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Hello from Sussex

ben_e71

By ben_e71
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ben_e71

ben_e71

Posted
Posted

Hi

well Stargazing Live has bitten me again this year and finally decided I need to bite the bullet and buy myself a 'scope.

After much reading and advice from a friend I have landed on the the SkyWatcher 130P. Now just deciding if I go for the auto or the GOTO SynScan. My thinking is that as I hope to get the kids involved a motorised affair will keep the likes of the moon and jupiter centered. As a enthusiastic novice I don't know where many things are so I am tempted by the GOTO. But then I have apps on iphone or ipad that would help me find things.

SO any guidance in this area would be helpful

Thanks

Ben

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glowjet

glowjet

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Hi Ben and welcome to SGL, GOTO is a personal choice, but finding your way about the night sky by star hopping, the old fashioned method, can be very rewarding and a very good way to learn about the night sky. Depends what age your children are, as it will take patience and time to locate your objects and frustration may set in and they could quickly loose interest, but on the other hand they may be old enough to enjoy the hunt using star maps your iphone/ipad and perhaps join in with the use of binoculars. With GOTO as it sometime says, "no knowledge of the night sky needed, just press and go", with a data base, most times, of some 40,000 or so objects you will never be lost for things to observe. Enjoy your Astronomy whatever you end up with using :)

John.

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Catweazel

Catweazel

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Hi Ben, welcome to SGL. I think that with kids to keep entertained, and lets be honest, they sometimes have a short attention spans, the GOTO option is very attractive, as it means that you can find a greater variety of objects in a short space of time. Also, with the weather that we have been getting, GOTO can be a bonus anyway! Clear skies! CW :grin:

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JamesF

JamesF

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Welcome to SGL

I'm broadly in agreement with the comments already made. My preference is to star hop and learn my way around, but that does require patience and you have to be prepared to go away disappointed some nights, so where young children are concerned GOTO can be useful. Having a motorised mount is nice regardless of whether you have GOTO or not because it allows you just to sit (or stand) and look for extended periods without having to worry about anything else.

James

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Pig

Pig

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Hi Ben - Evolution rules ( not many people use a horse and cart to go shopping these days :rolleyes: ) a goto its much better for the kids as they may get cold and bored.

Learning is always the best way but you also get to know where stars etc are when you use the sky tour setting a few times. You can also point the scope at a star / object and the goto will tell you all the info about it.

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JonDoe

JonDoe

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Hi Ben welcome to SGL, not so long ago now i was in the same boat as you, its not easy picking your first telescope and no matter what you get there are pro`s and cons.

just ask before you purchase as where only to willing to help you out, ive got a EQ3-2 mount for my scope because i want to learn the sky but i also purchased a goto mount secondhand to get the kids involve.

even with a goto the kids will learn the sky.

download Stellarium if you havnt already

purchase Turn left at Orion if you want to learn the sky.

good luck

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