help getting started

[Scott]

i am trying to decide on a telescope but am pretty clueless as to what i need. i'd like to take images of planets, moon but would also like to view dso. i only have a budget of £300, is there anything suitable or am i dreaming. thanx

[rowan46]

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian

stick a webcam on this and you will get some decent images of the moon and planets, it's also big enough to view (not image) dso's. At this price there is nothing better for viewing dso's.

[Black Knight]

When viewing DSOs aperture trumps almost everything else. So on that basis I'd suggest the biggest aperture scope you can afford, which would be an 8" dob First Light Optics - Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian. This scope gives you most bang for your buck optics wise, combined with an inexpensive (relatively speaking of course) mount.

This scope wouldn't be suitable for long exposure photographs necessary for taking images of DSOs, but for lunar or planetary imaging a webcam or high frame-rate camera is the best tool anyway, and I believe you could probably get away with one of those on this scope.

You would need a collimation tool as well.

Edit: Must type quicker lol!

[Scott]

thanks for the help. everyone seems to be pointing me towards an 8" dob. ive been looking at Skywatcher Explorer 130P SynScan AZ GOTO but might need a rethink

[paul schofield]

Dont know anything about the Synscan AZ GOTO, But I had a SW130p and it is an excellent starter scope. The Skyliner 200p Dob is my current scope and is absolutely brilliant at under £300. Good luck..

[Stevie816]

Hi Auspom

The largest scope will give the best views, but a go to will find thousands of things easily that you would take ages to find. Without a go to the learning curve is much slower but you will end up a master of the sky. With my goto I learnt the sky quicker then bought a bigger scope for a better view. Buy a decent star atlas and study it .

Regards Steve

ps all roads lead two a bigger scope.