Andrew Harding

Thanks for the replies. It's looking like this is going to be more tricky than I hoped it would be. Although, I suspect if I went for a smaller telescope with DSO astrophotography in mind, plus looked for a second hand goto mount, and then focused on a non-goto mounted telescope for naked eye viewing, it might save me more money in the long run. Just a thought at the moment. Those are some amazing photos, Erling G-P. I live in the West Midlands, on the edge of Sedgley, sandwiched between Dudley and Wolverhampton. The closest group to me looks to be Wolverhampton, so I could contact them. Walsall would be the second nearest.

Thank you for the replies. I've taken a quick look at the C8 SCT, and it does like quite expensive brand new, although it is very compact and portable, which would allow me to take it on holiday with me if I wished to, and it has a motorised mount as well. I'm trying to get away from Dobsonians. It's not just the weight, it's the sheer size of it. How would the C8 SCT cope with DSOs, especially galaxies? It looks to have quite a high focal power of 10 (not that I am that familiar with what this means, but from my basic understanding, the lower the number, the better it is for viewing fainter objects, such as galaxies). When I contacted Orion Telescopes & Binoculars, they recommended the Orion Sirius 8 EQ-G GoTo Reflector Telescope for a good all-rounder. I asked about the Orion 8" f/3.9 Newtonian Astrograph Reflector Telescope, but was advised that isn't for naked eye viewing as I would see the secondary mirror. What I took away from the SkyView Pro 8 is that it can be upgraded later, but that the non-goto mount that came with it wouldn't be suitable for astrophotography due to the weight limit (so no very short exposures with a proper DSLR). There's just so many different options and different mounts, it can be daunting.

The time has come for me to sell my old telescope because it's taking up too much room. I currently own a Skywatcher 200P Dobsonian, which I haven't used for ages because it takes two people just to get the mount outside, yet alone mount the tube on to it (that part I could do by myself and wouldn't be so bad, but it's the size of the mount that is the primary issue, both in portability and in the room it takes up). I've been doing some research into a replacement telescope, but there are so many options that I thought it would be better to discuss it before I made any decisions. My main goal is to retain the naked eye visibility of my current telescope. I do not wish to reduce the aperture size (at all, or too much) because I know exactly what I would be missing out on. I have only used my Dobsonian in my back garden here in the West Midlands, Dudley, and despite the light pollution in the area, the telescope enabled me to view galaxies such as NGC 4526, which I never expected (obviously the apparent magnitude is an important factor there, but to see a galaxy over 55 million light years away when I never expected it and couldn't see it on the star chart I was using, was amazing - I knew it had to be a galaxy, but I had to search online to find out exactly what I had been looking at). My secondary goal is to dip my toes into astrophotography, with the potential of upgrading components of the new set-up to further that goal if I so wished. I do wish for something more portable, although I accept that 8" is the extreme upper end of portability, and all telescopes in that range are going to offer complications one way or another (no matter the telescope, there is going to be a fair bit of setting up of the mount and assembly, but if I can handle it by myself in stages and don't have to struggle with a huge single base, it's always a plus). I did read about the abilities of the Skywatcher 130PDS in astrophotography, and considered for a moment that I didn't need such a large telescope, but I don't wish to sacrifice the ability to use it for naked eye viewing. If I didn't want to pursue astrophotography that much, such a downgrade in aperture would feel like a huge step back for me. I need to get rid of my current telescope, but I also don't want to lose the viewing power of an 8" telescope. I have looked at the Skywatcher 200PDS, which would allow me to retain the naked eye visibility, and the Orion SkyView Pro 8. I am aware that the overall cost is influenced by the mount I choose (motorised or non-motorised), and these can be sold either with or without mount as well, and also that the mount is key to a stable astrophotography rig. At the moment I don't exactly have a budget, although I am not looking to spend £000's (at least in the beginning...it's always better for my nerves to do it gradually over time). The money I get from selling my old telescope can go towards any new equipment. For any initial attempts at astrophotography, I have access to a Canon DSLR camera (as if it were that simple!). So, any advice and suggestions? Many thanks.