Nikodn

Thanks I’ve seen that video.

The physical size concerns me getting to darker site ????

Would this Dob be a bit big for getting us and down stairs????

Thanks ! I was looking at the AZ5 Deluxe at the top of my budget????

I’ve finally got £250 together for a entry level telescope. The scope I’ve been looking at is the Skywatcher Explorer 130p which is available with different mounts. My local shop does not have it in stock so I need to place an order. Before I order I would value some honest opinions on the scope and mounts taking my budget into account and some personal experience if possible. Thanks Niko...

Not sure if the PDS scopes are a step to far for now...

May be at some stage but but can’t afford to do it properly at the moment other than messing with my mobile with my spotting scope and the moon. I’ve already read the only way you can focus a DSLR is using a Barlow.

Over the next couple of months I’ll be in the market for a new beginner telescope. As a beginner the Skywatcher 130p/ 150p ticks a lot of boxes for me. The mount is something that I still need to decide on. The one question and concern that I have about both of these telescopes is the basic focuser and how good/bad is it. I would appreciate any comments and opinions to do with this subject. Niko....

I have recently bought myself a 2x Barlow lens and I know that it doubles the focal length of my telescope and the magnification. When I unscrew the lens element from the bottom of the lens and screw it onto the eyepiece what magnification do I get. Also when I fit an eyepiece into the tube of the Barlow lens without the lens element what effect does this have on the focal length and magnification of my telescope. Thanks Niko...😜⚽️👍

I’ve just uploaded my first images of the moon and I would appreciate any comments. The first image was edited in Google photos on my phone. The second image was converted in PIPP and edited in Registax from a video. I also tried to find Gimp for my laptop but was unable to do so. Are there any other good free imaging packages instead of gimp. My scope was a Celestron C 70 Mini Mak using a iPhone 6s.

Thanks for the replies. I already already have a 15mm plossl eyepiece which gives me affectively 50X But my issue is that with the supplied zoom lens after 60X the imaged tended to get a little bit soft and I was struggling to get a good clarity at 75X. I am wanting to invest in a 2X Barlow lens but because of how the telescope performs at 75X with the stock zoom and also how tricky the focusing is I didn’t really want to bye the Barlow if the clarity is below par for say the Moon and Planets.

The Celestron C70 Mini Mak has a 750mm focal length and a 70mm objective. With the scope being a small Maksutov and my high power eyepiece is a 15 mm which gives me 50X magnification Would using a 2X Barlow lens be too much for the optics and has anyone had any experience with using a Barlow lens with the C 70 Mini Mak.

Thanks Stu...

When using a 2X barlow lens does the exit pupil size half when the magnification doubles ?...

At some stage in the near future I’m going to be looking at getting myself a beginner telescope. I was just wondering what the general consensus would be and to which telescope would be most appropriate for a starter scope. 1. Startravel 120 with a AZ3 or EQ3 Mount 2. Explorer 130p with AZ pronto Or AZ5 deluxe Mount ???

Your set up looks a little bit more advanced than mine but we all have to start somewhere. I’ll compose some lunar images over the next few phases of the moon and post some results. The Montes Appenius range was one of the first things that I noticed with my new scope. This is one image that I took with my C70 and Samsung phone last month even though the image is a bit soft I’m quite surprised at the amount of detail I have got with the stock zoom lens. I have now purchased some plossl eyepieces and it will be interesting to see the quality of the images that I can get.

Here is my Moon setup on a tight budget. Celestron C70 Mini Mak Spotting Scope. A six year old Samsung galaxy J3 with a basic mobile phone holder. A cardboard tube from kitchen foil complete with elastic bands as a finderscope. All I need now is the moon and it’s out tonight with a 8% waxing crescent and all being well clear skies....

Hi Dean. I am DN9 Postcode which is the Isle of axleholme. The light pollution here is probably a lot better than actually in Doncaster itself. I’ll check out Sky Safari thanks.

The zoom eyepiece that came with the C 70 has a range from 25X to 75X but the problem is once you’ve got above 50X the quality of the image started to drop off so that’s why I’ve gone up to a maximum of 50X and I think that that should be enough to keep me going at least for now. At some stage I may try a 10mm or less but don’t know how the scope will cope.

Hi I always go as Niko online and I am new to astronomy and stargazing. I have recently acquired a pair of 12×42 binoculars and a C70 Mini Mak Spotting Scope. There should be enough kit here to get me started and see where things go from here. Just thought I would introduce myself as a new member of the forum I’ve been on here just for a couple of days now and already made a couple of posts.

Sorry what do you mean by - well the size of the eyepiece might be varied just a little to show a marginal difference as you don’t say what size it is. The eyepiece was a Celestron Omni 15 mm giving me 50X magnification.

Does earth count I definitely didn’t see it through my binoculars or telescope ! 😜

Sorry but what does sketch at the eyepiece mean ??

I had a great night with four planets in one night. Out of my front bedroom window about 10 pm I saw Venus and Mercury in the north-west with my 12 x 42 binoculars in one field of view, I could also see the Crescent phase of Venus. Out of my back bedroom window about 3 am I saw Jupiter and Saturn low in the south-east with my C70 Mini Mak spotting scope using my Celestron Omni 15 mm eyepiece giving me 50X magnification. I could see the disk of Jupiter very bright and I would say I could only definitely see 2 of Jupiters moons. I could see the oval disk of Saturn but I was struggling to clearly make out the rings. I thought I could see the rings of Saturn but maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me. I am very pleased with what I saw but is this what I can expect with a entry-level spotting scope and a Plossl eyepiece.

Did the brickwall test with my 32 mm eyepiece. First of all the eyepiece does not snag anything in the scope or interfere with the mirror with the filter fitted. There are no problems focusing on the brick wall with or without the filter fitted. I believe there is a slight increase in focal length by less than half a brick. Thanks Niko...