Help and advice please :)

[S1m0n]

Hi guys hope someone can help or advise

I think i posted in wrong section last time bt i beleive this is the correct place.

Anyways I purchased a celestron 102gt but buyer has said parcelforce has lost it so issued me a refund.

Now iam looking for another scope and wha i need from it is the following

I want to be able to view planets like jupiter and saturn and be able to see the moons and rings

I alo would like to see many of the other things that the sky nd space offer so a good magnification would be nice

It will also need to be motorised to point it to the right places

My budget is around £300 possibly £400

so if anyone has any suggestions etc

[wired2moon]

Skywatcher skyliner 200p - don't own one myself (at least not yet ) but I've read so much about them that I'm confident it's the best choice in that price bracket - it will show you loads. Instead of motorisation get a good book like Turn left at Orion - that will get you around the sky rightly and the dob mount is meant to have quite steady, smooth movement. Accessories needed will include red light torch, moon filter and collimator, then you're good to go. Will come in at under £350 the lot, less if you buy 2nd hand also consider TAL x2 Barlow and more EPs later on when you've established viewing preferences.

[Rob L]

Hi Simon,

I'd have thought a Skymax 127 fits most of your requirements: First Light Optics - Skywatcher Skymax 127 SynScan AZ GOTO

Great for the moon and planets, and some of the brighter dso's too.

In budget too at £385.

Rob

[S1m0n]

both sound interesting i will have a good read up on both to see what each have etc

much appreciated for the quick reply guys

[S1m0n]

well ive had a good look at both and they are pretty impressive hard decision to make and if that wasnt hard i seen this scope too

Celestron 31145 NexStar 130 SLT Series Newtonian Reflector Telescope

This also looked impressive anyone got one or can comment if it is any good or should i stick with one of the two that has already been mentioned ?

[Capricorn]

It will also need to be motorised to point it to the right places

By this do you mean Goto ?

The 200P is a dobsonian, no motors, you point it at the object, find the object and nudge the scope to maintain the object in the field of view.

You have 3 splits, Manual, Tracking, Goto.

The more Tracking/Goto then generall the smaller the scope, you have to pay for the tracking/goto bits. They are not free.

Decide which one then a more accurate answer can be given, otherwise you will get all options suggested and that is really no headway.

[S1m0n]

By this do you mean Goto ?

The 200P is a dobsonian, no motors, you point it at the object, find the object and nudge the scope to maintain the object in the field of view.

You have 3 splits, Manual, Tracking, Goto.

The more Tracking/Goto then generall the smaller the scope, you have to pay for the tracking/goto bits. They are not free.

Decide which one then a more accurate answer can be given, otherwise you will get all options suggested and that is really no headway.

I will need tracking/goto so it will find what im after for me (this is my first choice as iam new to this) and what im after from the scope is to be able to view planets like jupiter hopefully clear but viewing some deeps space objects would be nice too.

I live in the north east of england and obviously living just outside of the city centre we have some light polution but on a clear night we get a good few stars.

Any suggestions are appreciated and if you need any more infor just ask I will try and answe best i can

[Capricorn]

If goto then this page on FLO looks to display the SW offerings:

First Light Optics - AZ GOTO

They are all on an Alt/Az mount.

The EQ mounts with goto seem to be higher.

Be aware that they are not fully automatic, you have to supply data and perform the aligment after that they goto. Say this as many have initial problems with goto's.

Think there is an ETX-90 on Astro Buy and Sell at the moment, somewhere around £280. Saw it last night.

Mention as I find the Meades easier to set up.

[wired2moon]

Simon - with a little effort, self education and the assistance of resources like star maps / books and pc / iPhone planetarium software finding stuff isn't as hard as you might think. Certainly hard to miss the likes of Jupiter! And navigating your own way around is satisfying. Point is you'll see more for your budget with a dob since large a whack of the cost is NOT going on GoTo tech at the expense of the optical. Don't get me wrong, GoTo is cool but you'll no doubt want to get the best views possible - and you *will* find stuff with perseverance.

[S1m0n]

Simon - with a little effort, self education and the assistance of resources like star maps / books and pc / iPhone planetarium software finding stuff isn't as hard as you might think. Certainly hard to miss the likes of Jupiter! And navigating your own way around is satisfying. Point is you'll see more for your budget with a dob since large a whack of the cost is NOT going on GoTo tech at the expense of the optical. Don't get me wrong, GoTo is cool but you'll no doubt want to get the best views possible - and you *will* find stuff with perseverance.

I have noticed that you do get a better scope without the goto , if its easy enough to pick up and navigate it might be worth me trying a manual scope.

Could i ask what sort of viewing i could expect from where i live ? I live in newcastle and as per one of my posts i live about 5 miles from city centre so we do get light polution but when the skies are clear you get a nice view.

[Stu Skywatcher]

S1m0n, have you read this http://stargazerslounge.com/beginners-help-advice/72869-essential-reading-those-who-thinking-about-getting-into-astronomy.html

Follow the hyper links in the 1st and 7th post, very informative.....

[wired2moon]

I have noticed that you do get a better scope without the goto , if its easy enough to pick up and navigate it might be worth me trying a manual scope.

Could i ask what sort of viewing i could expect from where i live ? I live in newcastle and as per one of my posts i live about 5 miles from city centre so we do get light polution but when the skies are clear you get a nice view.

I'll let the city dwellers advise you on that - though its worth mentioning there is another thread here on SGL that may be relevant, entitled something like 'more aperture vs darker skies' - the gist being if you don't have dark skies then larger aperture (and maybe the use of filters) may help compensate. All very debatable though.

Really your best bet is to seek out and meet up with a local astronomy club and go look through a few different telescopes - that's bound to help you decide what's right for you.

[Northern Soul man]

Hi S1m0n - welcome, I've got a Celestron 127 Mak and think, for its size, its a really good scope - I live in the light polluted West Midlands (about 1 mile from a large town (Dudley) fantastic views of the planets/Moon and even from the light polluted skies I can pick out the brighter Messier Objects around mag 9 and a lot of the NGC objects, you won't get the majority of the Galaxies - these are really faint, and need really large apertures and much darker skies than we have.

I've owned a few scopes from 8" to 12" and the 127, for its size, is a really good scope and with GOTO you spend more time actually looking at the object - rather than searching for it - just start with the really bright objects to check accuracy of alignment (GOTO the brightest stars in each constellation and check to see if they are centred in the eyepiece) and then try for the brighter Messier galaxies (eg M81/M82 Ursa Major, the M galaxies in Leo a little later and anything thats directly overhead eg Andromeda) views are great in the 127 with a little time and patience.

[S1m0n]

Guys I cant thank you so much alot of information to take in but well worth it

Reading alot of the information gives you alot of insight but also gives me a dilema on the best scope as iam spoiled for choice as i can stretch the budget a bit.

What i plan to do first though is to resd some star maps and get some info on how to read the and how to match up with the sky above me and if I can understand that then i can look at what type of scope will suit me but so far this one without goto looks quite nice

Sky-Watcher Explorer-200P (EQ5) Parabolic Newtonian Reflector Telescope (10923/20464) - wex photographic

but obviusly i need to read before i make my final decision.

again much appreciated and if anyone has anything more to add please post i will be reading

[S1m0n]

Hi S1m0n - welcome, I've got a Celestron 127 Mak and think, for its size, its a really good scope - I live in the light polluted West Midlands (about 1 mile from a large town (Dudley) fantastic views of the planets/Moon and even from the light polluted skies I can pick out the brighter Messier Objects around mag 9 and a lot of the NGC objects, you won't get the majority of the Galaxies - these are really faint, and need really large apertures and much darker skies than we have.

I've owned a few scopes from 8" to 12" and the 127, for its size, is a really good scope and with GOTO you spend more time actually looking at the object - rather than searching for it - just start with the really bright objects to check accuracy of alignment (GOTO the brightest stars in each constellation and check to see if they are centred in the eyepiece) and then try for the brighter Messier galaxies (eg M81/M82 Ursa Major, the M galaxies in Leo a little later and anything thats directly overhead eg Andromeda) views are great in the 127 with a little time and patience.

this scope seems to be another one of my choices with what i have read and from what you say i should get some good views from where iam I should move down to devon where my aunt lives as they turn the street lights off after 9 which gives you a awsome view of the skies.

[wired2moon]

One more thing... get yourself a planisphere, it's a simple but ingenious device that really helps with night sky orientation.

Good luck Simon!

ZG

[S1m0n]

will look into one of those too

downloaded a nice little app for the ipad which shows whats in the sky where i am and roughly where they are as i move the ipad the stars move too

[S1m0n]

Ok I've had a good read still lots to learn but I'm in two minds on which version of the 200p to get so I would like some advise to which you guys think is the better model , see each link below

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SkyWatcher-Explorer-200P-1000-EQ5-Telescope/dp/B002OTZZPA/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2VAN26X5J76R0&colid=HIOT8LXCQY8Z

Or

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SkyWatcher-Skyliner-200P-1200-Classic-Telescope/dp/B001CITYFG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1330082934&sr=8-2

Which of the two would you guys say we're the better as both have good feedbacks and I'm not too genned up on what the full specs mean.

Again you guys have been excellent and I can't thank you enough

[S1m0n]

Also guys what book would everyone suggest for star maps ?