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Help: I am a beginner!

Shakeyjc

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Shakeyjc

Shakeyjc

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Hi, this is my first post, and well i hope i do not displease any members :D

I am looking to invest in my first telescope.(i have looked at some other threads on this, but i have a few more questions).

I am looking for a telescope that will allow me to observe a lot of things in the sky (Bright or dim), and last me for a while. I have looked around and had a look at the different types of telescopes and so on. I would like to know what kind of telescope I should be looking at and how much visual quality it will provide. I was looking at reflector telescopes as these appear to have bigger apperatures (and therefore take in more light and will allow me to see objects that are dimmer or see them clearer?). Any advice? For example, what kind of pleasure will a 4.5" Reflector provide? Thanks for reading. Please don't burn me. :D

EDIT: I am looking at the £150 area.

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The Warthog

The Warthog

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In general, if you are not planning to do photography, you get the most bang for the buck out of a Dobsonian. Get the largest aperture you can afford, and realize that you will spend more, later on things like eyepieces, filters, finderscopes, books, charts, torches and other odds and ends. I know an astronomer who uses a 6" Skywatcher Dob, and has used it for several years. He also has Pentax eyepieces, which make a great difference to his views, and probably each cost as much as his scope. You don't have to go that far in your accessorizing, but you will want to add better parts as time goes by. I think that 6" Dob should be within your price range, and comes with a couple of decent Plossl eps. That will get you started.

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dazza1639

dazza1639

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Welcome to SGL Shakeyjc. I got a 4.5" reflector a few years ago as a present, my recommendation would be to stretch your budget as much as possible and get as large a scope as you can. This way you won't be itching to upgrade after a few months when you can't see as much as you thought. I think if you aren't interested in photography then go for a Dob of at least 6", 8" if you can get your budget to stretch that far.

Darren

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FLO

FLO

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Hi Shakeyjc,

The most popular reflector at around £150 is the Skywatcher Explorer 130PM. It is the best at its price if you want a GEQ mount, particularly since they started including a motor.

However, I agree with the others and suggest you give the Skyliner 150P serious consideration. Its larger aperture will capture 33% more light. If you later add some tube-rings and mount it on a driven GEQ mount, you will also have an excellent set-up for planetary observing.

Hope that helps.

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Shakeyjc

Shakeyjc

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Thank you very much for the replies! However i am still stuck between getting the larger aperature (6") or the equatorial mount. How much could i actually see witha 4.5" in comparison to a 6" ? And how much difference does the EQ mount make?

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FLO

FLO

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A motor-drived GEQ mount is handy when observing at higher magnifications as it tracks the object, keeping it in the eyepiece. The Dobsonian will need to be nudged periodically as the object starts to move out of the eyepiece. The extra aperture comes into its own when observing faint deep-sky objects such as nebulae and galaxies - it will see objects that are too faint for the smaller aperture and will reveal more detail.

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FLO

FLO

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In theory (under a perfect dark-sky) the 130PM will achieve a limiting magnitude (visual) of 13.1 and the 150P 13.4 It isn't just the increase in brightness, there is also an increase in definition when you see thru a larger aperture.

The secondary mirror-supports (spider) are responsible for the star-like diffraction spikes that appear on bright objects. Some observers like them and actually add them to images taken on other telescopes (by stretching wire across the aperture or using image processing software). It isn't something I'd worry about.

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Chubster

Chubster

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Hi Shakey

You could go for this...and I have just reduced it :D. Great scope that works well on both planets and DSO's. All you need to do is get a mount which can be had reasonably second hand and away you go.

Cheers

Chub

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Shakeyjc

Shakeyjc

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That 8" is big lol! What do you guys think is the best out of the Skywatchers the 150P or the 130PM ? Will both allow me to looks at DSOs? I'm stuck lol. Can you guys show me some images of what i can see with these scopes? Thanks.

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FLO

FLO

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Also - I am still split between those two products lol :?

How much will i miss out by having the smaller aperature?

There is no wrong choice between those two scopes but they are different.

It is difficult to define what you will miss by choosing the smaller aperture. If your interest is mainly Solar System objects - Moon, Planets and Sun - then you won't miss much at all. If you are mainly interested in deep-sky-objects then aperture is King and you should seriously consider the Dobsonian.

NB: ONLY VIEW THE SUN WITH A SUITABLE SOLAR FILTER! VIEWING THE SUN DIRECTLY WILL RESULT IN PERMANENT EYE DAMAGE!! Sorry to be dramatic but it is best to be safe.

Just wondering how much does delivery from your site cost?

If you click 'Add to Cart' the postage will be displayed. If you enter 'sglflo' in the coupon box at the checkout, 10% will deducted automatically.

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Stardust

Stardust

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NB: ONLY VIEW THE SUN WITH A SUITABLE SOLAR FILTER! VIEWING THE SUN DIRECTLY WILL RESULT IN PERMANENT EYE DAMAGE!! Sorry to be dramatic but it is best to be safe.

I find this red text is giving me eye damage, does it affect anyone else?

NO - probably just me

Dave

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John

John

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Can you guys show me some images of what i can see with these scopes? Thanks.

If you have a look at this thread and follow some of the links provided you will find some images of what objects really look like through typical amateur telescopes.

http://stargazerslounge.co.uk/index.php?topic=10704.0

The problem is that there are some fantastic photos of astro objects around which can lead to a sense of anticlimax when you actually look though your eyepiece at the same objects (with some exceptions such as the moon etc).

In particular some deep sky objects are very subtle - exciting to know that you are seeing them with your own eyes, but subtle.

John

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Shakeyjc

Shakeyjc

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Also, how much will some light pollution affect the performance of the scopes, there can be a lot round here, but there are dark portions of sky (facing away from the city) and late at night not many people have their lights on lol :D Thanks very much for all your replies so far, its helping me a lot.

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John

John

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Also, how much will some light pollution affect the performance of the scopes, there can be a lot round here, but there are dark portions of sky (facing away from the city) and late at night not many people have their lights on lol :D Thanks very much for all your replies so far, its helping me a lot.

I have the same problem which is why I use scopes which I can move around relatively easily - that way I can avoid the worst of the light pollution. There are also filters available which can help with this - they don't actually make the astro objects brighter but they cut down the "glow" from streetlights etc.

John

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