skywatcher explorer

[Kevdan]

Only things I would buy straight away so add them to your list :-

1. Cheshire collimator £28 FLO. Theres no need for a laser collimator. First Light Optics - Cheshire Collimating Eyepiece

2. EQ3-2 Polar alignment Scope £32 FLO First Light Optics - Skywatcher Polarscope for EQ3-2 & EQ5

This will add £60 but if you plan on tracking anything the polarscope is a must.

It may all seem daunting but it will all be clearer when you start to use and understand how the kit works.

Kev.

[Steve Swancott]

i have looked through a scope i dont know what scope it was but fairly big i was looking at mars (not that, that matters)

ummmmm, oh you said noobys like me are often dissapointed so i will ask this- on a good night do i stand as good as chance as seeing say a nebula as anyone else using this scope??

thank you all again

steve

[Kevdan]

Personally from my back garden which has quite heavy light pollution the only nebula I can see clearly is M42 the Orion Nebula, I can see M13 the great cluster and M31 the Andromeda galaxy vaguely and a couple of other quite bright nebulas, globular clustars, As I said Ive only had a scope for just over a year and am still searching, but there is plenty to see.

Unfortunately british weather is a let down

The hobby will grow with your interest and the more you see the more youll want to see.

Kev.

[RikM]

At your age Steve, you stand a better chance of seeing a nebula than most of us oldies. Young eyes are much better at this sort of thing.

When people say n00bs are often disapointed looking through a scope it's because they often think they are going to see huge bright colourful swirls of gas like in Hubble pictures, when actually you will only just be able to see a dim grey smudge.

The amazing thing is knowing what you are looking at, not what it looks like.

[Steve Swancott]

cheers kev

i will give updates on my status of purchase if that makes sense!

[Steve Swancott]

and Rik!

[Caldwell 14]

The difference in size and weight between the 150 and 200 is negligible in my opinion.

The 200P is around 10KG and 4 foot in length. I personaly didn't find it difficult to move or mount when in use, but I appreciate others may not concur.

The 150P is probably around 8KG and 3.5 foot in length? There's a really good comparison image somewhere, I'll try and dig it out ...

The SW Explorer 150P is much lighter that 8kg, it is infact almost half that at 4.93kg to be exact

[idbvideo]

Kev pointed out that you might need to buy a polarscope. I would check with the supplier first, FLO and Rother Valley Optics are selling the deluxe version of the EQ3-2 and if its like the EQ5 mount it may come with a polarscope already fitted. As I said check with the dealer.

[RikM]

I found that for visual use the polar scope wasn't really necessary. You can take the caps off and look up through the hole in the mount where the polarscope goes and if you can see Polaris, that's normally good enough for visual observing.

It is very useful later on if you add motors to the mount and want to try taking long exposure images though.

[Kevdan]

I found that for visual use the polar scope wasn't really necessary. You can take the caps off and look up through the hole in the mount where the polarscope goes and if you can see Polaris, that's normally good enough for visual observing.

It is very useful later on if you add motors to the mount and want to try taking long exposure images though.

Rik is right in what he's saying, And I suppose due to your budget and your age you wont be rushing out to buy a guide scope aguide camera DSLR etc etc...

SO keep it simple and grow with your hobby, I cant see polarscopes changing price dramatically in the next few years so there is time.

Just one other thing though, Download the manual for the EQ3-2 from skywatcher and have a read, and any questions you find you need answering then just ask. Have you downloaded programms like stellarium yet? It will show you the sky from where you live. and help you navigate it. its free to download. heres the link.

Stellarium - Browse Files at SourceForge.net

Kev.

[Probablynot]

The SW Explorer 150P is much lighter that 8kg, it is infact almost half that at 4.93kg to be exact

And it's only 28 inches long, overall. Er, 71 centimeters.

[Smiles]

Steve,

I recently bought the 150P on the EQ3-2 which everyone has been advising here, and choosing it was mostly based on feedback I found on this forum, (a lot of it Rik's, which I thank him for since he probably has no idea!)

It is a brilliant scope, i was a little worried that people were saying it was a "great scope to start with" as i thought this might mean it's not going to be good enough for long. I'm the kind of person who likes to start big rather than upgrade 2-3 times!

It's perfect. Views of planets are superb, even living in a heavily light polluted area. DSOs like nebulas are a little hard to see, but unless you are planning to build a mini-observatory they will always be under light pollution.

I will post a couple of images of the scope itself tonight for you.

[Steve Swancott]

as somebody previously stated i will probobly "want" extras than need them.

what extras would you want or recomend felloe stargazers?

eyepieces

motors etc

steve

[Probablynot]

Oh, I want a Newtonian with a 2-metre objective lens and a whacking great motorised mount to put it on and a purpose-built shed (aka observatory) to put it in!

And a polar scope and a collimating eyepiece and a LOT of expensive eyepieces and a library of books about every aspect of astronomy, including the history of it, and a separate solar telescope, and more filters than I can fit into a suitcase, and, and, and ...

And a girlfriend who wants to learn about the skies in the same way as I want to learn, and who doesn't look on me as a daft nerd who's spending on astronomical gear like money's going out of fashion!

[knobby]

Oh, I want a Newtonian with a 2-metre objective lens and a whacking great motorised mount to put it on and a purpose-built shed (aka observatory) to put it in!

And a polar scope and a collimating eyepiece and a LOT of expensive eyepieces and a library of books about every aspect of astronomy, including the history of it, and a separate solar telescope, and more filters than I can fit into a suitcase, and, and, and ...

And a girlfriend who wants to learn about the skies in the same way as I want to learn, and who doesn't look on me as a daft nerd who's spending on astronomical gear like money's going out of fashion!

sounds flippant and silly ... but I have to agree

[Kevdan]

Oh, I want a Newtonian with a 2-metre objective lens and a whacking great motorised mount to put it on and a purpose-built shed (aka observatory) to put it in!

And a polar scope and a collimating eyepiece and a LOT of expensive eyepieces and a library of books about every aspect of astronomy, including the history of it, and a separate solar telescope, and more filters than I can fit into a suitcase, and, and, and ...

And a girlfriend who wants to learn about the skies in the same way as I want to learn, and who doesn't look on me as a daft nerd who's spending on astronomical gear like money's going out of fashion!

Have you been talking to my misses ?

[Steve Swancott]

hi guys

just looking at a site called 'optic star' it looks like there doing the scope im looking at a fair bit cheaper. always worth saving money then i can get upgrads

plz let me know if they are a good retailer

steve:headbang:

[Probablynot]

Look again, Steve. Are you sure the price you're looking at isn't just the price of the optical tube assembly? Without the (optional extra) tripod & mount?

[RikM]

hi guys

just looking at a site called 'optic star' it looks like there doing the scope im looking at a fair bit cheaper. always worth saving money then i can get upgrads

plz let me know if they are a good retailer

steve:headbang:

The scope and mount from Optic Star is £278 plus delivery. I have no experience of them as a supplier.

The scope and mount from FLO is £279 plus delivery. I have only ever had excellent service from them.

As I said above, it pays to trust the shop you buy the kit from. Here is a link to the supplier reviews sections. Have a look at some of the feedback left for the various suppliers before making a choice. Supplier Reviews - Stargazers Lounge