best beginners telescope to buy

[colinvansmith]

Hi all i'm colin im from Falkirk in Scotland and new to the forum i have always had a keen interest in astronomy and would now like to purchase my first telescope but am unsure where to start.

i've had a look around but i am overwhelmed by the choice. Can any one advice me on the best type and where to buy it. I'm not looking to spend a fortune but would like something decent. Also is there telescopes available that you can attached a camera to in order to take pictures

thanks in advance.

Col

[brantuk]

Hi Colin and welcome to the forum.

It would help a lot if you could tell us your approx budget. Scope are many types and qualities (even the beginner ones) and a huge range of prices depending on what you go for. You can attach a camera to most telescopes with the addition of just a couple of purpose made standard rings and threads.

I should warn you though - astro photography can be very demanding and really quite expensive depending on how far you go into it

[colinvansmith]

Hi,

Forgetting the camera set up for the moment I'm not really want to spend much over £200 is that enough to get a decent beginners telescope

Col

[Catweazel]

Hi Colin & welcome to the forum

Something like the Skywatcher Explorer 130P would be a nice scope for that sort of money:

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Explorer 130P

[John]

Hi and welcome to the forum !

£200 will get you a good scope if you are happy to do without the technical gizmos that will find objects to view for you and track them. Many people are prepared to do these things themselves which means that you could get 6" aperture newtonian scope on a simple dobsonian mount, like this:

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Skyliner 150P Dobsonian

If you feel that you must have the technical stuff then the optical capability of the scope will need to be compromised a lot to fit within your budget and the views you get will be less impressive.

[Cornelius Varley]

The Skyliner 150P is the best telescope under £200 First Light Optics - Skywatcher Skyliner 150P Dobsonian

Peter

[daf1999]

Hi Colin,

I had the same budget and after months of research plumped for the following which came under budget

Skywatcher Heritage Flextube 130

TAL Barlow x2

Phillips webcam

^ all in stock at Sherwoods. The flextube is very easy, and portable.

[colinvansmith]

Is it worth me saving up some more to get a scope with all the gizmos to help me find objects. I don't want to buy a scope only to find that i out grow it within a few months. What sort of money are you talking about to get one with all the gizmos. Its so over whelming lol

Col

[brantuk]

I'd concur with the advice above - 130p or 150p are both good starter scopes that I've used on both equatorial and dobsonian mounts.

Dobs with tracking and goto start roughly around £700 new - largely cos they have larger apertures. A goto equatorial mount will start around £400 - £500 complete with a newtonian, or the smaller alt/az goto scopes can start around £250-£350.

You can make considerable savings buying second hand but first thing to do is read up on the different types, how they work, and decide wich suits your needs best.

Key criteria are aperture size (bigger is better), reflector or refractor, tracking or goto (remember the more you spend on electronics detracts from what you spend on optics). Anything you want explaining by all means ask more questions - it can get confusing lol

[Matt 82]

Hello Colin, I'm from Falkirk too. I would personally avoid spending loads on a beginner's scope for the simple reason that looking down a telescope at small dots of light in the freezing cold might not be for you. You do say you have a keen interest so maybe you have experience of it?

Anyway, Skywatcher's Dobsonian line are good value for money so I would recommend (as most others will) that you take a look at them.