Help needed?

[mrsj88]

Hello

I am really looking for some advice on purchasing a basic telescope. My husband would love one. Can some one recommend me some beginners and affordable telescopes? I want to buy it for his birthday in October so I have time to save!

Thanks !

Rebekah

[Spec-Chum]

Hi Rebekah, you don't mention a budget, but the skywatcher 200p Dobsonian comes very highly recommended in the under £300 category.

I have one and I love it!

[Capricorn]

Hi,

First question will be what budget do you envisage.

How "technical" is he.

Has he professed any opinion on one type or another - thinking reflector or refractor.

Has he used one previously.

Basic options I would suggest are:

The Skywatcher 150P Dobsonian.

Evostar 102 on an EQ3 mount. (Don't thonk an Evostar comes or is sensible on an Alt/Az mount)

[Stargazer33]

Hi Rebekah,

First of all welcome to SGL!

There are far better people than I to give you advice here at SGL, but I will try to impart some of what I have picked up.

The skywatcher newtonians seem to be very popular, especially the 200P and up. I believe you can get these on an equatorial mount such as the EQ3-2 which is unguided or you can get the EQ3 Pro with guide/tracking or a dedicated 'GOTO' mount.

Storage of the scope could be an issue and possibly something that you may not have thought about. If storage is an issue then either Maksutov/Cassegrain telescopes like the Skywatcher Skymax 102 and 127 are very good starter scopes and you can get them on a 'GOTO' mount. This is basically a mount (tripod) that you can push a few buttons and it will find a particular object for you, once the initial set-up has been done. It will then track that object as it appears to move in the sky, so keeping it in the centre of the eyepiece.

Another type of short telescope is the Schmidt/Cassegrain, such as the Celestron Nexstar 4SE. This again is a 'GOTO' set-up.

One thing to consider is the objective aperture. Basically the bigger the better as it will gather more light and your husband will be able to see dimmer objects. But as in all things the bigger, generally the more expensive. You get bigger apertures per £ for Newtonians than you do for Cassegrains or Refractors.

Refractors are what most people consider to be a telescope. Like the ones used by Johnny Depp as Captain of the Black Pearl. The light enters one end of the tube and you look at the image through an eyepiece at the other end of the tube. The aperture sizes tend to be smaller on this type of scope and they are more expensive for the same size aperture in a Newt, Mak or Schmidt.

I hope this hasn't confused you even more!

There should be lots of threads on here about beginner scopes. Have you tried doing a search?

Good luck with your quest and I hope your hubby loves his scope when he gets it. B.T.W. you do know that if he gets into astronomy in a big way you will hardly see him of an evening, or was that your plan!

Regards, Bryan

[brantuk]

It's hard to beat the SkyWatcher range for affordable starter scopes. A very basic 130P reflector on an equatorial EQ2 mount is about the first workable solution at which you get a proper scope. For a bit more the 150P on EQ3-2 is significantly better. Both are upgradeable with motors, eyepieces, and other accessories and will give satisying views and first forays into imaging (using a webcam).

Alternatively consider dobsonian mounted scopes like the SW 150P or 200P dobs - again the larger aperture will give a more satisfying start with observing, but they are not built for photography. If you are tempted by anything lesser than these (in both price and performance) then you'll really be getting him a toy that he'll find very disatisfying.

Bear in mind that per aperture, refractors are more expensive than reflectors by a factor of at least three due to the difference in price between mirrors and glass optics. Hope that helps

[LukeSkywatcher]

Without knowing anything about your husbands interests in astronomy and his level of understanding of the night sky etc, its impossible to say which scope is the one for him. The only clue is that you said a "basic" scope. This to me means a manual scope. A Newtonian (reflector) on an Equatorial mount would be "basic".

This scope fits the bill. It is one of the most popular scopes for people buying their first scope. Its a 5" reflector:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-130.html

[Pete Presland]

great advice from brantuk. i would seriously consider a skywatcher 150mm or 200mm dobsonian as well, skywatcher have an excellent reputation!

[ollypenrice]

great advice from brantuk. i would seriously consider a skywatcher 150mm or 200mm dobsonian as well, skywatcher have an excellent reputation!

Ditto.

Olly

[umadog]

Dobsonians make very good beginner (and advanced!) telescopes. That's not to say that other designs don't have their merits, but it's pretty hard to go wrong with an 8" (200 mm) Dobsonian. Not only is it a good starter scope but also a very capable "lifetime" scope.

There is other stuff you will want to consider too. First of all, whatever you choose, make sure you also buy a book so that he can get the most out of the scope. Turn Left at Orion, is a very good starting option. That will describe how to find objects and what to look for. The Sky And Telescope Pocket Atlas is a very good star chart and complements the book nicely.

[SeedyF]

I'll throw in another vote for the Skywatcher 150 on an EQ3-2 mount, that's what I started with and it was a great scope to start out with. And it was a present from my clever wife too!

Out of the box its really easy to use and you can add plenty to it to improve the observig experience, plus it's very good value for money.

Now that I have a DOB I can really see the value of that sort of scope for a beginner, the manual ones will be very simple to set up and get viewing.

[sologuitarist61]

It's hard to beat the SkyWatcher range for affordable starter scopes. A very basic 130P reflector on an equatorial EQ2 mount is about the first workable solution at which you get a proper scope. For a bit more the 150P on EQ3-2 is significantly better. Both are upgradeable with motors, eyepieces, and other accessories and will give satisying views and first forays into imaging (using a webcam).

Alternatively consider dobsonian mounted scopes like the SW 150P or 200P dobs - again the larger aperture will give a more satisfying start with observing, but they are not built for photography. If you are tempted by anything lesser than these (in both price and performance) then you'll really be getting him a toy that he'll find very disatisfying.

Bear in mind that per aperture, refractors are more expensive than reflectors by a factor of at least three due to the difference in price between mirrors and glass optics. Hope that helps

Yep, I'm with brantuk - really good advice.

[Codmate]

I got a 200mm Newtonian reflector on a Dobsonian mount (Orion Skyquest XT8 Classic).

I wouldn't throw money at an EQ mount personally. I would much rather have better views (a bigger aperture or nicer eyepieces) than the benefits of an EQ mount.

You have to decide if he wants to take photos or not as this is easier with an EQ mount.

It's also much easier to fit a 'go-to' unit (that finds objects for you) to an EQ mount.

If it's about 'finding stuff' and 'seeing stuff', as it is for me, then a Dobsonian mount is easier to set up and more than adequate for general observing.

Budget around £100 for accesories such as a red light torch, eyepieces, eyepiece-case et al.

[mrsj88]

Thanks so much for all the advice, lots to take in there. I am liking the look of the skywatcher ones. He has a keen interest but this will be the first real experience of a telescope so needs to be very basic. I now have a starting point in to research more!

Thanks again.

I'll sure to direct him to this site once I have saved and purchased for him!

[mrsj88]

Okay, so bare with me! If I were to buy this one http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-130.html Which a PP kindly linked to. What exactly do I need to buy extra. All this talk of mounts has confused me. I doubt he will be overly interested in taking pictures, more just seeing what he can find!

[kor84]

Nothing, it will come with what you need to get started, but will probably want to upgrade the eye pieces at a later date. A book would be helpful, Turn Left At Orion is highly thought of.

[Codmate]

Okay, so bare with me! If I were to buy this one http://www.firstligh...plorer-130.html Which a PP kindly linked to. What exactly do I need to buy extra. All this talk of mounts has confused me. I doubt he will be overly interested in taking pictures, more just seeing what he can find!

The 'telescope' is comprised of a mount (which holds the tube) and the Optical Tube Assembly (the tube itself).

The tube contains two mirrors. The main mirror is called the 'primary' and it is the size of this which determines the amount of detail to be seen. The bigger the mirror, the more detail one can see. This is why I advocate putting all the money into the largest practical mirror, rather than spending money on expensive mounts, 'goto' units (which find objects for you) etc etc.

If he's not interested in taking pictures, or having a computer which finds all the objects for him, a Dobsonian mount will be cheaper and make setting up easier than an equitorial.

It's just a cannon mount.

The one you link to is an equitorial mount.

This is more expensive and slightly harder to set-up, but enables one to track the sky as the Earth rotates more easily.

This makes it better for taking pictures. Not to say that you can't take pictures with a Dobsonian mount...

I would ditch the equitoral mount for a Dobsonian and spend the saved money on a bigger mirror.

This is very similar to what I bought for my first scope back in March:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html

I have been very very happy with it!

Personally I avoided having a 'goto' unit as I wish to learn the sky for myself.

Not everybody agrees, but for me a big part of the joy of observing is finding the object myself.

[mrsj88]

Thanks so much, this site has been amazing!

I have ordered the Turn left at Orion and will put it away until his birthday!

[Capricorn]

I suggest that you get your husband involved before getting a scope.

There are 2 main types reflector and refractor.

Codmate says: "The tube contains two mirrors"

Not exactly correct, a refractor will have either one mirror or none, so they do not contain 2 mirrors.

The dobsonian will give the largest mirror for the money you spend, so should enable someone to see more.

However if hubby cannot get on with finding things himself then he sees nothing.

There is no do everything easy scope.

I have refractors, why? well I cannot get on with the dobsonians, with a dob you have to find the object, not exactly straightforward, then as the earth rotates you have to nudge the dob to keep the object in view. Nudge too much and you have to locate it again and off you go again. If hubby finds something you cannot look as you will move the scope a little, have to refocus and by the time you have swapped over it will have drifted out.

3 of the 5 I have are goto's. I set one up, about 10 minutes and I get on with looking. Did that from day 1 first time out.

Locate a retailer in your area and drag hubby along, tell him why as he may as well select something that makes sense to him.

There are 2 sayings in this: Aperture is king, and, your best scope is the one you use the most.

I am a firm believer in the second.

[Astrosurf]

I'd also suggest the Dobsonian mount, like Codmate suggested, if he's not interested in imaging. It will need a nudge regularly to keep the object in view as it doesn't track (if I'm correct!) but it's so much eaasier to set up and, as has been said before, you can spend the extra on more aperture.

If I'm right, you can still take images of planets with a webcam with this type of scope.

Alexxx

[tyler_jrb]

I would suggest a dobsonian if its just for main use i.e not for imaging. I currently own a 150p(6") dobsonian and i love it, currently given me awsome views of planets and dso's. for a little more you could look at the 200p(8") skywatcher dobsonian which will give a little more quality.

[Ifmfo]

Hi Rebekah,

What is your budget? I know you say you're saving up until October, but obviously the amount you want to spend will be a big deciding factor.

I haven't used a wide range of scopes, so probably can't offer as much advice as others, all I can say is that I own the Skywatcher 130 on the EQ mount which someone linked to (think it was about £155) and for the money, and as a beginner myself (about 6 months into the hobby), I think it is an excellent scope. No doubt at some point I will want bigger and better things, but for just getting into it, without being 100% certain that this hobby was going to grab me when I bought it, I didn't want to spend more than £200 just in case it ended up gathering dust in the corner.

I've not used a dob, but once you have a rough idea of what you're doing, the EQ mounts are not that hard to align and set up at all, so don't let that put you off. The net is full of helpful tutorials and videos about setting up, as the instructions that come with the scopes are usually pretty vague. (I'm talking purely for visual use only, rather than imaging (if your husband is going to want to take pictures, the Skywatcher 130 on that mount is not going to be right). I think I read that it would just be visual, apologies, I'm tapping this out on my phone and can't go back and read your original post.)

I'm sure your husband will be delighted when he gets his scope, whichever you choose, and Turn Left at Orion (which is invaluable for beginners).

Helen

[Radar2312]

Tough,

I was in a similar position a few months ago and spent many weeks reading up.

My only real input would be, if you are certain he wont be interested in imaging, then spend your money on a Dob (more apperture for your money)

just my two-pence!

and if he's anything like me, the first time he homes in on Saturn, he'll be jumping around like a kid in a sweet shop.