Need Help Choosing a Telescope

[sabin0707]

Hello,

I want to buy a telescope, mostly for planetary watch.

Am not sure what to choose. My budget is flexible and can go to uo to 800-900 EUR.

I do not know if I should got for a good brand or high aperture. Example:

SkyWatcher 120/1000 EQ3 or Vixen AC 80/910 A80M GP-2

What choice is better?

[VigdisVZ]

Hi and welcome.

Personally, not being an expert, I think that a refrator might not be the best choice for exclusive planetary work. Maybe a Mak or SCT would be better here. Refractors are better for wide field views due to the shorter focal length. The ones you linked are pretty good all

Hopefully someone with more experience will give you more detailed advice on this.

Enjoy your stay at SGL.

[dweller25]

This one .......

http://www.firstligh...-dobsonian.html

And you can put this tube on an equatorial mount later, like this .......

[skywalker3]

when i was looking for my telescope lots of people on this forum suggested a skywatcher skyliner 150p. it is good for planetary and deep sky observation.

really if you get a telescope with good aperture and focal length,with an assortment of eyepieces, you will have a good all round telescope.

[PurpleFringe]

dweller25, I've wondered if it is possible to place the 200p on an EQ mount. Don't want to hijack this thread, but please send a few details about what to do in another thread.

[BinocularSky]

I want to buy a telescope, mostly for planetary watch.

Sorry to others who have posted, but the advice you have been given is exactly wrong: your best choice for planetary work is a refractor. Of the two options you mentioned, I would opt for the Vixen. The Skywatcher 120 is undermounted and has less good optics.

[PurpleFringe]

But is a 4" refractor better than an 8" reflector for planetary? I'd love to know, am considering both these options myself but don't have experience of either. Was tending towards the 8" reflector.

[jonathan]

I think it depends what refractor - a high quality one to prevent colour fringing will push the price up, and a fast one so that higher magnification eyepieces can be used pushes it up again.

You will find that there are fans of one type of telescope or another, and they are all nice scopes, but at the end of the day you can see planets quite nicely through a variety of different telescopes, it's down to you which you fancy and how much you want to spend.

I haven't tried a large refractor so can't really compare, but I would say that I have been very impressed with the views of Jupiter though the 150P Explorer reflector compared to an 8SE SCT (6" vs 8"). The reflector is the easier one to handle and use because it is smaller and lighter, and thus has lower mounting requirements.

[John]

My advice would be to look at 8 inch / 200mm F/6 dobsonian mounted newtonian. The reason being that, with the unfavourable positions of the planets for viewing over the next couple of years, you will probably not find planetary viewing alone fulfilling / sustaining for long and will soon want to expand your repertoire. The 8" F/6 dobsonians are good all round scopes and capable of delivering pleasing views of a wide range of astro objects.

As you have seen from the other responses, consensus is not always easy to find with equipment choices

[BinocularSky]

But is a 4" refractor better than an 8" reflector for planetary?

Depends. A well-made 4" f/15 achromat (or f/8 apo) will perform better than a f/6 or faster 8" Newtonian and will give crisper images. However, the larger scope will potentially show more detail. People (e.g. Gary Seronik of S&T) have made reflectors optimised for planetary work; they are typically f/10 or slower, in order that they can have tiny secondaries.

It's important to recognise that a smaller scope is easier to mount. Most planetary observers want magnification, and that really requires a tracking mount, preferably equatorial. Whilst it is true that, in principle, more aperture will give you more detail, you really need to take into account the cost of the complete system, not just the OTA. Your 8" reflector will be heavier and will theoretically permit higher magnification; it will therefore require a more substantial, and hence more expensive, mount.

My advice would be to look at 8 inch / 200mm F/6 dobsonian mounted newtonian. The reason being that, with the unfavourable positions of the planets for viewing over the next couple of years, you will probably not find planetary viewing alone fulfilling / sustaining for long and will soon want to expand your repertoire.

I agree that the 8" Dob is a decent all-rounder, and your point about the unfavourable planetary locations for the UK (the OP is in Bucharest; approx 10* less unfavourable!) in the medium term is pertinent. I am a great fan of Dobs (I have both made and owned several), but I would hesitate to recommend one specifically as a planetary scope, not least because of the inability to track in its "native" form.

As you have seen from the other responses, consensus is not always easy to find with equipment choices

Indeed so.

@ sabin0707 Solicit several opinions, ask reasons for them so you can evaluate them, and then make the best decision you can. There is rarely a single, clear-cut "right answer".

[rowan46]

I am with tetenterre on this, vixen has a good reputation as a maker of achromatic refractors and certainly the gp2 mount is much better than an eq3 or eq5. Don't forget you will need to buy motors for your gp2 they don't come as standard and you will need to buy a tripod

[Astro_Baby]

I'd go with a frac for planetary or even a largish Mak. Whatever you get will need a mount and ideally motorised tracking. Planetary at high powers, and most planetary IS at high powers means tracking is really needed.

Bear in mind though that there are only a few planets to look at that reveal much. Mercury is tough, usually just a smalll dot of light, venus almost neve shows many features so its usually a bright white crescent, mars is most usually a small red dot with perhaps a whitish top to it, Neptune and Uranus are usually just two small blue/green dots and Pluto will be just a small white dot if you can ever find it. That leaves Saturn, Jupiter and the Moon which while amazing sights can soon bore people.

Its worth pointing that out because so manyele assume they will see much more. Also bear in mind that even under big magnification Saturn will be not much larger than 1 cent euro coin.

[moogoomonkey]

I would be looking at an SCT or a Mak. Lovely and compact so you can take it anywhere I can see you point about the planets not being placed nicely but I think that a GOTO will keep you entertained Good luck with whatever you choose!

[moogoomonkey]

And you can put this tube on an equatorial mount later, like this .......

Can you tell me a suitable mount for a scope like this. I have one and in the future I want to go equatorial!

[John]

I'm not suggesting that the 8" F/6 is an optimum planetary scope but that the OP might get more enjoyment of the hobby from it overall.

I do most of my planetary observing with a 4" Vixen ED refractor and a 4.7" Skywatcher ED refractor and both are excellent for the task

[sabin0707]

Thank you for all your responses. After I posted here I had to travel a few days. Now I am back.

First of all why I was going towards a refractor: I leave in a city with significant light pollution. I want to be able to use it also from home or close to home. The Newtonian from what i know gathers more light but won't that mean more noise?

I like the Meade Telescop Schmidt-Cassegrain SC 152/1524 LX80 GoTo but it is a bit expensive. Please keep in mind it that it is my first scope. I have a passion for astronomy since I was a young kid (now I am 32) but I never had the money (when I was a kid) or the time (when i got the money) for this hobby. So far I only used my naked eye to see constelations. The planets and the constellations are all I actually seen on the sky (no NASA pictures).

I wanted a sturdy mount so in case my hobby becomes more serious maybe I can reuse it and buy another OTA.

Thanks again

[sabin0707]

Since I am asking you about a scope I do have one more question. I am also enjoying photography a bit. I own a Nikon D800 and a D90 with several lenses.

Do you think it can be used for astrophotography?

Right now I am only interested in observing but if it will not be too expensive to try taking some pictures I would like to try. I do not want to put my scope connected to a computer and wait several hours. I want to see the stars but since I carry the D90 almost all the time I would like to play sometimes.

[VigdisVZ]

You can take beautiful pictures with just a DSLR and a tripod. Wide angle lenses is good for this.

Here's a few examples of what I've done with just a tripod and my D5100 with the kit 18-55mm lens.

You can also do pretty wild telephoto shots with higher focal length lenses, but you need a tracking mount for that.

Also, the DSLR is an excellent camera for taking basic deep sky photos with an AP rig, like the one in my signature.

[dweller25]

@tetenterre - Steve, I am fortunate enough to own a Takahashi TSA-102 F/8 APO refractor and an 8" F/6 Newtonian and I can tell you that the Newt easily outperforms the Tak on the planets. The 8" scope has nearly twice the resolution of the 4" APO which is too big an advantage for even Takahashi to overcome. The 8" F/6 Newt is a superb all-rounder and well recommended.

@ Moogoomonkey - Callum, you can get away with a Vixen GP class EQ mount if you use a pedestal, but a Vixen GP-DX class Eq mount is better.

[BinocularSky]

@tetenterre - Steve, I am fortunate enough to own a Takahashi TSA-102 F/8 APO refractor and an 8" F/6 Newtonian and I can tell you that the Newt easily outperforms the Tak on the planets. The 8" scope has nearly twice the resolution of the 4" APO which is too big an advantage for even Takahashi to overcome. The 8" F/6 Newt is a superb all-rounder and well recommended.

Thanks for that, David. I don't doubt that the Newt shows more detail (you can't beat the laws of physics, etc), but:

* Which gives you the crisper, more contrasty, image? (If it's the Newt, it must be a very good one! )

* Which requires the more substantial mount?

[dweller25]

Thanks for that, David. I don't doubt that the Newt shows more detail (you can't beat the laws of physics, etc), but:

* Which gives you the crisper, more contrasty, image? (If it's the Newt, it must be a very good one! )

* Which requires the more substantial mount?

The Newt gives images that are as sharp and contrasty as the APO but with more evident detail, it's has 1/10th wave optics. I have also had very similar performance from a superb Skywatcher 8" F/6 Newt.

I've used the Newt on a pedestal mounted Vixen GP at x373 and it was very stable, the Tak is heavy and needs a Vixen GP-DX.

[moogoomonkey]

@ Moogoomonkey - Callum, you can get away with a Vixen GP class EQ mount if you use a pedestal, but a Vixen GP-DX class Eq mount is better.

Cheers mate, It'll be a long time before I start buying equipment like that! I'll need to get a proper job first!

[BinocularSky]

The Newt gives images that are as sharp and contrasty as the APO but with more evident detail, it's has 1/10th wave optics.

Excellent quality indeed!

I have also had very similar performance from a superb Skywatcher 8" F/6 Newt.

I have to say that surprises me; I've looked through a few and, whilst I have been impressed that they manage to knock them out so cheaply, I've never been stunned by the quality and not seen one that I'd class above "good"; certainly nowhere near "superb". I live and learn!

I've used the Newt on a pedestal mounted Vixen GP at x373 and it was very stable

Again, that surprises me. When I had a GP, I found it good for a 5" SCT, but it really struggled with an 8" Newt.

However, as regards the substance of this thread, it seems that I stand corrected: thank you for the education!

[sabin0707]

Thank again for your advices.

I will try some pictures with the tripod alone... see how it goes

[Special K]

I suppose the only useful thing I could add would be that your interest may take a new twist. I bought my scope with nebula's in mind mainly. I didn't think I would take more than a passing interest in planets and no real time for lunar obs. However, I've spent more time on Jupiter the past few months than any other object. An all rounder that can capture more light might be the best option? You've got a nice budget so the 8" newt would be very effective. I can only imagine how much more you'll get from Jupiter than with my 5"!

Is there any way you could sample some scopes beforehand so could get a feel for the differences?