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1145p or 130?


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Hello,

I'm buying a telescope for the first time and I'm looking for a little bit of advice.

Everything I've seen seems to suggest that the Skywatcher skyhawk 1145p and the Explorer 130 are both good choices as starter scopes, but I'm finding it difficult to choose between them. Is the parabolic mirror or better light gathering more important? I would go for the 130p but I can't really afford more than £150. Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers

Adam

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130p i reckon, & wait a little longer till you've saved the extra £.

The 1145p's mount lets it down somewhat IMO.

Failing that look for a 2nd hand explorer 130, you don't seem to see many 130p's going in the used market- must be a reason for that.

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Thanks everyone - really quick responses!

I had a look at the heritage 130p but I wonder if the fact that half of it is uncovered would pose problems with light coming in from the side? I hasten to add I am a total newbie...

Is it fair to say then that a parabolic mirror makes a real difference to image clarity, and so I should probably rule out the non-parabolic 130?

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Imho don't go for a non-parabolic mirror - you'll have a better experience with a parabolic one. The trusses can be covered with a shroud that you can either make yourself with black material - or buy a tailor made one from somewhere like astro zap (but they do tend to be expensive). :)

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I bought the 1145p last week and had a first session with it tonight and very happy. Saw Jupier, its moons and two big bands, the Pleiades looking very nice and the Orion nebula.

What I found when looking for a telescope is that there's always one a bit better for a bit more money and whenever you ask for opinions the majority on here only want to talk about the next one up to the one you want (ie you saying you can't afford the 130p but almost every response telling you to get it anyway)

I chose the 1145p over the 130 because of the parabolic mirror and the difference in aperture to the 130 isn't really that much. I'll probably upgrade to a 150 or 200 in a year or so but for now i'm very happy with what I've got.

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Cheers for the advice guys. The 130p seems like a good choice, or the heritage dob plus a bit of black cloth :).

Either way I'll keep looking and researching and see what comes up.

Thanks

Adam

The Heritage is a great scope. Its a parabolic mirror and larger aperture then the 114 (not by much).

Go for it if you can afford it.

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