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jamcart

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jamcart

jamcart

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Undaunted by London light pollution, I'm joining the word of astronomy and SGL in unison!

I've been gazing for a few months with my own oculars, my daughter and I have taken a look at the Moon and Jupiter with our first kit, Celestron 9x63 bins; and have started to navigate the night sky with ESA's Star Walk for iPhone and Philips Stargazing 2013.

We are currently researching our first telescope (and thanks :smile: to all of you for the great information and opinion we have already benefitted from), and will be taking the plunge shortly.

We are interested primarily in viewing and would like to play with imaging, so looking for a decent and reasonably priced scope and mount that will give us some good viewing pleasure, take us up the learning curve, and give us a chance to take some basic pics (Nikon D5000 waiting to be used). We are planning to spend on the mount and scope rather than on a GoTo system initially, so we learn the sky and maximise the view.

Currently looking at a GSO 8" Newtonian Reflector F5, with a Skywatcher NEQ5 mount. We would welcome any advice or suggestions around pros and cons of this and alternatives for our location and needs, and the best eyepieces and accessories you'd recommend for excited newbies (related to this scope and generic ones e.g. Red LED torches etc.). Also any advice on places to buy with good delivery to (or pickup from near) London.

Clear Skies!

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jamcart

jamcart

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Welcome to SGL!

An 8" reflector is a good starting scope, but maybe you might want to look at an F/6: a bit easier on the eyepieces, and a bit easier to collimate (nothing serious, just that little bit more tolerant of imperfections in EPs and collimation)

Thanks Michael, I'll look into that as an alternative. I'm planning to get a laser collimator, but if an F/6 is more forgiving and will still allow for basic imaging it'll help make up for my inexperience.

James

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JamesF

JamesF

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Welcome to SGL

If you're interested in imaging then Steve Richards "Making Every Photon Count" is well worth the read. It's not always easy to find a single telescope that works well for both visual and imaging use, so I'd definitely give the book a read and have a think about where you're going.

An 8" newt on one of the HEQ5 models should be usable for imaging I'd have thought, but if you're going for something lighter weight you may well be making life difficult for yourself.

James

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JamesM

JamesM

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Hi and welcome to the forum. +1 for Steve Richards' book which is in my view essential reading as it will not only tell you what you need but more importantly why you need it. Imaging the solar system (planets and the moon) can of course be done via a simple webcam where the best 'frames' are selected and stacked together (via free Registax software) to create a final composite image. It's imaging deep sky objects (DSO's) where the fun (frustration? :grin: ) comes in and for that you will need a HEQ5 mount as the minimum as it will make the process of finding the object and tracking it so much easier in the longer term.

Clear skies for now and enjoy the forum

James

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SnakeyJ

SnakeyJ

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Welcome to SGL Jamcart,

Off to a good start with the 8" newt and HEQ5 and you should still find some good views to be had despite the LP in London - keep an eye open for the Baker Street Irregulars (London Astronomy Club), sure they'll provide lots of guidance about getting the best of local conditions and perhaps advise on the best spots if you can get out and about.

Look forward to hearing your first light reports when the gear arrives.

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jamcart

jamcart

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Thanks for the warm welcomes Michael, reddoss, Dana, JamesF, mapstar, Charon, JamesM, Double Kick Drum, HIP3802 and Jake, and thanks for the advice.

I was hoping to get away with the NEQ5 to keep the cost under £1k for the first batch of kit including accessories. If the HEQ5 is a minimum for imaging (presumably for the stability/weight bearing and the motor tracking), I'm not sure I can get the kit I want without having to also fork out for a doghouse for me to spend the rest of my evenings in, sheltering from the wrath of Mrs. Jamcart...

I guess it comes down to going for a more reasonable viewing starter scope/mount setup that can still take a few good basic shots (suggestions welcome), and expanding with a dedicated imaging scope in the future.

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michael.h.f.wilkinson

michael.h.f.wilkinson

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Thanks for the warm welcomes Michael, reddoss, Dana, JamesF, mapstar, Charon, JamesM, Double Kick Drum, HIP3802 and Jake, and thanks for the advice.

I was hoping to get away with the NEQ5 to keep the cost under £1k for the first batch of kit including accessories. If the HEQ5 is a minimum for imaging (presumably for the stability/weight bearing and the motor tracking), I'm not sure I can get the kit I want without having to also fork out for a doghouse for me to spend the rest of my evenings in, sheltering from the wrath of Mrs. Jamcart...

I guess it comes down to going for a more reasonable viewing starter scope/mount setup that can still take a few good basic shots (suggestions welcome), and expanding with a dedicated imaging scope in the future.

This depends on what you want to image. For deep sky, a small refractor (apochromatic) on a hefty mount is best, for planets (always the cheaper option) a large reflector or catadioptric scope (Mak or SCT) on a more basic mount is better. Tracking is not critical, but aperture is in planetary imaging. By contrast, tracking and focal ratio are critical in DSO imaging.

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jamcart

jamcart

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This depends on what you want to image. For deep sky, a small refractor (apochromatic) on a hefty mount is best, for planets (always the cheaper option) a large reflector or catadioptric scope (Mak or SCT) on a more basic mount is better. Tracking is not critical, but aperture is in planetary imaging. By contrast, tracking and focal ratio are critical in DSO imaging.

Thanks for the welcomes Ras Skipper and Wookie1965.

Thank you for your help Michael; we want to see both, but DSOs definitely interest us more than local planets.

I guess we need a solid mount with tracking (with GoTo?), and a good-ish APO refractor with a fairly small focal ratio? Any suggestions on the best minimal rig to get us started? I can break £1k if I must, but will need to counterbalance with flowers and chocolates for Mrs. Jamcart!

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michael.h.f.wilkinson

michael.h.f.wilkinson

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Thanks for the welcomes Ras Skipper and Wookie1965.

Thank you for your help Michael; we want to see both, but DSOs definitely interest us more than local planets.

I guess we need a solid mount with tracking (with GoTo?), and a good-ish APO refractor with a fairly small focal ratio? Any suggestions on the best minimal rig to get us started? I can break £1k if I must, but will need to counterbalance with flowers and chocolates for Mrs. Jamcart!

Seeing DSOs depends more on aperture than focal ratio, it is imaging where a small fast scope does wonders. Visually on all fronts, aperture is king

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JamesF

JamesF

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Thanks for the warm welcomes Michael, reddoss, Dana, JamesF, mapstar, Charon, JamesM, Double Kick Drum, HIP3802 and Jake, and thanks for the advice.

I was hoping to get away with the NEQ5 to keep the cost under £1k for the first batch of kit including accessories. If the HEQ5 is a minimum for imaging (presumably for the stability/weight bearing and the motor tracking), I'm not sure I can get the kit I want without having to also fork out for a doghouse for me to spend the rest of my evenings in, sheltering from the wrath of Mrs. Jamcart...

I guess it comes down to going for a more reasonable viewing starter scope/mount setup that can still take a few good basic shots (suggestions welcome), and expanding with a dedicated imaging scope in the future.

One possibility is going for the lighter mount and then using it for imaging just with a camera and lens. It works much better for wide field work, but you can still produce some very nice images that way.

James

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jamcart

jamcart

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Thanks all; I've ordered Steve's book as recommended to help me make a good decision. Appreciate all your advice and help.

Since we're mainly looking at observing rather than imaging, I'll probably go for a 8" Newt initially with a reasonable mount, and then when the bug has fully bitten get a dedicated Astrograph.

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