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Hello to one and all. Help......

SimpSmooth

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SimpSmooth

SimpSmooth

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Help me please. I am fairly new to astronomy and want to buy my first 'proper' telescope. I have got a budget of around £250 - £300. What sort of thing should i be looking for? reflector or refractor? goto or not? I have been looking on the net for days but always end up getting confused. Should i buy something brand new? Could i look for something second hand that might be better? I really dont know what to do..... I didnt think choosing my first scope would be this hard!!! Any help would be a massive help.

I know this is all something you have heard on many occasions but any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

John

p.s. I would like to do some astro-photography...

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Pauly

Pauly

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Hi John, welcome aboard. Get trawling through the beginners advice section and you will find plenty of information to help you in your choice. Second hand kit is a good option, but obviously you will need to know what you are looking at to avoid buying a lemon.

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Grunthos

Grunthos

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Hi John

Welcome to the wonderful world of astronomy.

I too would advise a binocular to start with (and maybe a planisphere and a star chart).

You could get a decent 10x50 binocular (for under £50 maybe?) that you will get a lot of use and fun out of.

Many, many astronomers start on bins (and end up keeping them).

Plenty of time for you to consider which type scope may be for you.

Relax and take your time. :D

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omeganeb

omeganeb

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Hello john boy.i kind of know how you feel mate.all this talk at work about scopes makes you want and you can talk to as many expierienced stargazers as you want who will say get some bins......but like me you wont lol.

I intend to also get some bins aswell but for some reason they just dont seem to have the same exitement attached to them as a scope.if you do indeed intend to go for a scope maybe its worh hand picking a few youve been looking at and seeing what peoples oppinions are of them.

For the money the skywatcher 130 seems a good common choice on here as ive seen in some posts.buying used i guess is always going to be risky especially if being transported by courier as i guess banging these badboys isnt a good thing.

There appears to be so much to learn with this hobby and it can be daunting with all the questions you just want answering......im the same.

I heard that different scopes ie refractors,reflectors,dobs,macs etc are good for looking at different stuff.i heard this from a guy in "the"shop today be it true or not so i guess it depends on what you also sant to focus on looking at if true.unfortunately i want to see everything i possibly can :/

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JamesM

JamesM

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Hi John and welcome to the forum. The biggest aperture of scope you can buy is a dobsonian as all the money goes into the tube and mirror rather than motors or GOTO. Bizibuilder suggested the 200p and I would second that because an 8" aperture will start to help you resolve enough detail to make observing really interesting. It is probably the most popular scope that people use and there is a good reason for that and that is beacause it will show you some good views. Your money will not go far on a scope, if you have to add on the expense of a mount/tripod and motors etc. It will mean that your choice and size of scope will start to get smaller and smaller making the viewing experience seem less worthwhile. Second hand is where the best deals are to be found BUT you really need to know what you are looking at and as someone starting out, that might represent more of a headache.

I would like to put another suggestion to you. Buy nothing for now and instead find out when and where your nearest astro club/society will be holding an outreach event so that you can go along and take a look through some of the different scopes that are out there. Getting your 'eye in' on some of this gear is really what it is all about and that experience will help you to coe to the right decision.

Clear skies

James

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SimpSmooth

SimpSmooth

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Hi John and welcome to the forum. The biggest aperture of scope you can buy is a dobsonian as all the money goes into the tube and mirror rather than motors or GOTO. Bizibuilder suggested the 200p and I would second that because an 8" aperture will start to help you resolve enough detail to make observing really interesting. It is probably the most popular scope that people use and there is a good reason for that and that is beacause it will show you some good views. Your money will not go far on a scope, if you have to add on the expense of a mount/tripod and motors etc. It will mean that your choice and size of scope will start to get smaller and smaller making the viewing experience seem less worthwhile. Second hand is where the best deals are to be found BUT you really need to know what you are looking at and as someone starting out, that might represent more of a headache.

I would like to put another suggestion to you. Buy nothing for now and instead find out when and where your nearest astro club/society will be holding an outreach event so that you can go along and take a look through some of the different scopes that are out there. Getting your 'eye in' on some of this gear is really what it is all about and that experience will help you to coe to the right decision.

Clear skies

James

Thanks alot for the info, looks like i definitely need to do more research.

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SimpSmooth

SimpSmooth

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Hi and welcome. If buying off Ebay or other such sites be careful as there are some unscrupulous folks out there, selling rubbishy second-hand telescopes at grossly inflated prices.

Yeah thats what I thought, I didnt want to buy something that is just going to be a heap of junk.

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SimpSmooth

SimpSmooth

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Hi John, welcome aboard. Get trawling through the beginners advice section and you will find plenty of information to help you in your choice. Second hand kit is a good option, but obviously you will need to know what you are looking at to avoid buying a lemon.

If i was to go down the 2nd hand route, do you know of any sites that do that sort of thing?

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