Beginner Telescope for £500??

[Chris81]

Hi

I am relatively new to Astronomy and have done a lot of research in the last 8 weeks as to which Telescope would be the best for the money at around £500. I am, as I said, a beginner and would not be looking to run before i walk.

So, I am keen to get the most aperture, of course and would ideally like a GoTo, but would be happy with a manul mount too. I have got to the point where I have confused myself with too much choice!

Dobsonian? Mak-Cass? Newt? I know this much - I am more interested in Reflecting Telescopes, not refracting.

I am not looking to do astro-photgraphy (initially anyway), so it's really for my opwn personal pleasure, vewing planets, galaxies and nebulae if possible. Any reccomendatrions and advice would be greatly received!

Chris

[Carbon Brush]

Welcome to SGL.

We all get confused by the choice.

Keep your money in your pocket for now.

Take a look through some scopes at a local astro soc.

Or take a look at some retailers.

Scopes seen for real are often different to seeing them on web pages.

Take your time and you will eventually make a good choice.

Do not buy from ebay.

Do not buy from a general retailer or general camera / video kit seller - only a specialist scope shop.

With your budget you have a very good choice, new or used.

Enjoy the choosing.

But, if you have any ideas already, or a short list, let us know.....

David.

[Neilius]

I would go for the Skywatcher 200p EQ5 - the one I got a few months ago. At £425 (now) on FLO, it should leave you some change to buy some extras like eyepieces. A lot of newcomers to astronomy forget the amount of accesories required for this game, and eyepieces themselves can cost upwards of a couple of hundred quid (at least the top of the range ones), so I would consider this against what you buy.

[Chris81]

Thank you both for the quick response. I have been looking at the Skywatcher Scopes, including the 200p, looks good, but again, I am not one to be too hasty. thanks for tips and yes I have joined an atronomy club near me, so will test run there telescopes. To be honest, I am not looking to win any awards, like I said it is purely for my pleasure only! I look forward to any other comments.

[Carbon Brush]

Chris.

Tell us a little more about yourself and where you will use the scope. That way it is a lot easier for everyone to make good suggestions.

The suggestion from Nelius is definitely sound. A good scope with a rigid versatile mount. Similar to some of my kit. But probably not a good idea if you have to carry it down 3 flights of stairs to set up, or you aren't comfortable lifting heavy kit.

Hope this helps, David.

[swamp thing]

Hi Chris

Great advice on here about checking scopes out first, that's always a good idea.

when you check out the various scopes be sure to note how easy they are to set up.

IMO Nothing detracts more from an observing session than an overcomplicated fiddly set up.

Ignore this if you plan on putting your scope in an observatory.

Regards Steve

[acey]

Think about where you'll use it and what you want to see. If you're mainly interested in moon and planets then you needn't worry about light pollution, but if you think you'd like to do deep sky then you should think about the darkest place you can reasonably get to, and get a scope that you can reasonably take there. Deep-sky is possible from light polluted sites but galaxies are disappointing. If I had to choose between an 18" stood permanently in my back garden and an 8" I could take to the countryside and set up in 2 minutes I'd go for the 8", no question. But I'm a deep-sky nut, not a planetary observer. My first grown-up scope was an 8-inch dob, a great all-rounder. My current scope is a 12" dob. Definition of a dark sky: one in which you can clearly see the milky way with the naked eye, once you've given yourself half an hour to adapt. Otherwise it's light polluted.

[Chris81]

I am relatively fortunate enough to have a open view from my back garden (Ideally where I will do most of the observing) and I am a 10 minute drive from the nearest town, so light pollution is actually not too bad from where I live. I am also a 20 minute drive from the highest point in the local area, so I would consider transporting it, but not often. I will be starting from the Moon and working my way outwards basically, as I am not expecting to send any pictures to National Geographic in the near future, I would love to see star clusters & nebulae and hopefully andromeda and other "closer" galaxies. I was excited enough looking at the moon on Sunday in broad day light through a pair of small binoculars, so i imagine there is little room for dissapointment! Again, thank you for the excellent responses so far... Chris

[Hobbes]

Hi Chris

I started my astronomical journey just before Christmas and have just brought my first scope. I have spent the last 6 months going out with Bino's ov varying powers and apetures and going to observing evenings with my local Astro Society. It has given me the chance to learn a bit about what's up there and try various scopes out.

Having said that I had to be very strict with myself as the temptation to rush off and buy a scope was almost overwhelming.

I have also spent a lot of time reading posts on SLG and other forums and groups which has been immensly educatrional.

I would recommend getting some decent Bino's to start - the money will not be wasted as you will always want a pair in your kit bag and it's staggering how much you can see with them and they are great to take on holiday as a portable scope.

Join a society if there is one near you and go to the meetings. Go to star parties and observiing sessions - amateur astronomers are a nice bunch who are usually very happy to share the vierws through their scopes.

Hold off on getting a scope for a couple of months - my ideas of what to get changed completely from my initial choice.

Have fun and clear skies

[MartinB]

1st purchase - a decent star chart, one that you can read in the dark using a red light. Alternatively use the monthly star guides provided by astro magazines such as AstronomyNow or Sky at Night

2) A pair of 7 or 10x50 binoculars. Sounds like you've already discovered how much you can see with these

3) a reclining garden chair plus some very warm clothing. Lying back and peering at the heavens aided by a good chart and binos is a great way to learn the sky and understand how things move around

4) a decent scope. Thanks to the Chinese we can all now enjoy affordable scopes of superb quality. An 8" Sky watcher newtonian on an EQ5 is an excellent, if somewhat bulky choice. A good way to go if you fancy go to. A dobsonian with the same scope is quicker to set up and more compact, ideal if you want to learn how to find targets yourself - best backed up with a good finder such as a Telrad

5) This one's free! Ask lots of questions here - learn and enjoy:D

[Chris81]

Thank you all for your help. Genuinely good advice, that i'm certain of. I will take your advice too. I know I will eventually buy a telescope, and probably look to upgrade bit by bit as the years go on and my level of knowledge and understanding improves, but as warned by almost everyone I have spoken too, i shouldn't rush into splashing the cash If there are ever any star parties in Kent, please let me know!

[Space Cowboy]

This scope is well worth keeping in mind, perfect for a beginner with the option of adding a goto handset if needed :

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Skyliner 200P FlexTube AUTO

[umadog]

Welcome!

Whilst goto and tracking are nice, if it means giving up aperture then consider carefully...

That said, shoot for an 8" or 10" scope. That's a great beginner size and will show you lots for years to come.

[Bumfluff]

Welcome

MY tuppence worth, when I was in a similar position to you.. I decided to forget GOTO and tracking and opted for a 127 mak and a manual eq3-2 mount! My reasoning was I'd rather learn my way round the night sky and simply have more scope for my limited funds, plus storage was also an issue.

This was about 7-ish years ago and I still use it regularly, and it still amazes me with the views. Plus it's great as a grab n go scope.

Although I must admit aperture fever is ...cough...cough... setting in a bit after joining this forum:eek: .

Hope it helps

Greg

[Shibby]

If I may chip in here... You won't get a beginner scope for £500 imho. You say you don't want to run before you walk, so if I were you I would save your money and buy an actual beginner scope. Something a bit more grab 'n' go, something that won't feel like a chore to set up every time you fancy a bit of stargazing.

How about a Startravel 120? Ok it's a refractor, but you won't have to worry about collimation. You can see plenty through an aperture of this size, the focal ratio is F5 so the images will be bright. You can get it on an AZ3 mount which is much lighter and intuitive to move around. Ok, it's not future proof but maybe you won't mind if you don't spend £500 on it. You can upgrade by buying nice eyepieces etc - a nice eyepiece, you will want to keep forever.

That's just my opinion of course - I initially bought a 130P and ultimately wished I'd bought a small refractor.

[swamp thing]

If I may chip in here... You won't get a beginner scope for £500 imho.

How about a Startravel 120?r

Surely you're contradicting yourself here.

Regards Steve

[Shibby]

Surely you're contradicting yourself here.

Regards Steve

What I mean is, if you're paying £500, it's not really a beginner scope.

[Damo636]

Hi Chris. Imho the Skywatcher 200p Dobsonian is a perfect first scope. It's a decent sized aperture, portable and can be set up in minutes. Imo the flextube version is overkill for an 8'' scope and with the solid tube version you would have around £200 for some extra's, ep's, Telrad etc. Good luck with your decision.

[brantuk]

Hi Chris - Damo makes a good note about accessories for your scope. What seems to fit the bill according to your criteria and allow for the extras would be an 8" Dobsonian - see here:

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian

It's a reflector - in fact a newtonian OTA (optical tube assembly) on a Dobsonian mount (rocker box on a turntable). It's 8" in diameter giving good views of just about anything up there, is reasonably portable, not too heavy to lift, will fit in most cars, and will store nicely in a corner of a room (keeping the missus quiet lol).

You can pimp it up with a Wixey (electronic angle guage) and an azimuth setting circle (compass markings on the baseboard). This makes for a very accurate pointing system for less than £30 and minimal scope modification. You'd also need a collimator (for aligning the mirrors). All well within budget and eliminates the need for goto (which can add a lot to the price).

The most important thing you'll need is free - and that's a good knowledge of the sky. You can only hope to get that by reading a lot and getting out there for a year with the scope covering all seasons and celestial movements. Stellarium is a very useful tool to help with that - free to download here :

Stellarium

Hope that helps - feel free to come back here with any questions - and good luck

[Chris81]

Hello all

Just to say thank you for all the advice again. I have finally purchased a scope and feel that I have definitely made the right decision - most of you would probably be pleased given the advice. I went with the Sky-Watcher 200p on EQ5. I can say that I am 110% pleased I did. I have already had some excellent views with it, despite it being Summer time in the UK! I know I can upgrade with Goto later on, but I am managing just fine with books, star charts as well as decent Apps on my android phone. I feel that I have got the best for the money (£400 in the end) especially for aperture and a sturdy enough mount. I have had great views of the moon, seen jupiter and 3 of it's moons and I even caught a glimpse of Andromeda last weekend at about 2 o'clock in the morning! it was more of a smudge in the sky but that alone has made the purchase worth while. It is heavy and large, but i am young and strong - so i'm not too bothered by that

Again thanks for the advice and if you fancy letting me know what you consider to be good quality lenses for planetary views and good lenses for deeper sky stuff, then i would greatly appreciate it. I would like to get one of each in the next month or two to get things going.

[brantuk]

Might be a good idea if you can borrow one or two ep's from a fellow astronomer so you can get an idea of what suits you and what you're prepared to shell out - maybe join a local astro soc or observing group for that.

It all depends on your budget for eye peices - you can get some great quality ones from the second hand market if prepard to wait for them to come up. Personally I lke Radians and Hyperions on planets - aim for around 200x to 250x magnification - any higher and you'll just be magnifying atmospheric imperfections and dimming the view. 5mm to 10mm range I'd suggest in your scope.

For dso's you want wide field ep's with low powers so you can fit the larger dso's in the fov. William Optics do some nice Uwans and Swans, or Televue Naglers and Panoptics at the higher end. Also look into TMB's wich I've heard a lot of good stuff about but not experienced. Around 25mm-35mm will give pleasing dso's.

At f/5 your scope will be less tollerant of poorer ep's so good quality ep's and good collimation will play a large part in the quality of views.

HTH

[Chris81]

That's really helpful brantuk, thank you very much.

[M4lcs67]

I am relatively new to astronomy as well and your budget should get you a very nice scope. There will be people who have posted who will have a greater knowledge than me so I won't bore you with that side of things. What I can give as a newbie myself is my own experiences. I bought an Orion XT8 in April. What I didn't realise at the time was the actual size of the thing, so I had to send it back as it was too big to have in my small house on a day-to-day basis. I went back to the drawing board and finally bought a Celestron Nexstar 127 SLT Mak. It is much more compact and easier to live with daily, and I am very happy with it. It is also very easy to set up and is very portable for when I want to go to a dark site. Yes I know it isn't as powerful as the Orion, but it is good enough for what I need (In hindsight I was probably trying to run before I could walk). The Celestron is also GoTo and if you buy from FLO it will give you quite a bit of change with which you could maybe get a Barlow, extra eyepieces, powertank, etc.

[M4lcs67]

Scrub my last message. Doh. Just seen your message above that you have plumped for a scope. As a newbie myself all that remains now is to get out in the garden and enjoy. I am sure you will.

[Jandy100]

Welcome Chris,

I would take on the advice from David. I too joined SL several months ago, and went through the exact process you are starting to go through. This forum will be your saviour and it was for me.... Best advice I can offer is what was given to me. Join your local Astronomical society speak to other members, maybe start with a good set of binos. I got a Helios Nature plus sport 10 x 50 WA and have some great views. Look into geting some literature (turn left at orion & some of the Philips ranges are excellent, and download the immortal Stellarium and you will be well on your way into this hobby.

I was fortunate to be able to hire a number of scopes through the Astronimical Society for £1 per week, and got to try out a 8" dob, & a Meade ETX125 go to, and borrowed a refractor from a friend so have tried all 3 types of scope.

Took me 2 months to decide and for ease of use, maintenance & portability finally went for the Evostar 120 / EQ5, and don't regret one bit taking my time, taking in the advice & trying a few scopes before reaching a decision.

Lets be honest with our summer weather there really is no rush to get a scope immediately!

The researching, receiving advice & selcecting is an important part in this hobby as the observing....