My First Scope HELP!!!

[dannycox]

Hi all

I am looking at buying my first telescope with a budget up to 400 pounds, I have been looking at the Celestron Nexstar 4SE, any other suggestions and advice would be hugely appreciated

All the best

Danny

[pallas15]

just also remember any bits you may need ..e.g...red light torch..collimation tool...power packs ...etc..may also come out of your budget..they can be purchased after of course,,,just a consideration...good luck

[bullettooth]

you should try and give more detail in what you are wanting to do with it so people can give you the very best advice. like, are you wanting it just for observing or will you be wanting to do a bit of astrophotography? whats your experience of looking at the sky? have you been using bino's or just naked eye? stuff like that. the more detail the better your recommendations will be.

good luck

[JamesF]

You won't be able to do any imaging of galaxies and nebulae on that budget if you were thinking of that, but imaging of solar system objects is quite feasible. The issue there is that what might work well for imaging won't necessarily work well for viewing of galaxies and nebulae, so compromises may need to be made.

James

[dannycox]

Thanks guys, I'll be wanting to view planets and the moon etc initially with a bit of photography using my Canon slr... My kids are learning about space at school so I would like to wow them with some incredible sights..... :-)

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[AliMac]

If you're aiming at something for the kids to enjoy as well, you can't go far wrong with a Dob. The eyepiece would be at just the right height for them and it's a really simple setup procedure. That is to say, you just need to take it outside! A skywatcher 150 would fit comfortably inside your budget and give you about £150 left to buy an adaptor for your SLR as well as a collimating eyepiece.

[bullettooth]

i was going to suggest a dob. the skyliner 200p is only £289 from FLO (link at the top of the page) alot of people recommend this scope and it still leaves plenty of your budget to get a couple accessories, which you will be needing/wanting before long. ie cheshire collimator, eyepieces, camera adaptors, etc.

Also i would definately recommend getting a good book. 'turn left at orion' or sky and telescopes pocket sky atlas are both available on amazon and are almost a must.

plus download stellarium on your pc, its free software that lets you see whats in the sky at a certain time and date in your current location.

good luck and clear skies

[stevetynant]

+1 for the 200p Dob - ideal for the kids aswell as the eyepiece can be quite low on the scope and you will definitely get the wow factor - M42 should be emrging on the horizon shortly - what a great time to buy a scope as well with the long dark months ahead of us and beating the rush pre Cox factor.

Plenty of write ups on this scope in the forums - but please ask away - there are many options and opinions and all valid but I don't think you can go wrong with this to start off with personally

[TheNorthernMonkey]

I have a 5se. It is no where near as easy to allign as the marketing info suggests. I normally use it manually.

If I was to buy again, I would go for something manual. Probably a 150 or 200 dob

[dannycox]

Some awesome advice here guys, I'm pretty sure I'm going to go for a 200p dob after Al I have read, one website mentioned it had a direct slr connection with It?? Is that right???

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[dannycox]

Steve, what's the pre Cox factor??? You lost me.... Lol

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[JamesF]

Be aware that any kind of imaging will be tricky with the 200P dob. It can be done, certainly, but it is awkward. Single frame images of the Moon (or the Sun, if you make/buy a solar filter) are probably quite feasible, but I think for anything else you'll need quite a lot of practice. if you look through the other forums here you'll see that people do it and I'd not want to discourage you from trying because it's not impossible, but it perhaps should be considered primarily a visual scope.

James

[stevetynant]

Steve, what's the pre Cox factor??? You lost me.... Lol

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Danny - at the beginning of next year sometime the BBC put on stargazing live for about 3 nights with Brian Cox - the result in astronomy purchases is the same as seeing the tennis courts fill up after Wimbledon with shortages and long waits for astronomy equipment - hence the Cox factor.

James is right - I think if you go down this route you pretty much should consider this an observing tool rather than a photographic one- Planets and the Sun - yes - DSO's and Galaxys probably not - having said that - if your interest continues and you wanted to spend time imaging you could sell the Dob as they hold their price pretty well or just buy an equatorial mount to put it on - but just to be clear - you would be talking £700 + for the basic mount and then extras for the other imaging equipment needed.

Still would have my vote though - the kids will love it as well - that first "live" view of Saturn is something none of us forget.

good luck and don't forget to ask questions - as many as you like

cheers

Steve

[umadog]

How old are the kids? That makes a difference in recommending a scope.

Also, make sure your expectations are dialled correctly. Go look at the sketching forum to get a feeling for what you'll see through a telescope. Don't expect colour in deep space objects. Expect it to be challenging to make out detail in most of them, particularly in scopes smaller than about 6" or 8". With experience, seeing details becomes easier but at first it won't be. There are plenty of wonderful objects out there for you to see, just don't expect it to look photographic

Taking astro photos isn't easy. It requires a good amount of patience and specialised kit. You'd be best off looking for a book on the subject before diving in. Through an un-driven Dob you can photograph the moon and maybe obtain planetary images.

[dannycox]

Some excellent info guys and girls so thank you, i seem to have decided on a 200p Dob, as this seems to be a lot of bang for your buck, i think until i have got my head around it all and have more experience ill leave the photography and walk before i can run.......thanks again.

My kids are 8 and 5 so i think this will suit the 200 dob well........

[umadog]

You'll get a lot out of an 8" Dob. It's wise to leave AP for a little later since it consitutes a larger investment both in terms of money and time. I've shown 5 year olds views through my Dob and they've been happy with it but the older ones get more out of it. Kids have a tendency to push the scope and lose the target, but you can quickly teach them not to do that. They also have a hard time tracking the target at higher powers, so you'll have to do that at first. Your older one should soon get the hang of it, though. One thing that can be frustrating for them is waiting around whilst you find the target. This isn't a problem with the brighter planets or the moon, but it can be problem with DSOs. Get yourself a copy of Turn Left at Orion and a red-dot finder such as a Telrad. These will make finding stuff easier. If you're ever stuck and can't find the target then you can always point to scope at the Milky Way (Cygnus region is good) and show the kids star-fields at low power. Good luck!

[CSM]

Danny, with a budget of £400 you are limited in what you can get. The Celestron you mentioned will certainly be a good starting point, but you won't be able to see much beyond the Moon, planets and the brighter fuzzies unless you have dark skies. For what it is worth I have started a web site for budding astronomers who suffer from at least a moderate level of light pollution - called garden astronomy

[Richardisgreat]

Danny, with a budget of £400 you are limited in what you can get. The Celestron you mentioned will certainly be a good starting point, but you won't be able to see much beyond the Moon, planets and the brighter fuzzies unless you have dark skies. For what it is worth I have started a web site for budding astronomers who suffer from at least a moderate level of light pollution - called garden astronomy

An excellent site with some really good information and advice, thanks for posting the link to your site CSM

[Ganymede12]

I'm currently saving up for the Skyliner 200P Dob. Not easy on a paper boy's wage.

It will also leave you with plenty of money for the extra's. Red torch, books, Ep's ect.

I think you may want a moon filter (also known as a neutral density filter), because from what I have read a full moon through a telescope of that size can hurt (but not damage!) your eye's.

Treat the dob with care and respect and It should last you lifetime.

[Aenima]

Yes, +1 to the above link.

Looks like it'll be a helpful site, thanks.

Aenima

[ollypenrice]

On a budget I would always put optics before electronics. That is what the Dob is all about. It has a mount which costs zilch and is very stable and intuitive. The rest is glass, just as it should be.

Olly

[dannycox]

the garden astronomy link is really helpful, very useful indeed, thanks for posting!!!