Looking to buy a telescope, help/advice please.

[AdzNWMT]

OK guys, let's start this from scratch.

If you were to buy a telescope for mainly viewing purposes but with the option to get into astrophotography (through further investment in attachments,mounts, filters, etc), what would you buy? Bare in mind that I'll probably be walking 30-40 mins up to Pendle Hill's peak (1838 ft). I'm in great shape with a good athletic build so the weight isn't really the worry, it's the distance I'd be carrying it.

Would an 8" Dob be sufficient or not? If so, how big are the 8" Dobs? If the Dob was sufficient what sort of mount would I need to look to buy for viewing and what sort of mount would I need for astrophotography? If the Dob isn't sufficient what would you recommend and if possible can you please link me to something on FLO.

I'm not rushing my purchase and will definitely be taking your advice. I bought a few books based upon the advice given yesterday and will most likely be reading at least 1 or 2 of them before buying a scope.

As a beginner would something with a motorised mount be worth it, or is there more of a sense of accomplishment in finding things for yourself based upon books, skymaps, etc?

[earth titan]

I'll try to help the best I can, with some experience.

1. If you are looking to buy a scope for visual, with later on usage for astrophotography then this dicscounts dobs. The mount is not suitable (except for a little bit of lunar / planetary work) as it won't track. To track you would need an equatorial mount - at least an EQ3.

2. An EQ3 mount will be heavy and bulky. If you intend to walk more than a couple of hundred yards, consider carefully. I'm fit and healthy and used to walking and physical sports, but it would make me think twice.

3. The more the aperture, the more you can see. An 8" dob would be a great start for deep sky work but not really portable to the extent I think your talking.

4. For portability, think about an 80 to 100mm short tube refractor (f5 or similar). You won't get the same quality of views as you would with a big dob but they are 'back packable' and you can use it on a much lighter 'photographic' mount which can then be upgraded for photography.

Closest to your spec, but not light, would be a newtonian (6" to 8") on an EQ3 mount. Not light though...

At the end of the day, you won't find one scope to do everything. I have a big dob, small and long refractors and en EQ3 mount. I also have no money left.

[John]

An 8" dob weighs around 40 lbs in total. The pic below shows the general sizes. While it might fit your general objectives (you would need an HEQ5 mount at least for astrophography to carry the tube, when and if you move in that direction). Assuming you can get the scope to the top of the hill (), it will need re-collimating - not difficult but it's another aspect to consider.

A motorised / computerised mount jacks the cost (and weight) up, big time for computerised.

The simple way to get into the hobby would be an 8" dob and use it from your garden. See if you like it and then progress from there. Simplicity / ease of use = enjoyment in my view

[AdzNWMT]

The problem with viewing from my back yard is that it's a terraced house next to a busy pub with a lighted car park, so there is lots of light pollution and there is almost always alot of cloud cover.

My general idea of taking a scope up Pendle or even Hameldon hill is so that I'd be above a majority of the clouds that form around both hills peaks. Locally they say if you can't see the top of Pendle (because of the clouds and mist) then it's about to rain and if you can, it's already raining lol.

I'd be ok with a 40lb scope, I'm a floorlayer and regularly have had to carry extremely heavy products up narrow staircases in high rise buildings (damn you labourers) so I'd be fine with the weight. I'm also strong for my size, only 5'6" but between fights (Muay Thai) I weigh about 185-190lbs, at my lightest I'm 155lbs but I only get that low the days I weigh in for a fight (through dehydration and all that torturous stuff that's bad for your body lol).

Maybe the peak would be a bad idea, or maybe it'd be something to do once in a blue moon (no pun intended). I reckon going up Pendle just outside of villages like Sabden, finding the nearest car park and hopping over a wall would probably be the best bet. That way I'd be far away enough from the main towns to avoid light pollution, will be in a dark area in the countryside and would still be pretty high but I'd be able to avoid the 30-40 min hike with a big telescope and the rest of the gear.

Would a Newtonian be good for deep space observations, or would a Dob be the better bet?

[John]

.....Would a Newtonian be good for deep space observations, or would a Dob be the better bet?

Just to explain, a dobsonian is a newtonian scope on a simple mount devised by a guy called John Dobson - the whole scope seems to get referred to as a dobsonian though

Newtonians deliver the most aperture (mirror diameter) per £ of any scope type and, for deep sky observing, you need as much of that as you can get plus dark skies

[imarcs]

Maybe the peak would be a bad idea, or maybe it'd be something to do once in a blue moon (no pun intended). I reckon going up Pendle just outside of villages like Sabden, finding the nearest car park and hopping over a wall would probably be the best bet. That way I'd be far away enough from the main towns to avoid light pollution, will be in a dark area in the countryside and would still be pretty high but I'd be able to avoid the 30-40 min hike with a big telescope and the rest of the gear.

To be honest i reckon there are plenty of places within a 30-40 minute drive of you where you wouldn't need the hike. Fit or not (and i am unlike you definitely on the 'not' side) i would prefer to spend this time setting up and observing rather then walking. Also remember that a 30-40 minute walk back down in the rain is going to be most unpleasant for you and your gear.

Safety as well should be a consideration - Although you sound like you have that covered

Having said that, I do like the idea of backpack astronomy.

A very good idea would be to check out the Astronomy Centre in Todmorden. I reckon this will help you in your scope choice. And an appreciation of the skies available to you.

Reading 'Every photon counts' will also help your decision

Also my personal point of view is Binoculars first is best and dont rush to a scope. I believe exploring all the options, changing your mind 50 times, then changing it again is all part of the process and still very good fun. And this forum is the best place to do all that.

[imarcs]

There's also a discussion on here about Northwest Dark Skies

http://stargazerslounge.com/observing-discussion/149707-northwest-dark-skies.html

[Moonshane]

I agree that the cost of astrophotography is different depending on what you want to image and the quality you are content with. this is why I have never got into imaging as I 1) enjoy observing visually too much and 2) know that I would want to get images like the POW etc in the header. This latter point would entail spending a lot more than I have on a 6" dob, a 16" dob and a case full of televue eyepieces. Plus more time at the PC than I can afford.

If you just want to take images of planets and moon and the brighter star clusters and galaxies then this can be done to a reasonable standard relatively cheaply, possibly even within your £500 budget if you have a laptop. If not then I'd just concentrate on buying a good mount for now, not a scope and use this with your camera/lenses for widefield shots. That said you could probably buy a used 6" reflector tube only for maybe £75 which could possibly do both.

It's always imaging that puts a spanner in the works when it comes to this sort of thing. One scope will not cover the imaging of all targets and some people have 3 or 4 refractors just to accommodate different sizes of field.

personally I have never got on with bins for observing, they are quite literally (for me) a pain in the neck. I'd sooner have a small short focus refractor (which might be suitable for photography too) to be honest.

[AdzNWMT]

Thanks man, for now I'll probably go down the binoculars and reading the books I've ordered route but I'll definitely be making a purchase at some point within the next few months.

TBH I'd almost certainly do more "backpack astronomy" than simply viewing from my back yard, I believe the results would be better due to a clearer view of the sky and less light pollution with me being only about 1.5-2m outside Burnley centre.

A newtonian/dobsonian sounds like the best option so far, but that might change after some more research.

[Moonshane]

definitely visit the Astro Centre, I have never been but they are really helpful and friendly/knowledgeable. It will give a good idea of the use of various scopes.

[studio1one]

I'll try to help the best I can, with some experience.

1. If you are looking to buy a scope for visual, with later on usage for astrophotography then this dicscounts dobs. The mount is not suitable (except for a little bit of lunar / planetary work) as it won't track. To track you would need an equatorial mount - at least an EQ3.

Have to say I massively disagree with this. It's just a newt on a dob mount. You can take the scope off the dob mount and mount it on an EQ mount later should you so require.