First telescope advice?

[JRPowerseeker]

Following is my first post on the forum.

I've owned a few department store telescopes before,but I've never had a real telescope.So,if I seem like a beginner,it's because I'm new to serious astronomy.And also,if I seem like an idiot...well,it's because I am one.Anyway,I'm ready to buy my first serious telescope,but I don't want to make a stupid decision and waste a hundred dollars on a piece of junk,so I thought I'd ask you more experienced astronomers for some advice.I was thinking about buying the Bushnell Ares 5 telescope.Reviews for that telescope seem generally positive,but at only about $160,the deal seems too good to be true,so I'm guessing it is.What I was wondering is if any of you have had any experience with this scope.If you have,would you consider it to be a pretty good scope?I know you can't get Hubble-quality images with it,or anything else,and I know that due to the low price,it probably is not quite as good as other telescopes of the same aperture.However,I only have about $200 free to spend on a scope(I know,not much for a good telescope),so my options are limited.Any help would be greatly appreciated.Thanks for reading.

[Mr Q]

The below links will help you decide on which type telescope would most benifit you and what you should expect to see and can with different sized scopes.

http://www.galileotelescope.com/choosing_a_telescope.htm

http://www.astronomics.com/main/category.asp/catalog_name/Astronomics/category_name/V1X41SU50GJB8NX88JQB360067/Page/1

Hope this info helps you out and welcome to the forums.

[Andy_E]

We don't really get much exposure to bushnell optics over here in the UK (apart from sports optics). Whilst I Can't offer musch on the exact model, I will add that a 5 or 6 inch dobsonian in as excellent choice for a starter scope.

[username]

From what I've seen from pictures the Bushnell Ares 5 is the Skywatcher Heritage 130p which european amateurs are more familiar with. I think the chinese optics firm Synta supply to celestron, orion, bushnell and Skywatcher. It's well regarded as a starter scope on this forum for that sort of money you're talking about.

If you search for 'skywatcher heritage 130p' you'll get opinions on the same model but just by the name we know it by

Oh and welcome to sgl by the way

[JRPowerseeker]

Thanks to everyone for the kind welcomes,and for the help.Does anybody here have an idea how big this telescope is supposed to be?They say it's "portable,"but with a 5 inch aperture,I don't see how it could be that small.

[JRPowerseeker]

• I should also add that this scope is about $310 at Bushnell's website,whereas its only $164.99 at the only other place that sells it,OpticsPlanet.net.That seems kind of suspect to me.When you see a thing at barely half its original price,that raises a red flag.I'm not saying the website is a fraud,but that does make me wonder.
  

[username]

I think collapsed the tube is just over a foot, maybe 14 inches. Extended its approximately 25 inches. The base obviously has a bigger footprint and will add height to it but there's plenty of owners that could be more precise

The tube can detach from the base.

[username]

Bushnell are just stating a recommended price, the retailers chose there own price but thats why we have power with the net. Wecan shop around for the best price!

I think canada shops have the skywatcher version if you can't find enough usa suppliers

[username]

I just saw your edit. Thats quite a reduction. However this model is at least 2 years old now and prices go down. The bushnell suite is probably from when its new. I wouldn't worry.

I don't know about us suppliers though. its always a good idea to research the shop too though to see others peoples experience before you part with cash

[username]

I just saw your edit. Thats quite a reduction. However this model is at least 2 years old now and prices go down. The bushnell suite is probably from when its new. I wouldn't worry.

I don't know about us suppliers though. its always a good idea to research the shop too though to see others peoples experience before you part with cash

[jonathan]

As a beginner you may be confused by collimation, which will be necessary with this kind of telescope (a reflector). I've never had a reflector myself so have never performed collimation, but from what I read it's just about aligning the secondary mirror and not difficult at all, but you will probably need to purchase a basic collimator eyepiece to help do it.

There are plenty of guides online about how to collimate a telescope, and it probably tells you in the instructions too.

If you don't fancy the reflector, for about the same money you should be able to pick up an 80mm refractor telescope such as the Skywatcher Startravel 80 on EQ1 mount; I have this telescope and it's a nice wide-field scope for taking in open clusters, the Orion nebula, Andromeda galaxy, planets, and the brighter stars. You'll see all of these plus more of the fainter objects through the Heritage 130P (or Bushnell Ares 5 to you), only experience will tell you which kind of telescope you prefer. A refractor on an EQ is what some would call a more traditional telescope and mount, which allows you to track the motion of the stars just by turning one slow motion handle; the small EQ1 is no good for imaging really but a motor can be fitted for automatic tracking. This would be a good introduction to EQ (Equatorial) mounts, something that many astronomers swear by. EQ mounts are typically the heaviest type due to the counterweights used, the EQ1 and ST80 can be lifted as one quite easily because it is one of the smallest of it's type, and it is relatively easy to dismantle for transport.

There is no collimation necessary with a refractor, but with the EQ mount you have to get your head around polar alignment (which, again, is not that difficult really unless you are planning on doing long exposures for astrophotography); polar alignment with the EQ1 is very simple indeed, as there is no polar scope for precise alignment you only need to set the latitude once, then point the mount approximately at celestial North (magnetic North will do) each time it's brought out for use.

[JRPowerseeker]

That does seem like a pretty good telescope.From what most people say,it seems like refractors tend to be better with planets than reflectors,so is it possible that it would be better to buy a smaller refractor like that one instead of a bigger reflector?I ask this because I live in a place with moderate light pollution,so I probably would only be able to observe the planets and the brighter deep sky objects anyway.

[Saleratus]

Even with moderate light pollution, you'll see more planetary and lunar detail with a newtonian, and they really are workhorses. I have both refractors and newtonians and appreciate the strengths of both of them. I started with a 7" newtonian (in the city limits of San Francisco), and I'm still sure that was the right choice as a starter scope even though I was in a high light pollution area. They really can go a lot deeper and show you much more than similarly-priced refractors.

[JRPowerseeker]

Ahh...Well,thanks for the correction.I guess I misinterpreted what I read.How many galaxies should you be able to see with a 5-inch reflector in your average heavily-lit city?I'm guessing not many,except the Andromeda Galaxy and the Whirlpool Galaxy.

[todd8137]

Whilst do in your research and save in extra cash up, try and join a club because you will get to see.a wide range of scopes and what things look like I would not rush in to this part ,as you said waste in dollars.

Pat

[cantab]

Ahh...Well,thanks for the correction.I guess I misinterpreted what I read.How many galaxies should you be able to see with a 5-inch reflector in your average heavily-lit city?I'm guessing not many,except the Andromeda Galaxy and the Whirlpool Galaxy.

I would have thought more than that. The light pollution will make the big face-on spiral galaxies hard to see as they have lower surface brightness and are more easily washed out, but ellipticals and spirals seen more edge on will I think be easier.

[JRPowerseeker]

I would have thought more than that. The light pollution will make the big face-on spiral galaxies hard to see as they have lower surface brightness and are more easily washed out, but ellipticals and spirals seen more edge on will I think be easier.

That's interesting,and it's probably not something I would ever have guessed.Thanks for the help.

[username]

Hello again

Just some questions..

Where will you be doing the majority of your observing from? To be comfortable the 5" dobsonian you've been considering will need to be placed on something ike a chair or table otherwise you could end up being sat on the floor and what's North Carolina like in the winter?? It's ok if you have a suitable garden to observe from but if you have to from your house to observe you could find that most places like a public bench or picninc table somewhere has a nice big streetlight over it.. You can put these scopes on a tripod but that costs more money but could be an upgrade later on

Is $200 your absolute upper limit? Because if it is you want to put as much of your money in to the optics of the telescope and with the 5" mini dob your money is essentially buying a large nice mirror that will collect lots of light. Thats what you want for astronomy - as much light collection as you can afford and in your budget range (of course there are always bigger scopes but they cost more money) that little dobsonian is probably the best light collector. Look at it this way - Jupiter at 130x magnification in the 5" mini dobsonian will be over two and a half times brighter than in a 3" (80mm) scope at 130x magnification. Jupiter is a nice bright object, most of the planets are but if you wanted to look at other targets that are dimmer then the extra aperture would be a bonus.

[JRPowerseeker]

Nebula,

I do actually have a pretty big table on my back porch that I can put the telescope on,so I guess that isn't a problem.I do have more than $200 to spend on a telescope;in fact,I probably could spend about $400 on one,but I just wanted to leave some extra money for later.Do you think I might need to buy a Barlow lens or maybe an eyepiece to go with that telescope?For $165 I'd imagine the equipment isn't of the best quality.By the way,as far as winters in North Carolina go,usually they're hardly even cool.In fact,rarely does the temperature here ever go below 50 degrees.I take it winters in Lund are a lot colder?.Thanks again for all the help.

[username]

Lund is South Sweden so normally pretty ok even in winter however europe has had some savage winters past couple of years, think a jet stream has moved from it's usual position or something. North Carolina sounds nice though, I think I was thinking about colorado when I said that . However you'll still need something to put it on to be comforatble viewing and your table sounds ok.

To have a look at planets in detail you would need a barlow or other eyepiece in a shorter focal length but it's probably best to just use the eyepieces that come with the scope for a bit to see what you would really like. Even the 10mm eyepiece would lets you see that saturn has rings and jupiter with a bit of detail (it would give 65x magnification).

It's always good to have leave a bit of money after you make a purchase for some other things like a collimation eyepiece (this helps you make sure the mirrors are aligned properly), however if you have got a bit more money possibly to spend then you'd probably be best to try and find an astro group in your area to see if you could have some looks through other scopes. Just to make sure you get something you'd be happy with. The nights are short at the moment (well they are this far north ) so there's no rush and it's a big purchase.

[Naemeth]

Thanks to everyone for the kind welcomes,and for the help.Does anybody here have an idea how big this telescope is supposed to be?They say it's "portable,"but with a 5 inch aperture,I don't see how it could be that small.

It's easy to carry, even with the FlexTube extended, and it normally stands on a table or a chair, it's not big enough to observe from the floor, that should give you an idea. Or another way, on a table, it's about 5'0"

[Skwerl23]

My 2 cents. Find out what you want to look at more. You may be just happy with a 70mm pair of binoculars.

Do you want to look at far away galaxies. Or do you want to look at planets. The reflector types usually do both really well. They are better for extrasolarsystem but do fine on inner planets. I did a lot of research and I'd say that I went with the Orion xt8 its only competition for me was the zhummell z8 now its 50 bucks more for the z but it comes with a cooling fan and a extra eyepiece.

If your on a budget. Or you aren't sure how far to go. Celestron is usually a decent budget setup but might not last if you really get into it. There are table top models. And stand up models. If you plan on doing it in your backyard a lot then 8inch would be awesome cause you can see more through the city lights. If your traveling to dark areas a 5 or 6 is good but medium. The back yard needs either a sheltered scope or a 10 inch Max dye to weight and in and out carrying. The 8's weigh 40 lbs assembled.

10s are 50-60 lbs.

The table tops are super light. But may not weils anything under certain brightnesses.

Also stay away from flashy zoom numbers. Most people stick to under 60x unless inner solar. Then you might get to 200x

Hope I helped.

[JRPowerseeker]

Yes,that did help Skwerl,and your advice is duly noted.Thanks for all the help.

[JRPowerseeker]

It's easy to carry, even with the FlexTube extended, and it normally stands on a table or a chair, it's not big enough to observe from the floor, that should give you an idea. Or another way, on a table, it's about 5'0"

Five feet?The tube is only just over two feet(from what I read,I could be mistaken),so I'm guessing the base is pretty big?

[Naemeth]

Five feet?The tube is only just over two feet(from what I read,I could be mistaken),so I'm guessing the base is pretty big?

Five feet when it's on top of a table, which is probably about 2-3 foot above the floor. The base is not big at all, and it's probably about 2 foot on the floor.

EDIT: It's 28 inches high .