Newcomer to astronomy, telescope help.

[tyler_jrb]

Hi, I am going to buy a new telescope very soon and just wanted to know any of your suggestions you have about what telescope I should buy. First things first I want the telescope to give pretty good pictures of the moon and planets. good enough to see saturns rings which is one thing i really want to be able to see. I don't want the telescope for astrophotography and deep space objects being able to see some would be nice.

I have been looking at the Sky-Watcher EQ-2 130p newtonian reflector which i have found for £180 new. I also need to say about the practicality of the scope as I would have to put it outside to actually use it i dont want it to be too heavy. it would also have to be pretty stable, I would most likely want a tripod telescope as my garden has a shed, tall fences to being able to see over them. I also want it to be easy to move around

Sky-Watcher EXPLORER 130P EQ2 Newtonian Reflector Telescope

With this telescope It does have a parabolic mirror giving sharper images of celestial bodies which is mainly what I want to use the telescope for. Also im willing to spend around £200 for the telescope. This is hugely better than the telescope I have now a rubbish 20 year old 60mm refractor by tasco with a broken mirror and almost destroyed lenses(been collecting dust for around 15 years and just came out the loft a few weeks ago) to be honest it is really bad but i have been able to see jupiters moons and venus very slightly. really wanting to get into astronomy so I want a better telescope. I am also wondering if there are any telescopes better than the skywatcher for around the same price no more than around £180-£200.

I dont really want to waste my money on some telescope which doesnt work well such as seben.

I also need to mention is there any accessories I should buy for the scope such as filters, lenses etc. Any help appreciated thankyou .

[tyler_jrb]

I also forgot to mention that with looking with planets I dont expect masses of detail but seeing some detail on jupiter and saturns rings would be very nice =D

[Keano]

Hi you wont get better bang for buck than a dob..First Light Optics - Skywatcher Skyliner 150P Dobsonian

[Keano]

p.s. very good retailer, got my scope from them:D

[RikM]

If you want the scope purely for visual use (no taking pictures) then something like the Skyliner 150P would be a nice starter scope.

If you are interested in deep sky objects, you need the largest aperture you can afford, but the nice thing about the Skyliner is that being almost f/8, you will have nice magnification for planets, the scope will be more forgiving about collimation and you will get reasonable performance from cheaper eyepieces.

Edit: Grrrr.....must learn to type faster! Still, great minds and all that...

[Keano]

I type with 1 finger:D

[RikM]

I got a phone call from the Mrs, mid post, asking what I wanted with my kebab!

[Keano]

Chips! a kebab,beer and a side order of clear skies with a whopping big telescope:D ahh! life is grand!

[tyler_jrb]

Hey thanks for the replies the verdict seems to be for the skywatcher 150p which i am seriously considering for an extra £17. =D

[tyler_jrb]

Hey was wondering. For the skyliner 150p dobsonian, is it easy to use move around etc. The only problem i have with it is the mount as it would be quite hard to locate objects quite low on the horizon as i would be using the telescope in my garden it has trees and fences and proberly couldnt be used on the floor. but Any more information on it would help thankyou

[Moonshane]

I would not worry about low down objects as the atmosphere will be denser at such angles, making the image very poor. just what a few months and most objects will then be overhead.

the 150 will give a much better image on fainter targets than the 130.

dob bases, especially a small one like the 150 are easy to use, move around and transport so don't worry about this.

[tyler_jrb]

again just wondering will the 150 dobsonian give better quality than the 130 on planets such as jupiter and saturn. I am also wondering are other planets visable like venus and mars with a dob. is it hard to keep an object in the field of view with a dob? Thanks i will proberly go for the 150 dob.

[RikM]

Yes, the 150P Dob will give a better view of the planets than the 130P.

It has a larger mirror so a brighter image, and a longer focal length, so more magnification for a given eyepiece. Venus and Mars will be 'visible' with the 150, but will be very small. With the 10mm eyepiece you might be able to see the ice caps on Mars. Venus will be very bright. You should be able to see that shows phases like the moon, but there is no surface detail visible in small scope.

It is quite easy to keep objects in the field of view. It starts to get more difficult if you have the magnification at more than 250x, but that is probably about the limit for this scope anyway. I get best views at about 150x with my 150.

[tyler_jrb]

ahh ok thankyou =D i am going to buy the 150 dob sounds much better than the 130 as larger mirror, easier magnification with given 10mm lenses. great advice all cant wait untill i get enough to buy it, should be soon. I must also ask do i need a laser collimator for the scope. thanks all!

[RikM]

No, you don't need a laser collimator, but you should probably add a Cheshire eyepiece to your shopping list.

I don't know how well the Skyliner 150P holds collimation or how tolerant it is of slight miscollimation. I have only ever had f/5 Newts (which need a bit more looking after) and have always use a Cheshire to keep the optics aligned. For £25, an essential bit of kit and if used properly, probably more accurate than a standard laser collimator and IMHO way more trustworthy.

[tyler_jrb]

ahh ok i will buy a cheshire with the scope. Also must ask if it comes with instructions on how to use it as i have never used one with a scope before

and do you have any links to the collimator(dont want to buy the wrong one) thanks

[RikM]

First Light Optics - Cheshire Collimating Eyepiece

Astro Babys Guide to Collimation

[tyler_jrb]

Thanks

[jkemal]

Very interesting, I just wanted to ask whether I will need to buy a moon filter with the Skyliner 150p and whether the Celestron Eye Piece & Filter Kit can be used with it. Also would it be advisable to get a Celestron 'Omni' Series X2 Barlow Lens . I am obviously a totall beginner and while I don't want to spend a fortune I would also like to get something that offers decent quality. I am also considering the Celestron Astromaster 130EQ , SkyWatcher Explorer-130/900 EQ2 Telescope and the Skywatcher Explorer 130P Newtonian Reflector Telescope

[John]

Hi and welcome to SGL jkemal !.

Moon filters are not mandatory - some find they need them and some don't. I'm in the 2nd category.

My advice would be to select your scope (ask some more questions in the Beginners section on the choices) then use it for a bit before buying accessories for it.

Which scope you select depends on a lot of factors and a number of them are personal preferences about the observing you would like to do and your location etc. So ask lots of questions and do lots of reading before purchasing.

Also buy from a proper dealer, not E.bay / Amazon etc.

Hope that helps a bit.

[jkemal]

So, in the end I bought a Skyliner 200p Dob, and so far it has been amazing, I've seen The Great Orion Nebula, Jupiter and Mars.

[JPearson]

if you want to have the scope a bit higher, though i agree that its harder to observe near the horizon, putting it on top of a stack of cinder blocks. i prefer to observe standing up so i have my skyliner 200 about 1 1/2 feet up, very stable, could be a little higher though. clear skies.

[jkemal]

Interesting idea, what advantage does having your scope higher giver you apart from perhaps comfort?

[JPearson]

besides comfort not much, though i suppose in really clear skies with good seeing and little light pollution it would let you get closer to the horizon, for me i just find it more comfortable rather than hunching over i can stand up, though it could stand being taller cause at this height there still a lot of bending involve to get to the finder and telrad. im 6' 2" so i prefer to have it taller, cause for me the scope is to short to stand by, and im uncomfortable sitting down observing.

[kkkkk305]

i think you should see this one here Product Details, it is much cheaper than the one you were going to buy