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Greetings Good People...

Boris

By Boris
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Boris

Boris

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First off, a quick introduction if I may. I've been looking over this forum for a while and have been very impressed and encouraged by the level of enthusiasm and expertise on display here. I started dabbling in Astronomy when at the age of shorts being pretty well compulsory, my parents bought me a small telescope. In retrospect it was the sort of thing that would make people feel strangely cheated if it came out of a Christmas cracker, but it was enough to sow a seed that has recently been rekindled.

Following on from my early interest, I was lucky enough to do an Astronomy 'O' level at school and eventually went on to read Astrophysics at university. For a variety of reasons I left the academic environment and joined up, becoming a navigator in the RAF (where I was lucky enough to use Astro-navigation during my years on the long-haul fleet). I can't imagine much in the way of practical astronomy that's quite as concentrating to the mind as hanging off a periscopic sextant over a large expanse of ocean hoping that the dim object that you can barely make out is fact the star that a series of difficult sums were based on and that from the position you find after the 20 minute process you will have enough fuel to make landfall. Ah, the days before GPS...

I have always maintained a basic interest in astronomy but recently when taking a photo of the moon as part of checking a new lens on my camera I looked at the picture, saw the craters and was transported back many years to sitting in a field near the school with an old brass refractor and sketching some of the things that I saw in the skies.

So, it's time to get back into the hobby that fascinated me for years and here I am, the newest kid on this fantastic resource and predictably, here's a question. Photography has also been a hobby of mine for many years and the prospect of linking that with astronomy is very appealing. I would be starting essentially from scratch but would be looking to buy a set-up that will allow observation and photography of the moon and planets along with some DSOs.

My budget would be up to £900 (maybe slightly more if it meant a significant advantage in performance) and I am always glad of giving others the opportunity to spend money for me. I live in Wiltshire so even in my postage stamp sized garden, light pollution is not a major issue (and if someone does inadvertently light a wicker man*, there are plenty of dark locations nearby). I also don't have to do any explaining about what I spend or get in anyone's good books to enjoy the hobby, so feel free to indulge your imaginations.

I would be very grateful to take your advice and to get the benefit of some of the knowledge out there.

Thanks very much.

Simon

* I've heard all the jokes from my mates who still live in London and I've explained to them that "Hot Fuzz" is not a comedy film, it's a documentary...

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Boris

Boris

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By the way, what make of brass refractor did you use?

Thanks Brass n Glass, it's good to be here. As for the refractor I have no idea of the make now, it may well have been a home build or school project from an earlier time. It was over 20 years ago and my main memories were of getting the keys for the Science Centre out in the evening, taking a desk with my notebooks and pencils in it out to the site (about a quarter of a mile), then going back for the tripod and a chair, and then repeating the whole process for the refractor tube. I didn't know much about metallurgy, but looking back I would swear that it was actually brass-plated depleted uranium and that when I did the return journeys to take everything back the local gravitational field had at least doubled.

Good character building stuff...

As a quiet aside - Wiltshire rocks doesn't it?

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lunator

lunator

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Boris

Welcome to SGL

There will be plenty of advice on what to buy etc.

Cheers

Ian

PS Wiltshire is a great place. (I'm a born & bred Londoner but my Ancestors haol from Wroughton)

Cheers

ian

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Boris

Boris

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Thanks Lunator, ah Wroughton, I've got some friends out that way and still sometimes take that road to get up to the Arts Centre in Swindon (yes, there is one) for comedy gigs. I will admit that as much as I like to visit London (where I was born) there is something comforting for me in seeing the bridges along the Embankment get smaller in the rear view mirror as I head West.

Captain Chaos, thanks, the budget does not include a camera. I have a selection of digital cameras (mainly due to a pathological inability to get rid of old technology - something of a personal flaw, I mean it's not like it's going to become cutting edge again is it?)

I would plan to use my Canon EOS 400D, but then again will listen to what advice is out there.

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Cloudgazer

Cloudgazer

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Hello Simon / Boris..

I'm pretty new to Astronomy so probably not the best person to advise you on how to spend you're money.. but there are plenty of experienced imagers on here who I'm sure will give some advice. With a budget of £900 theres some very nice kit available to you.

Welcome to SGL

Scott

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Whippy

Whippy

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Welcome Boris :D. £900 is plenty of money for something that'll keep you amused for many an hour. I'm sure you've read plenty of the 'help me choose a telescope' threads, so I believe the same advice still stands. Aparture is king and a good motorised mount is the weapon of choice for astrophotography. Perhaps an 8" or 10" reflector on an HEQ5?

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Kaptain Klevtsov

Kaptain Klevtsov

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I'd second that choice. Either a 200mm Newt. on a HEQ5 Pro goto mount, or a 250mm Newt. on an EQ6. Both are within budget and great for photography.

If you don't fancy something quite that big, an ED80 or ED100 on an HEQ5 would also be good.

The Canon camera that you have is the weapon of choice for DSLR users so that's a good thing.

Captain Chaos

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Boris

Boris

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A huge thank you to all who have welcomed me (back) into the fold. Here's a quick question, I have been offered a Meade LX90 8" SCT with Meade Alt-Az tripod (with Autostar), Power Pack, 8 x 50 viewfinder, Moon filter, Diagonal prism (and another erect image diagonal) 26mm super plossl and 13.8mm wide-angle eyepieces. The price on the lot is £800. My thinking is that if I really get back into the sport, I could upgrade at a later stage to the more hard-core equipment (the suggested HEQ5 or EQ6 with a 250mm Newt).

I'd be grateful for advice on whether the price I've been offered is reasonable.

Thanks!

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Boris

Boris

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Hi Simon, welcome aboard.

I suggest you consider the Skywatcher Explorer 200P and HEQ5 PRO

An excellent setup for both visual and observing 8)

Thanks Steve, that mount/OTA certainly seems to be the "drug of choice" around here and it looks very appealing. My plan (such as it is) is to get back into the swing of things with a simple set-up and then to move forward with equipment. The HEQ5 and EQ6 mounts look superb, but for the immediate future, the Meade seems a reasonable trade off between simplicity and performance. I think that right now after a long lay-off, I am at the colouring in without going over the edges stage. The Meade (as has been pointed out) should also be a doddle to re-sell in order to make the next move when I'm more certain of the direction I want to go in.

The advice is very welcome and the offer of 10% from your store is also something that will be influencing future purchases.

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