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The Doubt Monster: First Telescope Questions

Sharpe

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Sharpe

Sharpe

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Hi Guys,

I have been going round and round thinking about getting a telescope. Having originally posted on this and decided that an NEQ5/6 with an 8-9.25” SCT would be the way forward. However, I find myself once again visited by the doubt fairy and looking to you all for help and advice.

My requirements:

  1. Fairly portable (IE, a 9.25” SCT on NEQ5/6 is at the extreme end of what I consider to be portable). I will be travelling a lot with this scope to dark sites.
  2. Budget – up to £2000.
  3. Interest. 30/70 orbital bodies vs DSO’s (in favour of DSO’s).
  4. Astrophotography vs. viewing. At some point, I will probably get into astrophotography, but this need not be taken into consideration at this stage. I am happy to grow (and reinvest) into this later if required. I want to observe for a year or two first.

My questions are as follows:

  1. SCT vs Refractor. I have never really given much thought to refractor telescopes. As I want to spend a fair amount of my time viewing. Are refractors a very good alternative to SCT’s IF you are planning to VISUALLY OBSERVE at a ratio of 30/70 in favour of DSOs? – Does it even make a difference if you are not taking images?
  2. Focal reducers. I originally settled on the SCT because I found out that you can get focal reducers for them (taking a 9.25” SCT from F10 down to about F6). Is this a legitimate compromise or will it end it tears in terms of observing DSO’s?
  3. Astrophotography. It is inevitable that at some point (later rather than sooner I think) I will want to get into astrophotography. Mounting aside, will a 9.25” SCT with (or without) focal reducer get the job done or will I need a different scope altogether? Can you even take images with a focal reducer fitted?
  4. Cumulatively. Taking 1-3 into consideration is the 9.25 SCT still the correct way to go or should I spend less (or the same) on a different type of scope?

Thanks in advance for your help!

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Tiki

Tiki

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Buy a 3-inchish refractor on an azimuth mount for a fraction of your budget and see how things pan out. Having an easy access scope is good. If you buy well s/h then this way will cost nothing in the long run. You can even use the OTA as a guider or as part of the same visual rig for when you are imaging with another scope that you don't yet have.

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skywatcher58gb

skywatcher58gb

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A good starting point for what you want to do is to invest in a good mount that will allow you to do visual observing and be capable of astrophotography. An EQ6 is a very good mount, however due to the weight it is quite a beast to lug round and set up. An alternative would be the HEQ5 Pro which is lighter, although it does not have the same carrying capacity, it is a capable mount for both jobs.

Onto the mount you can fit a variety of scopes depending on your viewing needs. Refractors are excellent scopes however to get the same light gathering as say an 8" sct you would need to spend big bucks, therefore an sct or a newtonian around the 8" OTA would be my initial thought. This would give excellent views and be well within your budget as good quality SCT tube assemblies and reflectors can be bought second hand, this would leave some cash for decent quality eyepieces. Also for astrophotography a small refractor in the 80 -100mm range is the preferred size for a lot of ametures, this will fit perfectly onto a mount of this type.

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JamesF

JamesF

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If you're not going to get into imaging for some time I'd be really tempted to get something like a 200P dob now and pick up the various bits for an imaging rig over time second hand. If you want a single setup that will do both visual and imaging you're going to really struggle to not make compromises somewhere. My gut feeling is that if you had a 200P dob and an 80mm refractor on a HEQ5 or NEQ6 for imaging you'd probably got more enjoyment out of both than trying to get a single scope that will do either.

James

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Sharpe

Sharpe

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Thanks for the advice guys :)

Its interesting that nobody has mentioned the focal reducers - are these not used as they are too specalised/people get different scopes for different things/they dont work - or a combination thereof?

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JamesF

JamesF

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There are a few people using the reducers, but I don't think I've heard too many mention it.

The thing is, the longer the focal length you're doing long-exposure DSO imaging at the harder it gets. With a 0.63x focal reducer on a C9.25 you're still going to be working at 1.5m focal length. Compare that with the 600mm of an ED80 even before you put a reducer on it. The ED80 is lighter, easier on the mount, easier to guide, less than half the price and probably won't require a replacement focuser before you can even start. If you're going to be using a DSLR I wouldn't be entirely surprised if it were less prone to vignetting either.

James

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JamesM

JamesM

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I would certainly go for the HEQ5 mount as a minimum but the NEQ6 will offer better future proofing as it will allow you to stick a whole variety of scope sizes and combinations on it. If imaging is going to be a possibility (...a case of not if but when) I would certainly recommend getting hold of Steve Richards' "Making Every Photon Count"(FLO £19.95) to provide you with a comprehensive guide of what kit you will need and why you need it to take good consistent images. It is modestly priced and will help you from the outset decide on how deep you want to go with your intended imaging and in so doing will help you save money in avoiding buying the wrong kit.

Clear skies

James

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swamp thing

swamp thing

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^^^Good advice here ^^^

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Capricorn

Capricorn

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May be strange but Tiki had a good idea, get something small and see how you go with it. I originally looked at the 8SE then wondered what if I do not use it much or at all and bought a small ETX-70. Used it a few times then didn't bother again for about the next 6 years. It wasn't the scope it was me.

For portability, well, an HEQ5 and an 8 inch SCT is "portable", however it depends on the term Portable, I ain't tiny but I bought an HEQ5 then went and bought a EQ5 to use as a more "portable" mount. Portable is just one aspect. Transport an HEQ5 somewhere and it doesn't pop-up like some tents ready to be used. There is quite a period of setting up.

Having the mount and scope as one unit is not I suspect portable, so that means scope as one bit, mount as one bit and the weights as a final bit. Expect a fair sized box of additional bits - assorted leads, eyepieces, torches, sky maps. Nice dark site = cold and dark then comes the assembly, setup and alignment of this kit.

I do the ETX set up if possible when still light, then leave the scope while I eat and it gets dark, then I go out, power up the scope, do the alignment and start viewing.

30/70 solar system to DSO is probably low on the DSO's. How many planets are there to look at (3) and how many times do you want to look at them?

Astrophotography well SCT's are not the best, too long a focal length, you would have to look at the EQ6 for this I suspect. People do use SCT's but they then tend to be bigger (additional diameter) and on a permanent pier

Does the dark sky site have power? Very doubtful so a fair sized power pack (more to transport), although I use the car supply. The Maplins car rescue things will not be enough.

Part of the problem is I cannot really see an intermediate, suppose the Meade ETX-90 wouldn't appeal, even the ETX-80. Both of which are transportable, however if it is an 8 inch or bigger that you want then one that much smaller will make you question having not getting the larger scope immediatly.

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Baffa

Baffa

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If there such a things as an allround scope I guess a SCT (9.25" is great) is the thing to get, it's quite compact, will give you great views of our planets and quite good views of DSO's. A big refractor costs lot's of money so you will get more aperture per £/$/€ with a SCT which will help looking for those dim DSO's. On the other hand when it comes to imaging the SCT can be troublesome as already mentioned earlier.

Or you can save some money and grab a dob and enjoy the views, can always sell it when you decide to move into astrophotography :)

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Russe

Russe

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Here's as well to: buy a good mount (HEQ5) - my first alt/Az just went in my loft yesterday 2 years after buying it...

Buy a 2nd hand scope - try it out and sell it if you don't like it.

Planets will get boring - then you'll buy a webcam - and off you go... Down the slippery slope of AP.

Most of the DSO's you can't see, due to LP - then you'd need to travel to a dark location (portability!) - or sell your house (well, a bit extreme but I have considered it once). Therefore, you just found yourself another reason to AP...

Well, that's my 50p...

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