Advice on an upgrade :-)

[Willock1977]

Hi, have a skywatcher 130 last year as my first telescope, it's good for the moon etc but really fancy an upgrade, I was looking at the nexstar 6, it's about the price range I'm willing to pay for, for a second telescope, anyone have/used one of these? Are there other others around the 800quid Mark anyone could recommmend? Would be very grateful for any advice, also what are the differences between nexstar 4,6, 8 etc? Any major differences? Cheers

[rowan46]

they are nice visual scopes on a pretty decent alt az goto fairly portable but expensive the 4se is a maksutov cassegrain the 5, 6 and 8 are schmidt cassegrain which are a slightly differerent scopethe 4 is a nice lunar scope the 6 and 8 are much better with dso's. If you want a goto altaz mount with a decent apparture the 6se is a nice scope but if you don't need a goto this scope is much better

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian

it is bigger at 8 inches so it can see more but has no electrics not as portable as the nexstars but this makes for simplicity and value all the money spent goes on optics if you really want goto but fancy putting a camera on this package looks quite decent it won't give you pics for astro mags but it's capable of giving you a little fun with a dslr if you choose to mount one on it

First Light Optics - Celestron C6-N GT (GOTO)

same apparture as the nexstar 6 so it will see a bit more than the 130p but of course will not see as much as the dob the main beauty of this package is you can try some dso imaging and expect to get something but if you just want to look the dobsonion is your best and most cost effective scope. welcome to sgl

[imarcs]

Welcome to SGL......

Check this one out. :-)

Celestron Nexstar Telescope signed by Prof Brian Cox & used on BBC Stargazing | eBay

[rowan46]

I wouldn't bother. somebody is going to pay over the odds for that.

[Catweazel]

I wouldn't bother. somebody is going to pay over the odds for that.

Absolutely right; but it won't be me

[imarcs]

Yep. Don't bother keeping an eye on a potential bargain right around your price point. Its not worth the 1 minute of effort. :-)

[hemihaggis]

Hi, have a skywatcher 130 last year as my first telescope, it's good for the moon etc but really fancy an upgrade, I was looking at the nexstar 6, it's about the price range I'm willing to pay for, for a second telescope, anyone have/used one of these? Are there other others around the 800quid Mark anyone could recommmend? Would be very grateful for any advice, also what are the differences between nexstar 4,6, 8 etc? Any major differences? Cheers

hi willock , first off you should have been able to see alot more than the moon!! a 130 is an exellent scope , capable of viewing all kinds of astronomical stuff like the planets and thier moons , galaxies , nebulas ,comets , binary stars and lots more .

what do you use to find your way in the sky ? is the scope goto ?

do you use stellarium ?

have you a copy of turn left at orion ?

[Willock1977]

hi willock , first off you should have been able to see alot more than the moon!! a 130 is an exellent scope , capable of viewing all kinds of astronomical stuff like the planets and thier moons , galaxies , nebulas ,comets , binary stars and lots more .

what do you use to find your way in the sky ? is the scope goto ?

do you use stellarium ?

have you a copy of turn left at orion ?

Hey, no it's not goto, I usually go online and see what's where on the night, keepin it very simple, there's loads of jargon people keep banging on about and I haven't a clue ha ha, ye I have managed to see Jupiter and it's moons with a barlow but not anything in any detail, they could have been bits of chewing gum on the end of it for what detail I get, it's a lot to take in I think and there's so many things on the Market and all of them promise it all to you

[boabsta]

Hi willok, I also had a 130 for a wee while there and know what you mean by the chewing gum on the end. I was also a wee bit miffed at not seeing much to begin with but there was 1 exceptionaly clear night when I could see the bands on jupiter. It was more noticeable when you moved your eye just back from the eyepiece but the detail was there and I saw it a few times since. I wouldnt give up on the 130 just yet as I had some astounding views through it with the standard eyepieces.

What I would maybe suggest is upgrade to 1 or 2 new eyepieces first and see the diference that will make. I am also doing this just now. If after that you still feel like you need a bigger scope at least you will have a quality eyepiece ready and waiting for it.

[Willock1977]

Hey. Ye I've got a wide angle 6mm, super 10mm and a wide angle25mm lens. Don't get me wrong its a good telescope I just feel like I need to see more. Its just hard as everyone always seems to know more about what they want that i do. Its hard to get by with astronomy without knowing the jargon. I've played guitar for 17 years but I still don't know anything technical about them. But just enjoy them :-)

[boabsta]

I know what you mean. I replaced my 130 with the 127 mak and I didn't even know how to focus it. Seems obvious now but every time we make a mistake or ask a stupid question we learn from it. I am after a 200p skywatcher but I am more than happy with the mak just now. Not sure how much better the 200 will be for casual observing. Although in saying that, I might want to go down Cass route as my wee 127 does seem a lot more focused and sharper and a whole lot easier to transport, setup and use. I got a few years to think about it by the time I've saved up enough for either