Goto Telescope for Beginner

[Dizeee]

Hi all;

I have always been fascinated with astronomy but never delved into the world of buying any kit or observing for myself. I have an idea of what is out there having always had an interest in the night sky and spent a lot of time over the years reading and watching things to do with our solar system and deep space.

So now I am tempted to go out and spend some money on a digital goto scope. The main reason to go down this lazy option is having no experience of telescopes I want something easy and effective. I am spoilt for viewing purposes an as I have a large south facing garden sloped down to the horizon almost, with no light pollution and a clear view of almost all the sky. Therefore it would be great to be able to just bring out the telescope and start viewing. I can see the argument for learning the sky first but after a while I am sure I would get to know my way around?

Is it that easy? If so any recommendations on brands or models of scope? I have done some research and would prefer to avoid celestion, choosing either Skywatcher or Meade if possible. I would expect to pay up to £500 as I don't want to jump the gun as I am aware this is new to me. Thing is it would be a treat for myself so I don't mind spending a bit more on something I can keep a few years and really cherish.

Any advice?

[Donkeiller]

Get a Skywatcher AZ or Celestron SLT Mak127, or P130.

You wont go far wrong.

[munro]

I would research the subject before rushing in. Its not as simple as it sounds - quite afew Newbies (including me) have fallen for the advertising blurb. Even with GOTO systems most scopes ask you to align with two or three stars (and with EQ scopes you have to polar aling before you do even that)

Without a knowledge of at least a few stars you are not even going to be able to use the super duper easy to use systems they try to flog you. I would advise reading through this and other threads - you'll get a better idea. I'm afraid the system you want which equires no knowledge at all does not exist

[rowan46]

I would research the subject before rushing in. Its not as simple as it sounds - quite afew Newbies (including me) have fallen for the advertising blurb. Even with GOTO systems most scopes ask you to align with two or three stars (and with EQ scopes you have to polar aling before you do even that)

Without a knowledge of at least a few stars you are not even going to be able to use the super duper easy to use systems they try to flog you. I would advise reading through this and other threads - you'll get a better idea. I'm afraid the system you want which equires no knowledge at all does not exist

actually it does but it's rather expensive

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-skyprodigy.html

[M4lcs67]

Another vote for the Celestron Nexstar 127 SLT. Why do you want to avoid Celestron? They are one of the top brands and make some of the best scopes. It is a great little scope. As mentioned you have to input a little info yourself though, but once that little bit of data is put into the hand controller you are good to go.

[Astro Imp]

What do you hope to observe? No one scope is ideal for everything but this:- http://www.rotherval....uk/_d3191.html will give you a start until you know more of what interests you.

As has been said above you will need to be able to identify a few of the brighter stars to align your scope but having an AZ mount means you wont have to polar align.

To help you get started in learning the sky I would strongly suggest you down load Stellarium, a free planatarium program which after inputting your latitude and longitude will give you real time view of you local sky:- http://www.stellarium.org/

HTH and good luck.

[wheresthetorch?]

Without a knowledge of at least a few stars you are not even going to be able to use the super duper easy to use systems they try to flog you.

Bear in mind though that Celestron's Sky Align only requires you to point the scope at any 3 bright stars - you don't need to know their names.

[Dizeee]

Thanks for all the replies.

I like the look of the auto align, but I confident that I would be able to align a telescope by fixing it on to bright stars etc - I am sure it is something I can learn and I can lookup / have some reference of where to point if needs be.

I'm not against Celestion but I have heard some mixed reviews - I get the impression they are the "cover all" of the telescope world and cater for the commercial audience, I would like something that would give me some proper viewing excitement and am prepared to pay for that. But I could be totally wrong, just answering the above question.

In terms of what do I want to view, everything I can is the answer, solar system, nebulae and galaxies if possible.

[Dizeee]

Also, tried downloading that Stellarium but it won't work, incompatible with Windows apparently.

[saaj]

I would say a Skywatcher Skymax 127, I own one at the moment and its a good piece of kit. But, if you haven't been to a astronomy society yet, you should go and try out other peoples scopes. This is because I realise now, that I actually don't need the GOTO capabilities of the Skymax and I have needed up navigating without the goto.

[saaj]

Ended*

[brucen]

Also, tried downloading that Stellarium but it won't work, incompatible with Windows apparently.

Download from here using the 32 or 64 bit option depending on your version of Windows and you should be fine.

[allcart]

Stellarium is compatible with windows. I use Windows 7 64bit and it runs fine and is extremely useful for finding your way around the sky. You just need the right version for your computer.

[munro]

Same here - I have windows and downloaded it no problem. Great system highly recommended

[stevetynant]

a South facing garden, views to the Horizon with no light pollution - how lucky are you and boy have you picked the right hobby.

There are arguments for and against Goto and theres no right or wrong answer just personal opinion and yours is the one that counts in the end but reading the posts above I just wonder whether you should take a bit more time, perhaps have a night out with a local observing group to see whats available. When you spend £500 on a goto scope you will to some extent be giving up the optics as a trade off for the electronics. To me finding the stars/galaxies etc is the thrill of astronomy and its a process that will in my case take years - but the Universe isn't going anywhere thats why its such a long term hobby.

I can understand the frustration that sometime accompanies the hobby especially in the early days when you struggle to find things but the thrill when you do more than compensates. Buying a scope that you push buttons to get to site 1, push next button site 2, push button site 3 - will in itself get monotonous eventually IMO.

Please note this is only my view- I don't want to offend anyone with Goto its a fantastic tool if it works for you but in your case I just wonder if a little more research and canvassing opinions might be beneficial in the long run before you set off on your journey.

Good luck with whatever you decide though - sounds like your in the right place to set up with whatever you decide to buy.

[munro]

As a Newbie who rushed in and bought a GOTO system I totally agree wth stevetynant's post. On reflection I'm not sure I should have bought a GOTO system and should have learned a bit more first.

[Luke]

My suggestion would be to make sure that you definitely want goto, as it will mean as already said that a chunk of your money goes on the electronics instead of the optics.

For example, you could get a 10 inch manual dobsonian, which would be quite a powerful telescope, especially under your dark skies.

The bigger the aperture of the telescope, the more of the faint stuff you can see, and there is a lot of faint stuff out there! Faint objects will be about four times brighter in a 10 inch dob than in a 127mm scope.

I'd second trying to get to a local meeting to have a look through some scopes to get an idea whether you want the extra aperture or goto. There is quite a trade off either way and which way is best depends on you, such as what type of things you want to look at, how portable you want the scope to be, how much you want goto, etc.

Good luck choosing the right scope for you!

[Dizeee]

Thanks for replies.

I have been to my local telescope shop in Dorking, a great little place, and had some good advice. As I want to see both planets but particularly deep space, they recommend the Celestion Schimdt-Cassegrain (4 to 7). The 5 took my eye at £799. I had kind of settled with skywatcher but apparently these are good scopes.

Interesting that it is mostly refractors for planets that come with sync scan and not the cheaper end of the reflectors?

Yeah as for my viewing point in the garden I post some pics below, if anyone is local to Guildford and and fancies coming round with their kit to inspect the sky / show me some stuff your more than welcome. I have 4 power points at the end of the garden too so can plug in charge / whatever is needed. At the end of the garden is a decked area that I would use for viewing, facing south.

[stevetynant]

looks beautiful - not sure about the decked area though - you would be suprized how much any minor vibrations make a difference when you are looking at distant objects like we do unless its completely solid?

[Dizeee]

looks beautiful - not sure about the decked area though - you would be suprized how much any minor vibrations make a difference when you are looking at distant objects like we do unless its completely solid?

It is solid enough, it just sits a top a solid piece of grass at the end of the garden and on the other side of the trellis is a field which is totally unused and undisturbed. I could imagine walking across the decking could cause vibrations, but could always just plonk it on the grass if it was an issue.

[Dizeee]

Also, got the Stellarium setup to my co-ordinates, what an amazing program. That should be a must for any astronomer surely? Makes me even more confident about buying a scope without goto.

[CFC]

It all depends what you will get enjoyment out of. I LOVE goto. I like to look, not hunt. Yes I love my dob but I would like another one with push- to.

My advice would be get bigger than the 5 inch if you can afford it.

[Dizeee]

Interesting, is there a massive difference between say a 5 and 6 inch? Is that what it means when they are called a Schmidt Cassegrain 4/5/6/7 etc?

Also, how does the goto deal with the natural movement in the sky once fixed - do you have to manually rotate the scope to remain fixed or is it all auto?

[wheresthetorch?]

Hi Dizee. Once aligned and then locked onto an object, it will track it for you. I can pop in for a cuppa and a warm up, and the scope will still have the object in the eyepiece.

[brucen]

I doubt you will find it is as solid as you think! My decking beams sit on a solid concrete base and it still vibrates. It is not that noticeable normally but when using the webcam I have to stand perfectly still or the object goes walkabout.