not your usual 'what scope should I get?' post

[colesmat]

I found its sometimes hard to get a proper sense of how big some scopes are on the internet. I went to see couple of shops to view a sw explorer 150p on an eq3 mount. Theyre a nice size and excellent value for money. But I ended up getting a sw skyliner 200p which isn't a good size for some but even better value for money. I'd recommend going to see shop to see in person either a 150p or a 130p.

[PDW]

Celestron 4se on a skywatcher az-goto mount would be my thoughts for a light but good setup for you

Recently sold one of them - could never get on with the GOTO - the Synscan I replaced it with is much more reliable.

[Naemeth]

As a rough idea, an AZ-4 with steel legs which weighs in at about 8.5kgs could probably mount a 6" Newt at about 5kg, a SCT type C8 at about 5kg, or a 4" frac at about 4.5kg. A Sky-Watcher Heritage 130p is very portable and weighs less than 4kg, you could carry it in your hands. The only downside is that you need a table to sit it on. A celestron C5 or Skymax 127 weigh in at about 4kg and with this you'd just need a sturdy photo tripod.

Sorry, I've got to correct you on that .

The Heritage weighs around 6.2kg (maybe a bit more), most of which is the mount. The OTA itself is about 1.2kg without any extra finders / eyepieces .

But yes, you could carry in your hands .

[Miranda]

Thank you for all the advice and thoughts - and I will have to give camp another think then. And like someone said - will I regret not going seeing as it is on my doorstep.

Plus you all seem a decent bunch of people to meet

I know a lot of it comes down to seeing the scopes and what they will actually weigh and what I can carry up and down my lovely stairs. And then after seeing what I can cope with to argue the spec points of each one after that.

Having said that, I do love watching you all discuss all the different spec. I am learning lots as you post about it.

The Heritage 130p I have been looking at, as a good first scope, but I dunno.

Lots of options and do love listening to you all, although I do have to go and google a lot of the things you say

[MadAlbert]

My 2penneth - Heritage 130P fits very nicely in its own box and is plenty aperture for starters.

Goto is nice to have but far from essential - in fact, learning the sky should be as high (if not higher) on the list.

HTH

[Miranda]

yeah, my personal thought is GOTO is great when you already know where you are going. This is a steep learning curve for me, but I agree that purely manual is the way to go.

And, asked officially on the SG8 threads if I can pop along on my evening off and be nosey at you all - all offers of 'yeah you can look at my scope if you come to SG8' will be called in and you will suffer childlike excitement if I see sparkly things. Always amazes me, the whole light travelling lightyears across the universe to appear in our skies and to get really close to it with optics - and getting a bit excited when I see it sparkle. Yep - I'm a bit special like that

[CSM]

I agree with Stargazing00, but note the comment about the power tank weight.

[Miranda]

Been reading up on the skymax 127 this morning - looks really good and ticks a lot of my boxes, with the auto trak rather than GoTo. I can see that purely manual might just annoy me too much as objects will appear to move in the sky and my manually chasing them may be an issue to drive me over the edge lol.

More to consider. Thank you

[Moonshane]

seriously, go to SGL8. you'd be made very welcome. the event is for forum users. you are a forum user and people love talking about their gear.

bear in mind that

• you don't have to carry all your gear in one trip
  
• you should not go to darker sites at night alone so there will presumably be someone else to help
  
• all scopes can give good detail on the planets (pretty much) and aperture will give you more detail generally of everything
  
• more aperture = more weight and size.
  

personally I feel a 6" newtonian on a Az4 mount would be a great scope or a 6" dobsonian even better.

[rowan46]

Now if telescopes came with helpful and handsome fellas to carry them I'm sure far more women would be into astronomy

They do you should have seen the fella that delivered mine

[brucen]

If your car has a big enough boot, and you decided on a Dob, you could always leave the base in it and then you would only have to carry the OTA in and out. Nearly all the weight is in the base so it could make things easy for you.

[cantab]

I've not looked through one but I do reckon the Heritage 130P is a strong contender. Mount and tube in one hand, eyepiece case in the other, binoculars round your neck, one trip down the stairs and out observing.

[Miranda]

Ok so after lots of thought I have a few ideas to explore when I get to the SG camp and pester people.

The 130 heritage, something like a mak 127 or perhaps even a 90 mm refractor (due to it being light weight and not needing much culminating and not much cool time)

The search goes on ..., thank you

[bomberbaz]

Hi Miranda. I have just picked up one of these chaps second hand http://www.firstligh...an-az-goto.html I have bought it to stick in the boot of my car, the OTA, GOTO mount head and all other bits will fit in one of those plastic, under the bed tidy boxes, http://www.alltidied...CFczHtAodwR4AJQ I have just ordered some foam as a filler to protect the parts. The Tripod will fit into a padded bag.

It is very light indeed (est around 10KG all parts and probs half and half in weight terms when split out as mentioned above) and being a mak has a good focal lentgh & is also GOTO. Some I personally like, but thats me. If you can stretch to an extra £50 you could go for the 127 which you have already mentioned although I believe it is a somewhat heavier (ring a supllier and they will happily find out for you). I also have a 7Ah power pack, comes with a shoulder strap and is very light.

The goto on these is not compulsory. you can have the facility but choose to search by star hopping for yourself if you dont want to use it. One other thing worth pointing out in case you didnt realise already is the legs are telescopic and can be adjusted to a persons own height preferences, this is useful for certain people.

That all said, if tracking and goto dont bother you that much, the heritage 130 is bang on for the money and aperture. (and from what you say, about your size )

However as mentioned, get along to SGL8, everyone will make you very welcome, pity i can't make it due to other commitments (holiday to Lanzarote, cough!) but there you go.

Steve/Baz

[Stargazer_00]

You say GOTO isn't necessry and you can stop hop if you want, which is true. Just to make absolutely clear, you mean't star hop using power, right? I just didnt want the OP to think that set up can be driven manually as well if desired.

[bomberbaz]

You say GOTO isn't necessry and you can stop hop if you want, which is true. Just to make absolutely clear, you mean't star hop using power, right?

Correctimundo

[Dunkster]

Not seen this one yet so I'll pipe up depends on your budget

Personally, I'd go for a Celestron Nexstar 6SE or 8SE (13-15kg) - not much more weight than a Mak 127, or much bigger, splits into 3 parts quickly, but gives more aperture for DSOs. But all of these are GOTO. It's not a big deal, and if you have deep enough pockets you can get small (near pocket-sized) power packs instead of the large cumbersome power tanks that most people end up using. Strap a 50mm or so optical finder scope to one of these and you have a pretty good combination. SCTs and Maks tend to be more easy going on eyepieces.

Substituting the motorised mount for a manual one - should be able to just about get away with a Vixen Porta II even with the C8. C6 or 127, 130 reflector even should be a breeze on that or similar mount.

Hard to argue with the small portable refractor (I'm a converted fan!) but you need to be more choosy about EPs to some extent. For DSOs, aperture counts

[Miranda]

thank you all for your replies. I have managed to pop over to SG8 and meet some fab people who showed me, and even gave a full set up demo of their scopes Astronomers really are lovely people!

I'm almost sold on the idea of a Mak - the lunar and planetary stuff is really my thing at the mo, Im sure I'll want to change that in time, or maybe not. Like everyone says, there is no 'all rounder' scope.

but given the size and the amount of cool stuff you get to see with a mak, plus being super portable for my stair problem - I think we could be on to a winner. Price wise I'm thinking of about 400quid max.

Dob just isnt going to work for me (too big, too bulky and just not practical in a lot of ways) - refractors are interesting but part of me just isnt saying 'go for it'.

Still not sure between manual or trak or goto, but there is plenty of time to think about it. Reading a lot of reviews seems to suggest there isnt really a huge difference between brands of start-up maks, just the mounts and the added on trak/goto options.

[Daff]

If your after a Mak at £400 I would say a skywatcher 127 mak. Great scope and at that budget you could have a choice of mounts. I have a AZ goto 127 mak and and 200p on a heq5 pro, the mak is really great, small and portable but gives great views. Just make sure you get a dew sheild, easy to make from a camping mat from poundland.

Mike

[bomberbaz]

If your after a Mak at £400 I would say a skywatcher 127 mak. Great scope and at that budget you could have a choice of mounts. I have a AZ goto 127 mak and and 200p on a heq5 pro, the mak is really great, small and portable but gives great views. Just make sure you get a dew sheild, easy to make from a camping mat from poundland.

Mike

+1 to this idea

[T-J]

Hi Miranda,

When I was buying my scope, an important part in the decision was the portability too, and after checking some different models I went for the Skywatcher Heritage 130p minidob, since it's, like other have pointed out here, is lightweight and perfect for grab'n ' go. Mine is stored in a room near the door, so it's really fast to get out. Another great thing, if you don't have much time, and you absolutely want to see something special occurring in the sky. Although most celestial objects are around for a while, we all know the interference of clouds, and on such occasions it's wonderful to be able to get out quickly, and get to see what you want, even if it may be for a short while. I think you have a very good point in keeping your gear light, especially since you have to carry it in the stairs too, not to mention getting it into a small car.

Considering a motorized mount or manual, I agree with MadAlbert in that regard, getting to know the skies are really essential (not to mention more fun too, when you can find your way around the sky without having to constantly check for information in a book or elsewhere). Another thing to consider with a goto is that you can't manuever them manually in the case the batteries run empty in the middle of a viewing. Of course you can hook it up with a cable, but if you are like me, that would mostly be a nuisance, especially not even living on the ground floor.

A little advice when watching: As for what you can see and the details of the objects, I quickly found out that which I'd heard others pointing out too, after watching a planet for a while, you start making out more and more details. and if looking at stars, by looking slightly to the side of them, you will start to notice fainter ones as well. You will furthermore start seeing faint stars in your peripheral view too, doing like this. Keeping this up, sometimes you will even make out more details with a scope with lesser aperture than having a larger aperture to begin with. So starting with a smaller aperture isn't always negative, and when upgrading later on, if you do, this skill will stick with you, giving you even better ability to view things.

[T-J]

As for the SGL meeting, I would definitely have visited if I had the opportunity. Seems like a great idea, to meet in that way. Unfortunately, it's too far away from where I live. I've never doubted that astronomers are lovely people. =)

Since you are thinking of buying your first scope, I suppose you are rather new to the forum despite your number of posts, so welcome to the lounge. =) I'm quite new too, and I really like the forum and the people here. Really great place. =)

Tobias

[PaPa Doc]

Hello Miranda. I have a comment elsewhere in these forums that discusses the Celestron 5 SE. Here is the link

I would just like to add that my missus is of same height as yourself & she enjoys using the 5 SE, she doesn't have to stand on tip toes to have a comfortable viewing position. Hopefully this may help you in making your decision.

Cheers!

[Astro_Baby]

If your really into planets and lunar then GoTo would be wasted, tracking only would be an option. I would definitely have tracking for planetary. They move fast and normally your at quite high magnification which makes viewing a planet without tracking a bi like chasing a chicken especially with a Mak with its narrower field of view. At high mags focus also becomes critical and with a non tracking mount, or an undermounted scopenplanetary can start to be very frustrating. Your constantly messing with the focus, waiting for the scopebto stop wobbling, just in time to see the object drift out of the field of view, bumping the scope to recapture the object, waiting for the wobble to dies down and then realising focus isnt right, you twist the focus knob and get it perfect as the planet drifts out the view again !!!!

If your going down a Mak route with an eye to planets I would acvise the best mount you can afford, a Mak and invest in some orthoscopic Eyepieces which will be the best yourbgoing to get for viewing planets on a budget. Relatively modest orthoscopics will out perform almost anything until you get into the big bucks market.

[Mr Fiery Jack]

seriously, go to SGL8. you'd be made very welcome. the event is for forum users. you are a forum user and people love talking about their gear.

bear in mind that

• you don't have to carry all your gear in one trip
  
• you should not go to darker sites at night alone so there will presumably be someone else to help
  
• all scopes can give good detail on the planets (pretty much) and aperture will give you more detail generally of everything
  
• more aperture = more weight and size.
  

personally I feel a 6" newtonian on a Az4 mount would be a great scope or a 6" dobsonian even better.

A 150p Newtonian on an AZ4 mount gives you a proper scope on a rubber solid mount that would last you for years and years, forever maybe. Dead easy to use with enough aperture to see just about everything except the really faint stuff.