PEnglish82

At the risk of being the guy who talks about something unrelated and with zero knowledge... Having owned and used neither of the two 'scopes you're considering, I'd say the Evostar 120 would be a good choice. Just purchased my first refractor, and first telescope in twenty years, opting for the Evostar 102. Other than the increased aperture I imagine they're fairly similar and I've been loving the 102 as it seems to be a quality scope, and I imagine the same can be said of its wider sibling. Caught my first glimpse of the moon last night and it was crisp with amazing contrast using the included 25mm EP, I've seen Jupiter (plus moons) and managed to make out some of its banding. While I'm not skilled enough to know where to point it into the sky to find DSOs I have seen breath-taking views of the Gamma Cygni/Sadr Region (thanks again to the scope's amazing contrast) and also discovered the delights of binary stars in Andromeda and Mizar/Alcor. Prior to purchase I was considering the Evostar 102/120 plus the Star Travel but discounted the ST based on reports of CA. Ultimately I went for the 102 as I got an 'in stock' notification and I wasn't prepared to wait another six months if I deliberated. As I say though, I haven't tried the 120, but based on the performance of the 102 I'd say it would be a fantastic choice.

Beautiful image. Just started my astronomy journey with an Evostar 102 and found myself lost in the Gamma Cygni Nebula last night, breath-taking in observation but this mosaic is another level!

After reading through this thread I was keeping my eye out for a Sky Safari sale, and noticed that the prices had been reduced (on the UK iOS store at least). Sky Safari (£2.99) Sky Safari 6 Plus (£6.99) Sky Safari 6 Pro (£19.99) I'm unashamedly of the 'The more expensive the better' school of thought and so opted for Pro even though it's probably overkill for my purposes.

Morning all - new member alert I'm Paul, 38, and from less than glorious Sunderland. Astronomy is always something I've loved, and after university - about fifteen years ago - I bought a Skywatcher Skyhawk 114 and devoured the skies in the oft encountered post-university wasteland of unemployment. Sadly, I struggled enormously with collimation and ended up giving up in frustration and haven't touched a scope since. Recently I stumbled across astrophotography YouTube videos and have fallen in love all over again and have set my eyes on the skies! I've started saving for the Skywatcher Evostar 80ED + HEQ5 Pro bundle from FLO, but in the meantime have started taking my DSLR out with a tripod and just messing about. So far I've just been one-shotting things, attached is the best photo of the moon I've taken, but am looking at stacking and the such to try and get better images. Lots to learn and lots to see Having searched the forum for Sunderland I see there are a few members from my neck of the woods, plus of course the Sunderland Astro Club, hopefully in safer times I can get involved with the local community. Anyway, that's me and I'm excited to be here! Clear Skies - Paul