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New Guy from across the Pond

Dark Infinity

By Dark Infinity
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Dark Infinity

Dark Infinity

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I've been posting for a couple months now, I figure I should introduce myself.

My name is Jack, and I live in south western Pennsylvania over in the USA. I'm happily married and have a 2 year old daughter. I'm an a Software Engineer by trade, but I have a degree in Applied Physics. I've always been fascinated by the night sky. Ever since I was young and at summer camp. The camp was high up in the mountains, far away from the lights of any city and it was a crystal clear night. I've been hooked ever since.

I have finally gotten to the point in my life that I can afford the equipment to start getting into this. I have a Nikon D3100 that came with a 18-55mm lens, that is good for wide field. I just got a 500mm lens for Christmas and am looking forward to my next clear night. I also got a projection adapter for my telescope. It's just an into telescope (Celestron Powerseeker 70 AZ). I figured I would get something cheap to start with, then save up some money to get a telescope I can really enjoy once I figure out what I really want to do with it.

I'm kinda leaning toward the Celestron NexStar 5SE. Just for the balance of quality, usability and price. If anyone has any better suggestions in the same price range I'm open to suggestions.

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JamesM

JamesM

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Hi Jack and welcome to the forum. My other half has the very scope you mention and the coatings it has does provide for a good transmission of light. I would say they are very good for lunar and planetary observing. Of course there is always bigger scopes out there and aperture does help secure finer resolution due to the greater capabilities in light capture as light equals information! :D For the money though, a dobsonian (newtonian reflector on an alt azimuth mount rather than equatorial style) will always provide the greatest aperture for your cash. I don't know the prices stateside, but for the same money you could buy an 8" dob that would show you more detail and provide a slightly wider field of view than the schmidt design which has a longer tube (in real terms) that instead provides greater magnification. Might provide you in the future with the perfect excuse to get more than one scope!:)

Your choice above is a good one if you know its limitations (or specialisation) but a good all rounder for me would be the 'dob' as all the money goes into the mirror and its size.

Clear skies

James

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Nitrogen

Nitrogen

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Hi Jack,

I'm also on your side of the pond. I agree with James' money:aperature ratio of dobsonians, as I have one myself, but as you seem to be interested in imaging, it's hard to suggest. They do make motor-driven dobs, but I assume cassegrains are smoother for imaging due to their lower weight and size (I can't speak to this directly; I'm a visual observer only).

There are loads of posts here trumpeting the greatness of the Nexstars, so the biggest aperture you can afford should be a solid purchase.

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barkis

barkis

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Hello, and a warm welcome to the SGL Forum Jack.

One thing you can be assured of, is plenty of good advice from a very knowledgable membership.

Enjoy your new found interest in Astronomy, both visual and imaging. The latter ingredient can become a big drain on your wallet, so beware :D.

Ron.

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Dark Infinity

Dark Infinity

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Thanks for the warm welcome and suggestions.

Hi Jack,

I'm also on your side of the pond. I agree with James' money:aperature ratio of dobsonians, as I have one myself, but as you seem to be interested in imaging, it's hard to suggest. They do make motor-driven dobs, but I assume cassegrains are smoother for imaging due to their lower weight and size (I can't speak to this directly; I'm a visual observer only).

There are loads of posts here trumpeting the greatness of the Nexstars, so the biggest aperture you can afford should be a solid purchase.

That is part of the reason I was thinking of the cassegrains was for the imaging side. Is there a good comparison for imaging dob vs cas?

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