Newbie here, please aid me decide on a scope

[DanOrion]

Hi there,

I have some question and hope you can help me. I am just starting out, and firstly want to get something modest to use and then if I really love it to upgrade.

I only have around £200-300 for a first scope. My main urge at present is to view planets and hopefully one or two brighter DSOs. I would also like to be able to progress to modest AP, planets etc.

So, from what I have read so far, I am drawn to refractors or hybrids, mainly due to less maintenance and the sharpness of refractors.

Would starting with a simple refractor like an Evostar 90 on an alt-az mount be a decent start? I would like to be able to view and image the moon from the off with a smartphone if possible. Later on, if I want to pursue the hobby and be able to do AP I could upgrade the mount, then scope to something better.

what would you suggest? you may think a slightly better set-up from the off which can be ugraded?

Also, I was thinking that if I wish to view the moon and planets and not wish to manually keep it in frame every few seconds, would I be better starting with a mount that can take motors?

Such as: http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-sky-watcher-evostar-90-eq3-2-refractor-telescope/p10585#details

I assume this will then track the object? (i must admit to some confusion on this as I see there are 'autoguiders' which I thought was accomplished via an EQ mount on motors?

Many thanks for help.

Best

Dan

[rowan46]

Welcome to sgl A couple of basics to go through first Photography and visual have slightly different priorities. With visual it's about apparture the larger the scope the more you see (even under light polluted skies). Photography is mostly dependant upon the mount the stronger and more accurate it is the better the pics. Now the good news planetary and lunar photography can be done on fairly basic mounts and scope especially afocally with a phone. The Evostar is an ok scope a fair amount of false colour but if you can live with that it will not be so bad. The evostar has a very narrow field of view which is great for the moon and planets but not so great at framing deep space objects it is available slightly cheaper at our sponsor and in stock.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/evostar/skywatcher-evostar-90-eq3-2.html

and here is another refractor you might wish to consider

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/startravel/skywatcher-startravel-120-az3.html

Not such a great mount but the bigger apparture and wider field make it a lot more versatile you will still be able to do afocal shots of the moon but it will still show false colour. and will see further into space.

Having said all that I would go for a newtonian reflector on a dobsonian base (dob for short) you get more apparture no false colour and with a little skill can still do afocal work on the moon and webcamming planets

This scope is merely excellent

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-150p-dobsonian.html

and this one is even better

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html

[midnight_sky_watcher]

Hi Dan,

Spot on advice from rowan.

To clear up your confusion with the word auto guider. Auto guiders are used in conjuction with mount motor drives, the auto guider is a small ccd camera that is piggy back mounted to the main telescope the camera is fitted to a smaller guide scope and through pc software the guide camera is keeping the main scope on the object your are looking at. Mainly used for AP. I hope this helps.

Grant

[DanOrion]

[DanOrion]

Welcome to sgl A couple of basics to go through first Photography and visual have slightly different priorities. With visual it's about apparture the larger the scope the more you see (even under light polluted skies). Photography is mostly dependant upon the mount the stronger and more accurate it is the better the pics. Now the good news planetary and lunar photography can be done on fairly basic mounts and scope especially afocally with a phone. The Evostar is an ok scope a fair amount of false colour but if you can live with that it will not be so bad. The evostar has a very narrow field of view which is great for the moon and planets but not so great at framing deep space objects it is available slightly cheaper at our sponsor and in stock.

http://www.firstligh...r-90-eq3-2.html

and here is another refractor you might wish to consider

http://www.firstligh...el-120-az3.html

Not such a great mount but the bigger apparture and wider field make it a lot more versatile you will still be able to do afocal shots of the moon but it will still show false colour. and will see further into space.

Having said all that I would go for a newtonian reflector on a dobsonian base (dob for short) you get more apparture no false colour and with a little skill can still do afocal work on the moon and webcamming planets

This scope is merely excellent

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

and this one is even better

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

Thanks Rowan, the bigger refractor scope you linked to is F5, which I read is not too good for planetary as it is more rich field, so much wider an image? I guess for my first scope planetary is the prority but if you know that an F5 can do that well to that is great. I wish to study the moon as close as possible over a length of time.

Hi Dan,

Spot on advice from rowan.

To clear up your confusion with the word auto guider. Auto guiders are used in conjuction with mount motor drives, the auto guider is a small ccd camera that is piggy back mounted to the main telescope the camera is fitted to a smaller guide scope and through pc software the guide camera is keeping the main scope on the object your are looking at. Mainly used for AP. I hope this helps.

Grant

Grant, thanks, so if a scope is goto and motor driven only, it will not track an object well enough for AP but ok for visual observing?

[Mr Spock]

For detailed views of the planets the refractor won't even get close to the 200 Dob. If you want the most out of your views for the least money and can cope with the manual 'pushing' involved with a Dob then the 200 is unbeatable.

Convenience often comes at the expense of aperture

[rowan46]

If it's mainly lunar and planetary you will often be using a barlow lens this increases the focal length thus increasing magnification. The startravel scope will give increased resolution and with a barlow it will help cut some of the false colour as will certain filters. In the world of visual astronomy bigger is better. (up to a point) I would still go for the dob as it's even bigger

[midnight_sky_watcher]

Thanks Rowan, the bigger refractor scope you linked to is F5, which I read is not too good for planetary as it is more rich field, so much wider an image? I guess for my first scope planetary is the prority but if you know that an F5 can do that well to that is great. I wish to study the moon as close as possible over a length of time.

Grant, thanks, so if a scope is goto and motor driven only, it will not track an object well enough for AP but ok for visual observing?

No A decent got scope will track and you will get some great planetary and solar and lunar images with no guide cam, however when imaging deep sky objects the guider cam comes into its own, it is a lot more accurate.

[CSM]

I suggest that your best bet before buying anything is to go to a Star Party. With Stargazing Live this month there are lots going on and the guys there will give you advice and you will be able to see what the scopes look like even if the skies are clear. I don't know where you are in Sussex, but Herstmonceux on the 12th, Worthing on the 17th, Eastbourne on the 18th could be worth a visit. And also consider portability and whether you will have to travel to see anything or whether you are ok in your back garden.

[Catweazel]

+1 on CSM's suggestion about star parties or joining a astro club; that way you can get a look at some different types of scopes. With the budget you mentioned, the Evostar 90 is a nice starter scope IMO.

[JamesM]

The kit requirements for observing are not the same for imaging, though using a webcam to image solar system objects (moon and planets) can be performed on almost any scope. The idea here is that you choose the best 'frames' from your short video and stack them on top of each other to make a good composite image with hopefully plenty of detail. Personally I would go for the Skywatcher 200P to start with, learn the sky and take in the views which will buy you some time to pan ahead down the imaging route. When you eventually decide on your imaging setup or 'rig' as it s sometimes known, then the dobsonian can still play a part in providing you with something to enjoy whilst the imaging setup is collecting the data.

To help you further research imaging and the kit that you need, I would definitely recommend that you get hold of a copy of Steve Richards' book, "Making Every Photon Count"(FLO £19.95) which you can view here. It is a comprehensive guide that will provide you with the necessary overview which is essential in making sure you buy the right kit for the type of imaging that you want to do. Widefield imaging (camera on a tripod) is the easiest and most straightforward, planetary is a little more involved (as described above) leading up to imaging deep sky objects (DSO's) which typically forms the majority of astro images viewed in magazines etc. Imaging DSO's is all about the mount and as a minimum you're looking at a HEQ5 and upwards, especially if you want to take advantage of autoguiding which is really useful in helping to accurately track an object if you don't have an observatory and need to set up your rig each time. This book will take you through all the details of how to take good consistent images which by definition will help you decide on how far you want to go and the necessary budget that is required. Hope that helps.

Clear skies

James

[Mansnake]

Making Every Photon Count is a must read for anyone interested in AP

[DanOrion]

Guys, many many thanks for you kind replies, I am taking this all in. I shall indeed buy the book!

1) So, when it comes to focal length, if I had an F5, I can then use a lense to increase the focal length and be able to do planets and DSOs.

2) But, if I plumb for a longer F length like the Evostar 90 or 102 , can a lense be used to reduce focal length to see DSOs - and if so, is it a desirable way to go?

I will then need to think of the mount - something halfway ok for a beginners that can have motors added, EQ 3-2 would seem minimum, then later I can upgrade.