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Hi All Newbie here needing some advice before buying my first scope. (I did have a Tasco refractor when I was a teenager, but it was so appallingly bad I would not class it as a telescope!) Budget of £300-£400 My back garden is (unfortunately) over looked by some LED streetlights to the degree that I can almost read a book out there at night, so would need the telescope to at least be semi portable so I can transport to a dark sky site a few miles away. I am not currently interested in long exposure AP, but would like to get good views of planets and DSO’s. After many hours of researching, I have found the following that have interested me but have reservations on all of them. Skywatcher Heritage 130 – £149 This is the cheapest in the list and the first one I looked at. I like the portability of it but concerned that the aperture and design may be impractical for my garden given the LED streetlights. Will the flextube design let in more light from the streetlights? Skywatcher Skyliner 200p Dobsobian – £289 This is my favourite, but concerned about portability. I have a Vauxhall Corsa and not sure if the OTA will fit. Skywatcher Explorer 150p EQ3-2 – £319 I like the design with this, the focal length being much smaller than the skyliner above so not as concerned with it fitting in my car! Not sure whether the EQ mount would be to complicated for a newbie though. Also concerned that I will regret compromising on the aperture in the next few months (possibly aperture fever setting in!) Skywatcher Star Discovery 150p – £379 The most expensive of the bunch. It has "goto" but I’m not overly bothered by that. Looks to be the most portable (other than the Heritage 130) but am I better off spending less on the scope and getting better eyepieces etc? Are there any other scopes that you would recommend? Any advice greatly appreciated Thanks

Greetings, This is my first time here, and I need help with the purchase of our first telescope. Our daughter has been to Space Camp and wants to work in mission control one day, so we thought a telescope would be a great Christmas gift. I'm a photographer so I understand some of the language about lenses and focal lengths and such, but I'm learning that much of the specs are foreign to me. We would really appreciate your help. All we really want to do is get our feet wet looking at the moon, planets, etc. Nothing too advanced (yet!). Right now Costco has two telescopes available for the same price ($200) so I thought that might simplify the conversation. Here are specs: Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ with Eyepiece Kit. Aperture 130mm, Focal length 650mm. Includes 20mm and 10mm eyepieces and accessory kit has 15mm and 9mm Kellners, an 80A blue and 25 red planetary filter, and a moon filter. Meade Polaris 90mm Refractor with Polaris RA motor drive. Aperture 90mm, Focal length 900mm, includes three 1.25 inch MA eyepieces (26mm, 9mm, and 6.3mm). Also has a Barlow 2X. I gather the biggest differences are reflector vs. refractor, brand, and aperture. Seems from a novice like the motor might not be too necessary, given that the other one has an equatorial mount anyway and you just have to turn a knob, right? So, if you could, please chime in on which you would recommend for us and why (or if there's a similarly-priced alternative that's better). And if I've left out any important information, please let me know. Thanks so much for your help! Mark

Hello. My five year old keeps asking for a telescope. I believe we'd just be looking at the moon and planets at this point from home (small city in the US) and while car camping in the mountains of NC. The form factor of a small reflector telescope on a Dobsonian base is appealing to me. It seems like we would be able to easily take it camping (it would fit in the car with all of our other crap, err gear...) and it would be robust enough for my daughter to mess around with. Does that seem reasonable? If so, I have more questions. If not, what do you recommend instead? 1) If we're focusing on the moon and bright planets, would either the Orion 10033 FunScope ($67, Amazon) or the Celestron 21024 FirstScope ($33, Amazon) be sufficient? If so, which is the better choice? 2) If I order the FunScope or FirstScope, what extra eye pieces/lenses should I purchase? I don't mind investing in good eye pieces/lenses that we could use with an upgraded telescope or resell, if she loses interest. 3) I am willing to go up in price, if it is going to save us frustration, but I really like the idea of telescope that can really be hers...that I won't feel like I have to supervise her with it all the time that I can just let her use it. Should I be looking at something besides the FunScope and FirstScope? 4) Any book recommendations for little kids? Most I have seen have been geared towards older kids. Thank you. I'm at the I-don't-know-what-I don't-know stage and would love to have telescope for our next camping trip in 3 weeks--the choices are overwhelming.

Hi, I've been eyeing an Explore Scientific 12" dobsonian for a while (primarily due to easier collimation). But a few days ago I noticed there was a 20% sale at my local retailer on Explore Scientific's 16" dobsonian and I am thinking I should just go ahead and get one. The big question is, is this too big of a telescope for a first timer (don't really have any experience with observing DSOs and planets)? Only experience I have prior to this is a 70mm skylux from Bresser (My dad bought it for me 15 years ago) which I've used to watch the moon primarily. Any advice or thoughts are appreciated Edit: Been lurking on this forum for a while, soaking up information. This forum is great for newcomers!

First of all let me say how pleasantly suprised I was to find an active astronomy forum willing to help new people to the hobby! Absolute kuddo's to the people running this forum & the contributors who daily answer questions. I've been thinking of getting into astronomy for a while and I would like to buy my first telescope this summer. This question must have been asked at least a million times but times change, technology evolves & new things get discovered. Since i'm just a beginner my budget would be around maximum €300. My goals would be: Moon & Planets (and only if possible deepskyobjects) I have been looking at the 'Bresser Pollux 150/1400 EQ3' (https://www.frank.nl/bresser-pollux-150-1400-eq3) But after doing a lot of research I found this is probably not such a good choice for me as it's a Bird-Jones telescope, and I read that those are to be avoided by beginners. It seems that the posibilities are immense and I don't know where to look anymore. Thanks in advance!

It's that time of year again, the nights are getting darker and I'm inspired once again to begin researching into a telescope investment, but each year I spend so long bewildered by the vast choice of scopes, that time moves on and lighter nights begin drawing closer. this year I want to change that and I'm looking for guidance into purchasing my first 'real' telescope. As I have mentioned in my previous introduction post, I have been fascinated with the night sky and space for as long as I know, and I did have a high street quality telescope in 1994 when I was 11 year old which I have fond memories of. Here are a few ideas of what I would expect to use a telescope for. As the celestial events occur year after year, and I have nothing but a pair of binoculars that may as well be made from chocolate and the naked eye, I kick myself for not having taken the bull by the horns and making a choice of a telescope. Naturally as a photographer i am going to want to take photos of things that I see. Understandably this is going to be a huge learning curve in new photographic techniques and editing etc, but it is definitely a desire that my telescope is going to need to be able to fulfill. We all need to start out somewhere and so naturally lunar shots and shots of nearby planets in the solar system would perhaps be my first realistic goals in astrophotography. Eventually a few years down the line once I have got to know my telescope and also the skies above my head better, then I would like to think I could progress into some deep space photography. I do have photographs of the Moon which I have taken using a 300mm lens on a D7000 and even that took some time to perfect - so I totally get that deep space photography of nebulas and galaxies is a long term goal and whilst it is something that i am definitley looking at being able to do, it's not something that i'm going to be able to jump right into. Small steps at a time will do it. With regards to my situation, I live UK, in Rothwell which is on a bit of a hill that over looks Leeds City down in the Valley around a mile or so away, I can only imagine the City lights do generate a fair amount of light pollution, but with limited mobility in my legs and no car, I'm going to need to work around that as most of my viewing is most likely going to be from my back yard. From my back yard on a clear day with all the house lights and outside lights turned off, most of the constellations can be seen with a naked eye. I haven't even began to look for nebulas or galaxies as i currently don't know what I am looking for or where. This is going to be much of the fun of the telescope - learning and discovering the night above me and making a photographic journal of what I see. As for portability of the telescope, it's not important that it is portable, because it would only be on rare occasions that I can see me being able to take it out into the field due to the limited mobility and lack of transport, it just needs to be portable enough for me to be able to get it in and out of the house with or without help. My instincts tells me that its perhaps a good idea to purchase a more advanced telescope that I am going to be able to grow into as my experience, knowledge and skills advance, although I could be totally wrong about that and more advanced features will only complicate the early stages or learning? I don't know and this is where I need some guidance. My current budget is around £500, but If I was to wait a couple of months that budget could be stretched to £1000. I look forward to being guided towards the right telescope ranges / types and I look forward to embarking on a new venture into learning and discovery. Lee.

Hi all. Joined the formum last night after my first use of the Meade LX90 telescope. It was a decently clear night and managed to take a look at the moon but very little else.. Maybe I had massively high hopes of the performance of the telescope but I was very much under awed by the occasion. I couldn't afford a new scope so this was delivered used with a single 26mm eyepiece, no erecting prism. Also paid extra for a variable polarising moon filter. I tried my hardest to align the telescope but failed time and time again due to the fact that the stars selected by the telescope I couldn't really see.. I did a decent amount of research before selecting this telescope and have seen what it can do.. just isn't doing for me at the moment. So I would love anyone's input as to what I should do next. I assume I need more eyepieces. I get that from reading other threads on this forum. By the way.. reading the forum really encouraged me to join as you all seem amazingly helpful and so enthusiastic. I remember having a scope as a kid and it just made stars look a little bigger.. Hence I really hoped that this purchase would blow that experience out of the water.. Not yet.. but with your help and input I'm hoping I've made a good scope choice that will give amazing results in the very near future. I have three young kids and yes I bought the scope for me, but also for them too. I want to be able to point at the nights sky and say.. that star up there is actually Saturn... wanna see it's rings? Then show them using the telescope.. I will stop there.. thanks in advance for any help and advice you may give. Currently jimmystarblurredgazing.... Hipefully with your help and input to become... jimmystargazer..

Greetings All! Very Short Explanation: I'm disabled (43) and desperately trying to find ways to still bond/spend time with my youngest son (13). My son expressed an interest, about two months ago, in Astronomy after watching a few YouTube videos on the subject (specifically, the moon and our neighboring planets). He asked if one day we could get a telescope. I was somewhat surprised when, over the course of the following days/weeks, he didn't forget about his request or shift his attention to other, "more 13 year old pressing matters." In fact, he became increasingly MORE excited, despite our lack of progress on the subject (except for many hours of questions and research regarding all things space). So, I decided that somehow, someway, I would discover the means in which to make this dream of his a reality. However, due to our financial situation, I wasn't sure it would ever happen. Well, lo and behold, I stumbled across a Vivitar 76700 Reflecting Telescope, while killing time before a drs appt, at the local Goodwill, for only $14.99. I immediately withdrew my "Emergency $20" from my wallet, and I purchased it! When I finally arrived home, I began the process of putting it together. Unfortunately, I soon discovered that it lacked everything which is placed in the "lens hole/slot" on the top, back of the telescope (just a hole, no lens, barrel, or anything originally included to fill said hole. !!!EDIT/CORRECTION!!!: It DOES have the piece which screws onto the side of the telescope that has "adjustor knobs" below it for, I'm assuming, extending/retracting the lens(?). There is just nothing INSIDE this piece except a hole/space. Sorry! This is our youngest son (13), who is a "loner." He is very quiet/shy/lacks self-confidence, and suffers from mental/learning disabilities, but truly is "sharp as a tack" in many, many ways. So, when we discover something, anything, educationally speaking, that peaks his interest, we try our hardest to encourage him! Now, I don't really have any/much money to spend on getting this telescope in complete working order (I am NOT asking or soliciting for ANYTHING!!) , but I refuse to pass up this chance to bond with him, encourage this budding passion for Astronomy, and help get him OFF that blasted PlayBoxCube more frequently, and into something more beneficial for his young, developing mind! Now to my question(s)... What further (inexpensive) equipment would suffice in completing his new-to-us telescope, and increase his allure to the wonders awaiting his discovery in the heavens above? Quality vs Price? Trade-offs? On-topic/slightly off-specific-topic advice? Links, articles, groups, periodicals, videos...ANY suggestions gratefully welcomed! Thank you, in advance, for indulging my attempted-to-be-brief background/relevant personal info, and for taking the time to help this guy be a (better) dad again. I feel blessed to have found this particular site/group. Live Long & Prosper, -Larry

Hi all, have decided to join this forum after reading lots of different posts and have learnt a lot, know much more now then I did in the beginning. So I’d thought I would create a thread so that you would be able to help. So I’ll start to tell you abit about me and what I’m looking for. I’ve been interested in space and the science side of it for about 4 years now and every time Most of it blows my mind even if I don’t understand all of it . I have been using some binoculars to get me started as I’ve never owned ( or even looked through a scope before) but can’ really see much as they’re fairly low powered. Now I’ve read that the dobsonians are the best bang for your buck when it comes to light gathering. However I would like one but concerned about the weight I was looking at the 250px and seems abit heavy here are some things that I’ve noted down that I would like from a telescope and hopefully this might help you. I’m not looking for goto as that seems to up the price and I’ll get less. I’m a bit of a weakling so nothing to heavy. Storage Will be storing it in the garage though it will be a tight fit but don’t have room in the house I’ll have to walk down only one step to the garden from the garage but don’t want to walk with something too heavy. Where will I be using it? Mainly garden but as it’s south facing I can’t really see things behind the house and but have a wide view of the south and some of the east/west so maybe something a bit portable so I can walk to near by fields ( no car) What do I want to see? as stated in title most of the DSOs as that’s what I’m most interested in examples: Planetary nebulae,Emission nebulae ect Galaxys globular clusters I live in the countryside but between two main towns however my exact location light pollution isn’t bad. I’ve tried to put down as much info as I can to help Thanks for all the help in advanced sorry for the long post