SAMFS
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Posts posted by SAMFS
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On 10/02/2021 at 14:47, Tiny Clanger said:
We had a discussion with a young guy a month or so ago who only after some questions mentioned he would be using a telescope from a balcony, and went through the practicalities (or impracticality) of a telescope on a tripod with him , you can read it here:
READ THROUGH THE THREAD. FROM WHAT I'VE READ, I SHOULDN'T EVEN GET A DOBSONAIN FOR A BALCONY. BUT MY BALCONY IS QUITE WIDE. SO MAYBE IF I GET THE TELESCOPE AND IT DOES NOT FIT WELL, I'D GET AN ALT-AZ COMPUTERISED MOUNT.
AND JUST HOPE IM NOT BUNGLING IT. BEACUSE THIS IS A GIFT, I JUST WANT TO MAKE IT EASY TO GET INTO ASTRONOMY FOR HIM. SINCE'S HE'S ALWAYS HAD SUCH AN INTEREST.
SO FAR IM GETTING THE
SKYWATCHER HERITAGE 150,
A CHESHIRE EYEPIECE,
A BST STARGUIDE (HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS FOR A STARTER PLEASE?)
THE TURN LEFT AT ORION BOOK.
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27 minutes ago, petevasey said:
A couple of pros and cons to add to the above excellent advice. Undoubtedly a Dobsonian is the best 'bang for the buck'. Relatively light, easily transported and set up. But like all Newtonian telescopes will need regular collimation and occasional mirror cleaning. Collimation can be a bit daunting for beginners, at least a Cheshire eyepiece will be required. I don't know how accessible the primary mirror adjustments are on the Heritage range. A refractor of course has none of those problems. For similar money a fair bit smaller, and although there is no central obstruction so better contrast, the lower light grasp is a con.
Re equatorial mounts, yes the German Equatorial Mount (GEM) can be awkward, particularly for Newtonians because of the fixed eyepiece location. A comfortable position on one side of the meridian becomes impossible on the other side. Not a problem for refractors (or catadioptrics) where the eyepiece is at the rear and is easily rotated to suit. Furthermore, although the situation isn't as bad as it was years go, very often the telescopes are 'undermounted'. That was certainly the case with my first telescope, an 8" Newt on a GEM. the mount was far too flimsy, and just the slightest touch on the focuser induced vibrations so bad that it was almost impossible to focus!
A refractor in the price range we're talking about will certainly be an achromat, and so have a degree of fringing on bright objects. The F10 ratio of the Evostar 90 will help in that respect although at the 900 mm focal length some of the larger targets will exceed the field of view. But if it's equatorially mounted on an EQ2, that is a bit worrying - it's not particularly heavy, but is quite long. I would consider that telescope should be on an EQ3-2 mount for stability. A driven GEM can help insofar as there is no need to keep touching the mount to track the target. The AZ3 option looks sturdier, and I expect the user would soon get the hang of operating both axes to keep the target in view.
Something else to buy at the same time is a planisphere and a good sky guide to help with star hopping to targets - the venerable 'Turn left at Orion' is highly recommended.
Or take the easy way out and get an alt-az GOTO mount 😉 But that will probably exceed the budget.
Best of luck!
Peter
CONSIDERED THE ALT-AZ MOUNT, BUT FIGURED I'D LET HIM FIGURE OUT THE TELESCOPE ITSELF FIRST. AND WE'LL FIND A GOOD STOOL FOR NOW. MAYBE EVENTUALLY UPGRADE TO A MOUNT.
BUT IT SEEMS NOW LIKE I SHOULD DEFINATELY PURCHASE THE CHESHIRE EYEPIECE TOGETHER WITH THE TELESCOPE.
DO YOU BELIEVE THE REFRACTOR WILL BE A BETTER OPTION THAN THE SKYWATCHER DOBSONIAN? IN TERMS OF SEEING RINGS OF SATURN, MOONS OF JUPITER, ETC, AN LESS COMPLICATED MAINTENANCE? (FOR SOMEONE WITH ZERO EXPEREINCE BUT ALOT OF ENTHUSIASM)
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52 minutes ago, Mark at Beaufort said:
The heritage range of telescopes are excellent both for beginners and more advanced individuals who use the Heritage range as grab and go instruments. I have the Heritage 130p which is mounted on a skywatcher pronto alt/az mount. The other night I had good views of M1, M42, M79,M78, M35 and the Rosette nebula.
By the way mercury does not have any moons as mentioned by SAMFS above. But with the Heritage range you will get good views of Jupiter and Saturn plus the moon of course.
THANK YOU! I MEANT TO SAY MOONS OF JUPITER (FACEPALM).
SEEMS LIKE THE SKYWATCHER 150 DOBSONIAN IT IS THEN!
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On 09/02/2021 at 09:08, MrFreeze said:
The Evostar 90 would be my choice. It will handle being transported in the trunk of you car better without needing re-collimation, it is a slow scope so will not need expensive eyepieces to perform well, and it looks like a 'real' telescope - impressive if you can leave it set up at home. It's also about the cheapest of the bunch. I may be slightly biased as I have one, and they are excellent value.
Whatever you decide - good luck, and hope you enjoy it. And a warm welcome to SGL.
David
WHICH DO YOU THINK WOULD BE THE BETTER TELESCOPE BETWEEN THE EVOSTAR 90 AND THE Skywatcher 150p heritage dobsonian FOR A BEGINNER WITH ZERO EXPERIENCE? THE GOAL IS TO BE ABLE TO SEE RINGS OF SATURN, AND MERCURY'S MOONS WITHOUT TOO MUCH DIFFICULTY.
I HAVE HAD THE ''Celestron - PowerSeeker 127EQ Telescope - Manual German Equatorial Telescope - 127mm Aperture'' IN MY BASKET BUT FROM ADVICE AND REVIEWS IT SEEMS THE EQ mount WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO USE FOR A BEGINNER.
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On 09/02/2021 at 10:39, Orange Smartie said:
I've owned a telescope on an EQ mount and I personally would not recommend it for a beginner. They sound appealing (you can, in theory, track the movement of the stars) but if you're trying to zip all over the sky to get the "low hanging fruit" of easier objects, which you probably will be doing when you start, they are not so easy to move from one point to another. I recently bought a Skywatcher 150p heritage dobsonian - yes, you need something (bucket/box/stool) to stand it on, but it collapses down very small and weighs no more than about 7kg. Plus it's 150mm of aperture - good views!
If you are dead set on going down the refractor route, personally at this price point I would stick with an alt-az mount. But I'm a beginner, so others may disagree!
Pete
I was set on getting the Celestron - PowerSeeker 127EQ Telescope - Manual German Equatorial Telescope - 127mm Aperture as a gift for my fiance. He has an interest in astronomy, but has 0 experince with telescopes or binoculars. I know he'd like to see the rings of saturn and jupiters moons and some nebulae with the telescope.
So i wanted to get something that was easy to use yet powerful.
I don't think the telescope will be moved around much, except in and out of a balcony or so.
But im worried about the ease of use. I woulnt like to get something he'd end up not enjoying.
I have checked the skywatcher 150p, but it seems to not come with a tripod. and he would need something with a tripod.
My budget is $150
I'd welcome any suggestions, because i have zero experience and reading reviews aren't helping.
Buying first telescope
in Getting Started General Help and Advice
Posted
@domstar ITS LONG ENOGH TO LOOK THROUGH THE FRONT OF THE SCOPE, BUT YOU CAN'T MOVE AROUND COMFORTABLY. RAILINGS ARE QUITE LOW (JUST REALISED I DIDN'T CONSIDER THIS).
WHAT REFRACTOR DO YOU HAVE? I'M NOW CONSIDERING THE EVOSTARR 90.
THIS LOOKS MORE LIKE A TELESCOPE, SO IT'LL LOOK GOOD AS WELL AS BE FUNCTIONAL.
IS MAINTENANCE ON THIS EASIER THAN ON THE DOBSONIAN?