Help for a new member

[bsmk89]

First of all i want to say hello to everyone on here, so, hello

I have been interested in astronomy ever since i can remember and now i want to get into stargazing a lot more.

So onto my question. I have a budget of around £150 and would like some advice on what scope to get. I have been looking around the interwebs (and on these forums) for a while now and have noticed that the Skywatcher Explorer 130/900 and the Celestron AStromaster 130EQ are both recommended for starters.

But what are your opinions??

Also i was wondering what sort of things i would be able to see through a scope of this size e.g- will Jupiter still look fairly small or will i be able to see the cloud bands? Will i be able to see the rings of Saturn fairly clear? And would i be able to see deeper space objects?

Would love to hear your recommendations and advice.

Thanks.

Ben.

[sabana]

Sounds like the Sky-Watcher Skyliner 150P. Will give you the most aperture and the best views beyond anything else for that budget.

[John]

Sabana's recommendation is a good one. Jupiter and Saturn will look small (almost every beginner says this on 1st viewing them) but you will see nice detail if you concentrate and practice on viewing them. Very high magnifications will produce large but blurry views.

You will be able to see deep space objects, a few well, others as faint patches of light. No colours I'm afraid. Low to medium magnifications are good for those.

Hope that helps !

Welcome to the forum by the way !

[Freff]

Hi Ben and welcome to SGL.

I'm not familiar with these scope but I'm sure someone will be along soon to help out.

[bullettooth]

hey ben welcome. im a newbie too. im getting a skyhawk 114 for christmas which is ok for a beginner like me. another person on here also has one and says its a decent scope. so i definately believe that the scopes you have mentioned will be very good starting scopes.

im sure you will get some great advice on here. i have learned so much already from this site in the short time ive been a member.

good luck with whichever scope you decide to get.

[swamp thing]

Hi

I used a 4.5" newt for many years (was all I could afford at the time) it gave me some great views of the heavens.

It showed me the phases of Venus, the polar caps on Mars, the rings of Saturn, the main cloud belts of Jupiter, the tiny disc of Uranus, and numerous DSO's

Mine was of nowhere near the quality of the scopes of this size available today.

But a 6" Dob as mentioned is pretty hard to beat as a starter scope and will show a great deal more.

I personally would go for one of these if I had my time again.

Regards Steve

[bsmk89]

Wow, i'm amazed with all the replies already so thank you. I hadn't considered a dobsonian scope until now.

How easy are they to transport? And do they need a perfectly flat surface to sit on or would it be ok just placed down in a field or something like that?

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

[umadog]

Welcome!

Both a Dobsonian and the scopes you mentioned can be set up in a field. I've never had a problem finding somewhere to set up my Dob. The ground doesn't have to be perfectly flat for a Dob. With a tripod-mounted scope you can obviously level it by altering the leg heights.

A lot of us use Dobsonians and there are good reasons for that, as described by Swamp Thing. They are easy to transport and quick to set up. The design lends itself to being stable and not shaky, something which a tripod-mounted scope doesn't do well unless the mount is fairly substantial.

[bsmk89]

Thank you all again for the help!

I just have one more question. What is the difference that Focal length makes??

E.G one scope has a 650mm f/l and another has a 900mm f/l.

Still cant make up my mind between the Astromaster 130EQ and the Skyliner 150P haha.

Thanks.