What else does a newbee need?

[the lemming]

Hello

I have finally nailed the choice of my first ever telescope, to keep me occupied this winter.

But what else should I be considering to tag along with the purchase of a 200P telescope?

The warm clothing is nailed.

[John]

Personally I'd keep it to a minimum until you have had some experience with the scope. My short list would be:

- A red-dot type finder such as a Telrad or Rigel Quikfinder

- A cheshire collimating eyepiece

- A good guide to the night sky

- A red torch

Thats probably about it to start with.

[Domis]

I would add a comfortable viewing chair or stool to the above.The longer you view an object the more detail you'll see and at times this becomes hard on the back.

[Stevie816]

Hi Lemming

I asked much the same question once

The best advice I got (in Hindsight)

Was Patience get plenty of patience

perhaps I would add perseverance.

Spend a lots of time looking at things and find out all about them

to understand what is going on

Get Stallarium (it's Free) and play with it to plan your viewing

Just spend time outside and learn your way around.

Steve

[brantuk]

Learn where the constallations are and what the main stars in each one are called. If you do two or three per month then after twelve months you'll be able to find anything in the sky. You're object will allways be a couple of star hops from a known constellation/star.

Get the Sky at Night magazine every month - they allways describe object positions this way

[twotter]

1) Stellarium (free download)

2) Red dot finder (I'm not a fan of telrads)

3) 1 hour for the telescope to cool outside before you start looking through it.

Enjoy!

[Merlin]

You might also consider attaching a laser-pen to your scope as a finder. You could either make a simple holder for the pen or buy one.

[SplintUK]

Once you get yourself going, the next thing I would buy is the revelation astro plossl eyepiece kit at FLO. They are a great way of finding where you will spend your EP money down the line, and are much better than the super 10, super 25 and cheapo Barlow that SW tend to provide bundled with the scope.

If you have an iPhone or iPad, skysafari is the best app to buy, stellarium is great on a mac or pc, but on iOS, skysafari knocks the socks off the iOS stellarium.

[rjsc2001]

A good book that show the most prominent objects for the seasson.

[Stephen]

Personally I'd keep it to a minimum until you have had some experience with the scope. My short list would be:

- A red-dot type finder such as a Telrad or Rigel Quikfinder

- A cheshire collimating eyepiece

- A good guide to the night sky

- A red torch

Thats probably about it to start with.

Perfect starting list

Once you get yourself going, the next thing I would buy is the revelation astro plossl eyepiece kit at FLO. They are a great way of finding where you will spend your EP money down the line, and are much better than the super 10, super 25 and cheapo Barlow that SW tend to provide bundled with the scope.

Each to their own, I would disagree though. Two or three BST/TMB eps and a good Barlow would be my preferred route.

[SplintUK]

A good book that show the most prominent objects for the seasson.

Agreed. I loved Turn Left At Orion which seems to be just about the standard text on beginners astronomy.

[Stephen]

Agreed. I loved Turn Left At Orion which seems to be just about the standard text on beginners astronomy.

Good shout! The new (ring bound) version is out next month

[SplintUK]

Each to their own, I would disagree though. Two or three BST/TMB eps and a good Barlow would be my preferred route.

Could you explain that in newbie speak please? What are BST/TMB EPs? And which ones should a newbie go for and why?

[RikM]

Personally I'd keep it to a minimum until you have had some experience with the scope. My short list would be:

- A red-dot type finder such as a Telrad or Rigel Quikfinder

- A cheshire collimating eyepiece

- A good guide to the night sky

- A red torch

Thats probably about it to start with.

Exactly right, and in the right order of importance. John gives good advice.

I also think that after that lot, a couple of nice EP's will be better than a set of cheapo ones.

[Stephen]

Could you explain that in newbie speak please? What are BST/TMB EPs? And which ones should a newbie go for and why?

I'm not a fan of the eyepiece kits, purely because I think there's a lot of wastage to them and you can get better eyepieces at a reasonable price.

BST Explorer and TMB Planetary eyepieces. They are not premium eyepieces (£40 new) but bang for buck are very, very good (and recommended lots on here)

As to which ones a newbie needs, I would refer you to the The Warthogs very good guide here for deciding on focal lengths for your scope.

[SplintUK]

I get what you are saying here, and there are some EPs in the middle if the box which don't often use, but the improved Barlow, the fantastic 32mm with tricked out camera connection and built in extension, and good plossl 20mm and 9mm, t-adapter and the box itself still make it a bargain, and have taught me a lot about what my scope is capable of in my (bad) viewing location. They are a lot better even visually to a novice like me than the standard SW bundled EPs.

I have to say to this point I don't regret buying them even a little bit. No doubt I will want to improve them later this year, so look out for a Splint near you eating his words ;-)

[rwilkey]

I suggest an ND96 (0.09) moon filter - http://www.skysthelimit.org.uk/telescope%20filters.html, the light grasp in the 200P is substantial and I think you will need it, alternatively a variable polarizing filter if budget allows: First Light Optics - Variable Polarizing Moon Filter

[swamp thing]

Hi Lemming

I asked much the same question once

The best advice I got (in Hindsight)

Was Patience get plenty of patience

perhaps I would add perseverance.

Spend a lots of time looking at things and find out all about them

to understand what is going on

Get Stallarium (it's Free) and play with it to plan your viewing

Just spend time outside and learn your way around.

Steve

Great advice hear.

Relax and enjoy.

Don't rush out and buy a Moon filter ( I observe it through my 16" without a filter ). Observe it first and see how you get on.

I observe with others that have bought these filters only to never use them.

Regards Steve

[dogfish]

I'm not a fan of the eyepiece kits, purely because I think there's a lot of wastage to them and you can get better eyepieces at a reasonable price.

BST Explorer and TMB Planetary eyepieces. They are not premium eyepieces (£40 new) but bang for buck are very, very good (and recommended lots on here)

As to which ones a newbie needs, I would refer you to the The Warthogs very good guide here for deciding on focal lengths for your scope.

I agree that EP sets are wasteful. I had the original Revelation set with an F10 SCT (where they performed, fine due to the long focal length) but even then only used about half of the EP's. Spend your money on a couple of halfway decent EP's (SW Nirvanas or Baader Hyperions), and I'd suggest something in the 25 to 32mm range, along with something in the 9 to 13mm range. I'd then look out for some 2nd hand orthos (lots of good ones to choose from) to give you higher power on the planets. You can add a Revelation barlow to that list and you'd be sorted for a while, at least.

Hope that helps, Martin

[twotter]

In an ideal world every new observer would know just what size EPs they want to use, and which type to buy.

But they don't.

Each of us has different eyesight, different tastes in targets, not to mention different budgets....and that's just for a start! What EP works for one doesn't necessarily work for another. So, a new observer either needs a friendly local astro society to visit to 'try before they buy', or they need to find out for themselves. SGL is a great place to ask questions and share knowledge but ask which EP to buy and you get a wide range of answers

The benefit of a kit is that it gives a new observer a range of EPs to try, all of which are better quality than the supplied EPs (at least the Skywatcher ones). I couldn't afford a kit when I started observing, but built up a collection of GSO & Meade 4k plossls instead. If I could have afforded a kit I would have bought one.

With this approach I know I quickly became aware which EPs I used the most, so when budget allowed, I could upgrade. For my telescope, targets and budget, the Baader Hyperions are the EPs for me. I really like them and intend buying a few more before I'm finished, but I wouldn't have known which ones to get without my range of plossls.

[Helen]

A note book. Start recording your observations, and also what the weather's like, what it felt like to find something etc... Having to think about what you saw will make you more aware of it, and sketches will make you look harder - and thumbing through past sessions will make you smile again in the future. I reckon if you get into the routine while you're new to it all it'll be easier than for most of us who keep saying as a new season resolution we're going to do!!

Helen

[ollypenrice]

Two (or one) good EP beats any number of ordinary ones.

Olly

[todd8137]

Imagenation,patients, gloves hat scarf,headache tablets,sleepless nights,thermal socks,some filters,a couple a decent eps,plenty of hot tea,to able to control your self when you see your first cluster, the list is endless ,and make sure you set a budget and stick to it if you can

cheers

clear skies always