Murray06

22 minutes ago, Tiny Clanger said:

🙂 Probably a  good way to start with a main interest in DSOs  .  If you've not already seen it , you will find a wealth of information on this site , including an excellent monthly newsletter

https://binocularsky.com/binoc_mount.php

and in the binocular section on here (where that sites owner,also called  binocularsky can often be found )

Heather

Thanks, it was a post @BinocularSky made in another thread that lead me to the Nikon’s 😀

Thanks to everyone that has helped me. I have reached the decision to buy some Nikon Action EX 10X50 binoculars. This way I can explore the night sky, get used to astronomy as a whole and if I do decide I want to continue I can then get a telescope, which will most likely be an 8” dob - a decision I would never have come to without coming to this forum so thanks again.  

Thanks again for all the help. After doing some more reading I like the idea of a higher aperture so have narrowed it down to below;

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bresser-telescopes/bresser-messier-8-dobsonian-telescope.html

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/stellalyra-telescopes/stellalyra-8-f6-dobsonian.html

I really like the prospect of a GoTo, but think that will be further down the line  

3 minutes ago, wulfrun said:

If you have the SW200P dob on your shortlist, this one should be as well:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bresser-telescopes/bresser-messier-8-dobsonian-telescope.html

No personal experience but folk generally comment that is better for a small price increase. For starters, it has tube-rings - meaning it's easily transferred onto a different mount, should you wish to in future. The focuser appears better quality too.

I saw that one too, only reason I was put off was the expected delivery date of Feb. 
im slowly realising I will never make a perfect choice, only that I need to make sure I don’t make a bad choice. 

@Tiny ClangerHow long has has it taken to acquire all of your knowledge? I’ll be honest, I haven’t a clue what you are talking about half the time, but that’s part of my journey 😀

@PeterC65 Thank you for putting in the time to write such a detailed post. The Skymax 127 is currently on my shortlist, along with a sky watcher 200 Dob, so was interesting you mentioned that one. Need to read up further on the SynScan a bit more as want to make setup and viewing as simple as possible - not keen on drilling holes etc. 

Thanks for all the input. I think the Sky-Watcher Heritage-150P is the current front runner, just need to learn more about the ‘red dot’ as that appears to be the only bad review for it. 

22 minutes ago, wulfrun said:

One thing worth pointing out: all 3 of the OP's intital ideas were EQ mount. Not wishing to patronise but are you familiar with the EQ versus Alt-Az mounts (of which a dobsonian is one variety)? No reason a beginner can't master an EQ of course but an Alt-Az is more intuitive and quicker to set up. A (newtonian) reflector on an EQ can also end up with the eyepiece situated very inconveniently, so it's less than ideal for visual-only.

Just food for thought...

EDIT: welcome to SGL, you'll get heaps of great advice and suggestions and no-one will deride any "silly questions" you might have.

Hello, thanks for the info, it isn’t something I’ve considered with much thought to be honest. However, the more I now look the more options I see so this forum has been great already

Thanks so much. Excellent info I was hoping for! Will have a think 🙂

Thanks for letting me know of the rules, but happy to buy new 🙂

9 minutes ago, Tiny Clanger said:

It's a huuge question 🙂 and there are no easy answers !

To help folk give properly focused opinions, it would help if you added some pertinent info:

How much you are willing to spend ? ( be aware there is always something a bit better for a bit more money, this is the top of a slippery slope  you are peering over with interest  ...)

Are you able to store a physically big and/or heavy 'scope, and carry it outside easily to where it will be used ?

What sort of conditions do you hope to observe from ? Deep in the dark countryside, or urban with  streetlight and neighbours flippin' insecurity light  glare, or suburban partial glare ? Garden, balcony , or cart it down the road to a local park ?

Which sort of target is of most interest ? (in a way, this is linked to your location/light pollution, if you have a lot of local artificial  light, then the Moon and brighter planets will be easily visible, DSO's less so)

That's not an exhaustive list, just starting points . You will get plenty of different opinions even with all those parameters specified.  AsI said , huuuge question 🙂

Heather

So much I never considered! Glad I’ve come here now. 

willing to spend, I would say £500 would be my max right now    

Can store it in the house no problem and would be taking it outside to a patio which does have a streetlight nearby, but generally very suburban.  

5 minutes ago, Tiny Clanger said:

Hello and welcome 🙂

I did a quick search on some of those 'scopes, and the vendors which came up first were catalogue stores, electrical stores and amazon. If you have around £200 - £250 to spend (as I guess from those models) there are better alternatives available from reliable specialist stores , like https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes.html which has the astromaster (but not the others I think ). 

If your main idea is to observe the Moon and bright planets, I'd suggest you consider the 102 maksutov, https://www.firstlightoptics.com/maksutov/sky-watcher-skymax-102s-az-pronto.html  which has a long focal length packed into a small light tube, so with the same eyepiece it will give you twice as much magnification as, say, the astromaster130eq. The mak. greater magnification (and smaller aperture) means it 'sees' a smaller area of sky, so  while it would be good for planets and the Moon, it is less good as an all round 'scope for DSO's as well. It's not easy to line up  on faint or non-naked eye targets either , but a doddle to line it up with a bright naked eye target.

Heather

 

Thanks Heather. I think this was the main reason I joined the forum, to make sure I bought properly and not just look at top 10’s from tech websites. To include DSOs as well what would you suggest? Happy to increase the budget if it’s worth it in the long run as I would rather buy something that will last a few years which I can maybe upgrade via parts rather than a whole telescope. 

Hi Dave, initially the budget was £200, but would be willing to go to £500 if it was really worth it. I think DSOs will be something further down the line as I get more experienced, but would be good to know I could maybe use the same telescope to do that 

Hello, new to the forum and star gazing! 

im about to buy a first telescope, but struggling to decide which one to get as there as so many. Ideally wanting to view planets and the moon and have narrowed down the below 3, but willing to look at anything in a similar price range or slightly above if worth it. Ideally this will last a good few years before upgrading. 

Orion StarBlast II 4.5 EQ Reflector and AstroTrack Motor Drive

Orion AstroView 90mm Equatorial Refractor Telescope

Celestron Astromaster 130EQ Reflector Telescope

thanks