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Baz6170

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Hi, I'm Baz and have joined Stargazers Lounge because I'm just about to buy my first telescope and thought it'd be good to be in touch with people already experienced in astronomy and the use of scopes. This forum popped up so many times during the time I've been researching telescopes that I figured it must be the best to belong to ;)

I live in Bournemouth UK and would be really interested to hear from anyone living in the same area re what scopes you're using and what you've managed to see.

Probably like all newcomers to astronomy, my aim is to see as many objects as possible! My viewing time is likely to be limited so I'm looking to buy a telescope that doesn't take long periods of time to set up, and doesn't require constant tweaking ie collimation. It's also likely that I'll need to visit local areas with less light pollution, so portability of the scope is important. Again, as a newcomer, I'd like to have a go-to telescope because right now my knowledge of the night sky isn't vast, and so I'd rather spend my observing time seeing objects as opposed to searching for them.

I'm currently looking to buy a Celestron NexStar 4SE. I'm aware that the 100mm aperture is probably the minumum for being able to view a range of objects, but as I'm on a budget and would like to take photographs of the objects I observe, I need to split my money between the telescope itself and the accessories. I've also read about the merits of different sized eyepieces and filters, and various advice on power supplies (AC-DC mains PSU's and portable Power Tanks). At a push I've got a total of ~£700 to spend.

So, I'd be interested to hear from anyone out there who can offer any opinions about the 4SE ie current or past owners, and what you were able to observe with it from the UK. I'd also like to get opinions on purpose-built CCD imagers for telescopes ie what you're using, what the results are like and what the cost was.

Sorry if this first post has been a long one, and/or if I've asked for advice in the wrong category!

Cheers guys, hope to hear from you soon :rolleyes:

Baz

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Hi Baz and welcome to SGL, you certainly have a lot to cover with your inquiries and you may be best to post in the appropriate sections, the SE series of scopes are compact and portable and I am someone will be along to sing the attributes of the scope in question, however, your photography will be limited as the mount is Alt/Az, by the time you have finished on here you may have second thoughts ;)

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Hi glowjet and thanks for your fast response! I was very interested in your comment "your photography will be limited as the mount is Alt/Az" - would you be able to exapnd on that so that I can learn why the mount isn't suitable? Sorry if it's a dumb question but I'm just starting out and am learning all the time! The photography element of stargazing will become important for me as time goes by so any guidance you can give me on that would be most appreciated.

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Hi Baz, welcome to SGL ;)

For deep sky photography you need an equatorial mount. The 4SE will track objects but it does this with horizontal and vertical movements rather than follow the arc of motion like an equatorial does. With the 4SE all the objects will appear to rotate on the image.

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Baz, if photography is to become an important factor you will need to consider a equatorial mount ( GEM ) as this is able to track correctly, the stars and other celestial bodies, and is not affected by earth rotation, as an Alt/Az mount is, which only moves in two directions up/down and from side to side, the GEM properly set up is able to describe an arc similar to the movement of the stars and other heavenly bodies. Your choice may now be in terms of a separate scope and mount to provide what you want, however, other than basic photography, the equipment for imaging on a proper basis can run you far in excess of you present budget. HTH

John.

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Hi Baz and welcome to SGL ;)

An alt/az scope with tracking/goto is usually fine for some elementary imaging of planets with a webcam. For dso imaging you'll need a good beefy equatorial mount, highly accurate tracking and guiding, and accurate polar alignment. The reason is long expsoures are required to capture the faint light from distant objects (typically 10+ mins). It's not so easy as snapping a daytime object. There's also considerable processing to do once the frames are grabbed. It's not as simple as click and view which so many starters think. Oh and it gets expensive - you're talking over a grand for a very basic dso imaging setup :rolleyes:

(it's a steep and long learning curve so considerable research and learning will be mandatory lol)

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Hi Baz, Welcome to the lounge, I got the 4se when I first started earlier in the year. It offers nice views of the moon and jupiter.

It wasn't long untill I fell to the grips of apature fever and now I've changed everything I bought.

I highly recomend 'Making every photon count' by steve richards. It's important to have a clear objective of what you want to acheive (whether it's visual, imaging or a mixture of the two). In the end it'll save you a lot of money

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Hi brantuk

Thanks for your reply re the mount. During my initial reseach I've become aware of the long exposures and post-processing via something like Registax to finalise images, but just didn't make a connection with having the right mount; I just presumed that if I had a go-to mount that it'd keep the objects in view for filming - I guess being a newbie I didn't consider the Earth's rotation : / It sounds as though for the minute I might be best investing my money in a larger aperture [but still portable] scope so that I can view more objects, and worry about imaging at a later stage?

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Hey Baz, The 6se is pretty good. m42 look great an so does m27. you can also see good banding on jupiter, I haven't seen the red spot yet but I'm hopeful still ;). I use it with a 6.3 focal reducer and so far (even though I'm new myself) I more than happy with the results.

I think It's a good compromise if you're torn between imaging and visual.

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Hi Baz and welcome to the forum.

Even if imaging is now on the back burner I would second Spacebloke's recommendation of "making Every Photon Count" (FLO £19.95). A good read and a modestly priced book containing a wealth of information.

Clear skies

James

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Hi there Baz, welcome to SGL ;)

Before making a start with astro-photography I second that you read Making Every Photon Count (by SGL's very own steppenwolf).

Easy to read, it's full of good advice aimed at the imaging novice, including choosing the right equipment - explaining what kit you'll need and, more importantly, why. Helping you avoid poor choices and costly mistakes. There's also loads of tips 'n' tricks as well as lots of other vital stuff.

Have a trawl through the imaging sections too. They're full of info and some very experienced and talented folk who, I'm sure, will be more than happy to share advice and guidance with you.

HTH :rolleyes:

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Hi Baz

A very warm welcome to the SGL

when I fist joined a Asronomy club I asked the top members of 20years plus what sort of scope to get I was looking at a 6" scope I was told that if I had any light pollution I should go for a 8"=200mm scope and I did and thank them every time I go out with my scope

all the best and clear skies

Doug

Essex UK

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