Portable telescope

[Dieselwheasel]

Hello everybody,

i am very new to astronomy but I am looking for a very portable telescope and I have came across a Meade etx80 I think it is. Can anyone tell me how this scope performs as far as a beginner is concerned. My main requirement is that it must be very portable as I plan to hike up hills to use it?

cheers,

alex

[naxos10]

Hi Alex,

I am also looking for my first scope and eyed the backpack version of this scope but from what I have read the Meade has good optics but poor mechanics (goto system).

BR

Alan

[steppenwolf]

but from what I have read the Meade has good optics but poor mechanics (goto system)

That is a pretty fair assessment to be honest.

Any of these AZ GoTo mount/telescopes are great fun and very portable. Despite its small aperture, I had some great observing sessions with the 1145P version. This little mount is very versatile and performs well with a range of different optical tubes.

[Dieselwheasel]

They all look great but don't seem very portable. With the Meade at least I can bung it in a rucksack and go?

[nicks90]

you may be able to put the meade in a rucksack and go - but once you are where you want to be, what are you going to put the meade on to? The ground > not very comfortable viewing position

a table? Not exactly easy to fit into a rucksack!

[rowan46]

At f5 this scope has a lot of false colour in it it also weighs 10lbs and is on a fairly unstable tripod imo a good pair of binoculars will be better and you can use them for wildlife during the day

http://www.firstligh...nnah-ED-56.html

This scope has slightly smaller apparture and with a good tripod will give better views as it will have less false colour but of course no goto. the advantage being that it's lighter

http://www.teleskop-...ord-Auszug.html

you will need to get an eyepiece and diagonal though

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/diagonals/skywatcher-di-electric-star-diagonal.html

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-25-25mm-BST-Explorer-Dual-ED-eyepiece-/160644997391?refid=store