i am new to astronomy

[arran]

i have a konustart 900 with a 1.5 and 2x barlow lense and a 20mm and an 8mm lense and was wondering is this telescope any good for viewing the planets?

i tried to view venus and jupiter on the 10/03/2012 from manchester uk and could see it but the image was not detailed at all just a blur and i tried every combination of lenses and barlow lense and tried focusing it but no joy is it down to the telescope or the lenses i can get an amazing view of the moon but i know you can get this from any basic telescope.

i assumed from reading up on the reviews and specification it is ideal for looking at planets.

i am looking from in the darkness of some fields away from civilisation.

just wondering if this scope is ideal for watching the planets and how i could improve the detail of the planets

[Tribal-Wolf]

The 1.5x is not really a barlow it's an image erector I believe. You should be able to see some detail with the 20mm eyepiece but the scope is not the best and the eyepieces and barlow that come with it aren't great I'm afraid. However if you try with just the 20 and no barlow and be gentle when focusing you should be able to make out a little the try putting the barlow between the ep and focuser and gently refocus. If you still get nothing decent you could try better quality eyepieces but for the price of a decent second hand scope these day I would bite the bullet and buy the 2nd hand scope instead.

[arran]

ok thank you for the advice cant really fault the scope for the price i paid £50 for it, but i am thinking about buying a second hand motorized telescope any suggestions on a decent one i would be looking to spend up to £300 so any suggestions on where to look for second hand motorized telescopes preferrably one with an auto tracking system

[Tribal-Wolf]

Try first light optics (the link at top of page) or for 2nd hand try here

Might be worth finding a local astro society and take your scope along, you might be to try different scopes out and get some advice too.

[arran]

Thanks for the advice,

Much appreciated