Portable Scope Recommendation

[nheather]

I've be interested in Astronomy for some years, I would buy a scope at the drop of a hat were it not for my house location beuing really unsuitable. The garden is small and has a copse with large mature oak trees at the back so the view of the sky is really restricted. Light polution is also bad because it is a fairly modern housing estate with street lights and never a shortage of neighbours with their lights on.

So if I'm going to use a scope it's going to have to be away from home - holidays, travels etc.

So whatever I get has got to be portable.

I know the first question I'm likely to be asked is what do you want to look at - planets or deep space. Thing is I don't know. I like the idea of deep space but I appreciate that you need as big a diameter as you can afford for best results. I also like the idea of planets and the moon and if pushed I guess that would be my biggest interest for now.

So something portable. I don't mind spending a bit of money even though I am a rank beginner.

I've seen the Meade 90 and 125 ETX. I like the idea of the Goto functionality. I'd want the version with the tripod.

Would that be a good way to go? Are there better or different alternatives I should look at?

I also appreciate that other advice might be to go to a club and see whether I'm really interested before deciding what to buy. One thing though is I wouldn't see a portable solution as a waste of money, because even if I got hooked and wanted something bigger, I still think there would be a place for the portable for travelling etc. so I wouldn't consider it money wasted.

Thanks for the advice.

Cheers,

Nigel

[umadog]

If you don't mind spending a little more then look up Sumerian Optics. You can have an 8" or 10" that will fit under an airplane seat. That'll give better planetary and DSO views than a little ETX. Aperture does matter for planets, BTW. There'll be no GoTo, but if you're going somewhere darkish then you don't really need it. Learning the sky isn't hard and it's part of the fun. Once you know the sky you'll be much faster than the GoTo. I was watching someone using a high end GoTo SCT recently--it's painfully slow to watch the things move.

[nheather]

Looks interesting though they aren't taking any orders until October at the earliest. Also not sure it isn't too radical for me as a first scope.

Cheers,

Nigel

[Capricorn]

I wouldn't say that the 125 is easily portable. I have the 105 and lugging that about is enough.

The 90 is easier to pick up.

Both are Maks and that means both have a narrow field of view, the initial setup is fairly critical owing to this.

The ETX-80 is a refractor and has wide views, setting one of those up is a lot easier.

To use away from home you will need something to run it from, car adaptor being the obvious or a power tank. They go through a set of batteries quick, and when the batteries run down the scope can do weird things.

If you got a 90, or 125, you would only need medium to long focal length eyepieces, sort of nothing much less then 12mm and you would need a 32mm or 40mm for the setup and alignment. You will also need a bubble level.

Other ways to go, lots of them. :eek:

Dobsonian 150P being good but fully manual - you do everything. If that doesn't worry you then think about it.

Another is the evostar 90 or 102, but they are not short (~1mtr) and you would have to transport the EQ mount as well. I would always suggest a set of motors on the mount just so that objects are tracked.

If the smaller size was not a concern then the ETX-80, simply because it is easier to get along with, you get the wider view but loose out on the magnification.

[Cjg]

May I recommend something that will cost just £150 or less and be the fastest scope to set up you'll find?

This one was my first - no goto, but with a 5" aperture, you'll find the faint fuzzies easily enough - supremely portable too.

If you decide that this game is for you - is still handy as a 2nd scope if you get something like the Summerian later.

Chris

[TheNorthernMonkey]

How portable is portable. Do you want to carry it a few yards from your door to the car then from car to setup, or do you need true fits in a backpack portability? There is a big difference

[Saleratus]

I think the skywatcher heritage or a similar dobsonian might also be a good scope for you. It's portable enough to throw in your car and go anywhere with, though probably not portable enough to take on a plane. Get a pair of binoculars for the airplane holidays. If you think you have the room for it--in your house and in your car--you might even go a bit bigger, up to 8 inches aperture but no more. I really think this is a sweet spot for a beginners scope that can really see a lot.

Don't get goto. Get the Sky & Telescope Pocket Sky Atlas instead. That way you can enjoy getting to know the sky instead of just looking at things passively.

[dav1d]

I agree with Saleratus and cjg on the Heritage and maybe a smartphone app or a genuine paper sky map to help you find your way around. I've seen some wicked good things with mine so far, and it is possible the most portable scope of its size in existence.

If you're looking for planets, you don't need goto. They're big and bright and a free program called stellarium will help you with roughly where to point anyway.

It is a seriously under-rated piece of kit.

[umadog]

Indeed, the question is "how portable do you want it?" A standard 8" Dobsonian is perfectly "car portable", for example.

[onesmallstep]

Hi and welcome to SGL

I don't know if you've already seen it but the links below are about choosing telescopes. The first is from SGL's Primers And Tutorials sub-section. The second is an external link.

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/639-primer-choosing-a-telescope/

http://www.cpac.org.uk/buying.asp

HTH!

[LukeSkywatcher]

The Heritage is uuber portable, although its bulky enough to rule out taking it on planes. A nice set of bins would be/is great for taking on flights.

[RoloFanatic]

You could try the Meade dobsonians with a truss tube frame or the Skywatcher dobsonian series with a truss tube frame (e.g Skyliner 250PX FlexTube)

Although i have no experience of using a dobsonian myself, i am in the process of looking for a new scope and so i have read dozens of reviews about them and 90% of them appear to be positive.

Hope this helps

[PorkyB]

Just a thought about portability. I have a Skywatcher 90mm Mak and I am very happy with it. The scope is light and compact. It fits, with its eyepieces, into a large camera bag. The tripod and mount, however, is a hefty piece of kit. Even though it is the smallest and lightest Skywatcher EQ mount, carrying it around is a serious business. I use a hockey kit bag which I can carry from a car park to an observing site, but carrying it uphill is a bit like hard work. If you decide on a goto mount then you might also need to carry a power pack around.

So when you consider portability, the tripod and mount is more significant than the scope itself. This is where a small Dob wins over a scope on an EQ mount.

For the ultimate in portability I have some nice 10x50 bins on a monopod.

[nowayjose256]

I just got the Celestron Nexstar 127 and I am completely happy with it.

The whole lot (except fot the tripod) fits in a case bought from Maplins (search for `high impact case (large)').

So it's very portable compared to my 200P with all its trimmings that takes up the back seat of the car.