com/ https://www.joshworth.com/a-tediously-accurate-map-of-the-solar-system/ https://theskylive.com/3dsolarsystem Which may show what I want - I'll check properly tomorrow. Thanks for the links though

I have skymap on my phone which is fairly accurate. certyainly to the right area of sky. accuracy depends on the phones internal gyro's. I have a trolley just like that I use for my computer - if thats all others use, I guess I just need to get it out of the loft. Thankyou for the app link - no I'd not seen that one. Though I found something I found interestinmg earlier. I was looking for a 'real loo' of the solar system with real orbits as I didn't believe every planetary body was on the same orbit - it came close to what I wanted showing bodies that go above and below what might be deeemed the earth orbit horizon. https://www.solarsystemscope.com/ I thought there was some planets not quite on perfect orbits- I know Pluto comes inside of Neptune at some points but I can't find a good 'true' solar system atm.

Thats likely to be my next step, at present I have help - as I'm at home with my parents atm my Dad has done the carrying (yes went ahead of this scope) it's not heavy - more awkward than anything. My issue isn't the weight - My issue is more I am a TPN Patient, namely I am attached to night feeds for nutrition. So I'm attached to a bag of fluid - ok I could put it on my back anmd that would make things easier - I usually weheel it around like a suitcase but its pretty difficult to move both my feed and telescope - so transport is my next problem to sort. I can make things a little easier for myself atm putting my feed on my back though. I have quite successful;ly viewed Jupiter and Saturn of which I am quite chiffed as a beginner to see - I always knew they were planets so found it easy to pick them out. It's just the fun of moving with the earth rotation,. Unfortunately my back garden really only has a good view in the southern sky, the north I don't get much at horizon level - Probably can't see much below 45degrees or more. So anything low on the horizon like Venus/Mercury even at Sunset can't be done. Mars isn't the best time. I think I had Pluto on the scope too - but its so small it's hard to know if it was the planet or a distant star. Uranus/Neptune (I think Neptune was in the north sky) when I finally was able to view on a clear day was no longer in my field of vision. As is Mars but I gather 2020 is a better time to see Mars anyway - I've seen it with the naked eye numerous times. Venus It would be nice to see phases where possible if it comes into my vision. In the short term its just back yard scoping. Longer term I'll try to go to other places. I am in an urban area but its not massively bright but I still don't feel I can see the milkway where I am. (The North West of Hartlepool). If theres suggestions for transport - I''ll take a look I have a trailer I used for computer transport. It probably would do the job but I can't say for sure whether its suitable until I have an idea what other options there maybe. I have looked at a link on this forum and also google came up with https://www.astroshop.eu/instruments/orion-dob-dolly-for-dobsonian-telescopes/p,46591#tab_bar_0_select 1 Question, is the scope easily able to be moved to an alternative mount? I mean by default it just rests on its current mount, I've seen simialr scopes with different stands - almost like a different stand was bought for it. Incidentally is there recommendations for particular things to look for in the sky? West and East I'm surrounded by walls at home so it's mostly South and high angle to the North - I could see more of the North and East if I went to the front of the house though - possibly.

I've gone for the 200p and a few basic accessories and will go from there I think. Thankyou for your help.

Health wise - It was removal of what remains of my bowel pretty much. Thats done. Thats not going to affect this. The issue that was likely to cause issues (sometimes) is osteoporisis which led to spinal fractures. Though its been over a year since that happened - and I am being treate dfor the osteoporosis, and most of the time I don't have back pain. Because of the absence of stomach muscles from all the surgery, plus back not being at it's best I simply need to be careful rather than unable to carry it. However if you think the weight is likely to be problematic for someone with back issues - then I can consider other options. The main thing I'd like to observe is planets and their moons (where possible) - I appreciate home scopes probably can't view moons on some planets as they are simply too far away or not refflective enough. It would be nice to be able to observe other galaxies or interstellar objectrs but I don't klnow how practical that would be. I would consider spending a bit more to get a better all round package to suit me, but I don't want to go too overboard. Nebul's post with the skymax 127 - was an alternative - including the addons suggested and maybe that might be a better option given it's lighter - plus its a goto.

Hi, It's been a few months since I last posted. I've had surgery - for a change it went well. I've had a good amount of time for things to heal (not completely yet) and I've had time to save. Whilst I could spend more than I originally said. If I said I had a budget of 500 (for now) I may +/- it according to recommendations. Would you still suggest Skyliner 200P with accessories? Of the 3 someone mentioned above - its the one that I think I prefer. Or is there a better scope - that can easily be upgraded to a goto at a later time (not looking to spend that much right now - but if its a scope that can be added to - that would be a bonus. I'm assuming the 200p comes as is so no mount required. And I assume I can't add a goto to the 200p ? Using FLO's recommendations I've added just the basics Moon filter, Planisphere, TLAO Book, and a Night Vision Torch. All fairly cheap stuff. Given athe slightly higher budget, what would you add to that? Or would you change the scope and go for a scope with stand? Theres a temptation to spend more on a better scope - I think it would be advisable to get to grips with this one as it seems to come with a lot of recomnmendations - if you think theres a better option even if it costs a bit more I'll take under consideration but I just want to get the right setup to start with - and I don't mind getting a few extras accessories wise if thats the best option. I remember eyepieces would be one such upgrade - What sizes would would recommend? I did some reading recently and I think they recommended a Baader sets https://www.firstlightoptics.com/eyepiece-sets/baader-classic-eyepiece-set-with-turret.html That might not be the exact set they suggested theres a few on FLO and I wasn't sure what might be the best option. I roughly know the difference between a barlow and a eyepiece now - would you get both or just the eyepieces? Assuming The options I selected - and whatever eyepieces I choose are added to this, is this as complete a setup as you would go with - and not asking for specifics atm as I'll be trying to get acustomed to this first - but what would be the next sort of things I should be considering upgrading? A side thing for later on would be astrophotography - can yo usimply clamp on a suitable camera? Thanks., Daniel

I'm giving this a long thought, particularly as I now have dates for surgery (March) so I might temporary hold off buying for a few months and instead see if I can improve my general knowledge in the short term. Also I'll then know my situation with work hopefully for the long term. IS there any recommended books I See theres a lot of books out there. PLanet wise I think I've been generally good at spotting Mars, Venus and Jupiter - the latter two are quite easy, Mars if you know the area of sky isn't too bad. Mercury I think I've seen once at Dusk, but I appreciate like Venus its a dawn/dusk one. It's possible I've seen Saturn too but i'm nopt 100% (all naked eye). I found binoculars difficult to use but I didn't use a stand at the time. I Also had moved to London meaning the night sky was less friendly. I will keep track of the info here and come back to it of course. I bought t these in 2014 but don't know how good they are. I did my best to research what was said and at that time I chose these over a scope for cost/location reasons but never found the time. https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0000AKGX3/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1849073007/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005XXZCR0/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It's all in the loft and I suspect the book has gone missing anyway. My parents moved whilst I was in hospital so I had little control over how stuff was packed.

As I mentioned above AP is something for later on, I don't have the budget for a camera in the short term, and with health considerations would be something I'd hold back atm, just being able to view things beyond the naked eye would be a good starting point. Size is a factor to a point, as due to spinal fractures/osteoporosis I will have a limit on what I can carry myself - this may improve with time. As far as Go to Mount is concerned it would be something I'd like to get. EQ mounts were mentioned for best at tracking as you don't need to manually follow, but I guess a go to does pretty much the same thing. SO maybe thats something for more advanced interest in astrology later. Narrowing down the scope to fit the criteria (and mount etc ) would be the main thing now. I've looked at the ones listed above. And my budget could be increased a little to accommodate a bit better scope if I felt it was the right one to get. The one mentioned 200p with goto Looks a possible. How do you know what eye pieces fit or is it a simple case of the right brand/right size? Thanks.

Hi, I've long wanted to get into astronomy but money and living in a location where you couldn't see much (London) meant I went down the budget route of Binoculars. I've not been able to spend much time on it though due to work and numerous over things. But now I have the money, and some time I hope to start looking properly. I'm not inmtending to rush into buying a top of the range scope as I have limited knowledge of the sky and I don't know how much time I'll be able to invest as I'm not at my best atm. This will change later. I'm looking to buy a proper telescope now and use a combination of both the binoculars and telescope to get used to looking, but I usually found I couldn't hold the binoculars stable enough to look and though I have a stand, since I've moved out of London both are currently in the loft so will need to get them back down. I've not used the stand yet but its nothing special. With regards to scope, I'm looking to view planets and wanting to see the milkyway if possible I don't know if more distant objects are viewable on the same scope or whether a more expensive scope would be needed. I would also like once I can afford a suitable camera to be able to do a bit of astro photography. The two things that confuse me really are what items would I need to start with as in inventory for viewing at home - for now I am not concerned with travel. What would be a priority order of purchase and then what recommendations would people have. I am a noob, but I don't want a telescope thatI grow out of too quick, I'd spend a little more for a scope that can go beyond the basics. A 400-500pound budget for now including assessories - I realise you can add to the list later. But also do all stands go with all scopes or are the scopes all with proprietary connections? My guess is my list would be Telescope Stand (Most likely a go to stand) - but I understand an equatorial is better for following objects, I am guessing one that does both would be the best but I suspect price will be an issue eyepieces Filters - e.g. moon filter Star chart/Astrology books. I do own one that I bought with the binoculars but I think I probably need a better quality one. Is this the basic list you would recommend? Or is there things missed off? What accessories would you advise for add-ons later? The biggest questions then would be what scopes would you recommend for the use I require. As I say - for now galaxies and nebulae are probably requiring different scope to planet viewing? I think I Am going to learn as I go because I'vbe tried reading up on all the various components and I found myself getting confused on what would be better -without using a scope and knowing what I can do with it, its going to take a little time to get experience and I am fine with that. With a good quality starting scope and stand I think I can pick it up - and I'll be able to start comparing. Thanks for any help received.