New to astronomy. Telescope advice.

[waverider]

Hi, I am new to astronomy and could do with some good advice.

Having recently taken some photographs that took me by suprise of the moon with a D7000 i am wanting to further this by developing an interest in astrophotography. I would like a telescope that has the ability to focus on galaxies, planets etc and with a star tracking facility. I dont particuarly want a dobsoniam. Have set my eyes on a Meade LX90 "10 or 8 ". My budget is £2500 max.

Is this a wise choice? Any advice would be super...

[Peter Drew]

For £2500 you could probably squeeze in an HEQ6, 10" SCT OTA for planetary imaging and a 80mm refractor for DSO's.

[VigdisVZ]

Greetings fellow beginner!

I am in a similar position. I agree with Peter on the EQ6, research and my local club led me onto the path of ordering an EQ6 mount, its very sturdy yet still transportable by 1 man. If you get a stable mount like the EQ6 you will probably not need to upgrade in a long long while if ever. You can computer control and autoguide it with a laptop when you feel like adding to its versatility.

Personally I started out with a smaller cheaper newtonian, a Skywatcher Exploder 150PDS with 750mm focal length. This is probably a bit low if you wanna go straight for the planets or smaller DSO's, but for larger objects like the moon, Andromeda Galaxy and Orion Nebula its pretty spot on.

Your budget is pretty good tho so like Peter said a large Scmidt-Cassegrain and a Refractor will get you a complete kit. Personally though I would just get one tube to start with and the Skywatcher Explorers good for photography plus they are cost effective (love the f/5).

I am just a beginner myself however, but I hope this helps somewhat

Carl

[MBJ]

the first thing i would buy if you are going down the astrophotography route is the book 'Making every photon count' by steve richards,its invaluable and will give you a much clearer view of your requirements.

[LukeSkywatcher]

For £2500 you could probably squeeze in an HEQ6, 10" SCT OTA for planetary imaging and a 80mm refractor for DSO's.

Wow. Really that much good gear for that cost?

I bought an 8" SCT for about that price (when you convert euros to pounds).

I think i live in the wrong country.

[malc-c]

Wow. Really that much good gear for that cost?

I bought an 8" SCT for about that price (when you convert euros to pounds).

I think i live in the wrong country.

RVO are offering the CGEM 925 for a shade under £2450 - the 11 inch OTA on the same mount for £2895. Not much change left over for the refractor....

[LukeSkywatcher]

RVO are offering the CGEM 925 for a shade under £2450 - the 11 inch OTA on the same mount for £2895. Not much change left over for the refractor....

Yeah. I thought adding a refractor on a £2500 budget would be asking a bit much.

[rowan46]

for planetary imaging and visual http://www.firstlightoptics.com/optical-tube-assemblies/celestron-c8-xlt-optical-tube-assembly.html

for deep space imaging http://www.firstlightoptics.com/pro-series/skywatcher-evostar-80ed-ds-pro-outfit.html

mount http://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-neq6-pro-synscan.html

guide scope http://www.firstlightoptics.com/guidescopes/skywatcher-startravel-80-ota.html

have a look round the classifieds and astrobuy and sell somebody is usually selling some of those items

[malc-c]

Hi, I am new to astronomy and could do with some good advice.

Having recently taken some photographs that took me by suprise of the moon with a D7000 i am wanting to further this by developing an interest in astrophotography. I would like a telescope that has the ability to focus on galaxies, planets etc and with a star tracking facility. I dont particuarly want a dobsoniam. Have set my eyes on a Meade LX90 "10 or 8 ". My budget is £2500 max.

Is this a wise choice? Any advice would be super...

That's a nice realistic budget

You need to ask yourself what targets really interest you as this will in some way dictate what sort of OTA would suit. This is because to get good bright contrasty images of the planets a large aperture long focal ratio OTA is better as this will give the magnification needed to get the details. However if you are more favoring the fainter deep sky targets then you need a fast OTA (typically f5 or less). That's not to say you can't get decent planetary images with an f5 scope, or vice verca, its just more work and requires focal reducers or barlows etc.

One thing for sure is that you need a decent mount, and for imaging a quality EQ mount is a must. The EQ6 has a large payload, but will take up almost a grand of your budget, the CGEM is more expensive at £1200. You could opt for something like the 10" Quattro for deep sky at £850 for the CF version and that would still leave you with around £700 to pick an refractor or SCT

These are only price point suggestions. I've not used the scopes suggested so can't really advise on how they perform. If it was me spending that sort of cash then I would spend a few days visiting large telescope retailers and comparing them in the flesh so to speak. The sales guys are also probably best placed to come up with a package and you may even be able to strike a deal or have a few freebies bunged in as well

[barkis]

Don't forget a camera, two actually, and a guidescope, unless you go for an Off Axis Guider.

Then there is processing software, and everything that allies to CCD Astrophotography .

You may need a money tree if you go into it big style. Of course it can be done on a budget too,

but don't be surprised if you get the big bug.

You may decide on widefield imagery, whereby an Astrotrac and a DSLR camera, with some well chosen lenses.

Believe me, some superb images have been produced with that sort of kit.

The beauty of the latter choice, is you can easily transport the gear to good dark sites.

Ron.