Jump to content

first ever telescope - celestron nextstar 127 slt mak- new member

bmc

By bmc
in Welcome

Recommended Posts

bmc

bmc

Posted
Posted

hello to everyone. first off i would like to lend my appreciation to this site. i have been slopping around reading the forums over the past while, and i have found all comments and replies to be very informative, and those doing so to be friendly. so thank you. i have been interested in astronomy for many years, and my equipment has never extended more than books, my eyes, binoculars and an understanding girlfriend who would suffer me rattling on. my said good lady decided to add to her suffering (or a ploy to give her some peace on cloudless nights), and bought me a celestron nextstar 127 slt mak (500mm focal length f11.81) for my birthday. my first night out has hooked me completely. seeing Jupiter and her moons sitting astride was breathtaking, and iv'e been shaking my fists at the clouds and wind since. i'm now looking to upgrade my eye pieces. first on my list is a barlow x2. there-after i find myself scratching my head as i pour through websites wondering if the eye piece kits on offer would be the best route to go with, such as celestron's own kit with plossl pieces and filters. iv'e set my budget at around £150, though i will take a hammer to my wee piggy bank if it would suit to spend a little more. any advice would be grateful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Wizard4177

Wizard4177

Posted
Posted

Good to see you here. I've just joined myself and am in a similar situation. I'm trying to find the best set of EPs to start collecting. I've so far got a 20mm plossl and a 25mm excel. I like the excel and will be going for a smaller one soon. Beware of the variation in prices and definately shop around, I've seen them from £89-£69 each.

good luck

Stu

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nephilim

nephilim

Posted
Posted

Welcome to the forum (both of you) I'm still new here aswell joining last winter & find this site & the advice i've received invaluable so i'll give the advice given to me. 1st, get to know the night sky, I'd recommend 'Turn left at Orion', it'll show you how to find all the best things 'up there' with a small scope. 2nd, download this http://www.stellarium.org/ Its free & all you do is put in your location & it'll give u a real time planetarium style view of what you can see, you can also fast forward (or rewind) time to help plan future observing sessions.

As for EP's, http://www.swindonstargazers.com/beginners/eyepieces.htm ( Thanks to SGL member rwilkey for this guide) this is a great guide & will help understand EP's better .

Steve

Btw EP prices can range from £5-£700+ :shocked: and like anything, the more you pay the better the view although BST explorer range are great (around £45-£50) and as for a good barlow, i use the revelation 2.5x, if you buy a cheap barlow you'll get 'cheap views' through the ep's you use so buy well & above all do plenty of research!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
bmc

bmc

Posted
  • Author
Posted

thanks all for your welcome.

thank you steve, had a look at the website you highlighted. very informative. and thanks for the advice. already have stellarium. it's quite the handy tool.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JamesM

JamesM

Posted
Posted

Hi and welcome to the forum. It might be an idea to post a question over on the equipment section for more suggestions as there are a lot of members who don't normally post in this part of the forum.

Clear skies and hope you continue to enjoy the forum.

James

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MorningMajor

MorningMajor

Posted
Posted

Hi BMC and welcome - the SLT's a great scope, you'll have hours of enjoyment from it - I'd be wary of the "boxed sets" of EP's - you'd be far better off spending that money on a couple of well chosen EP's than a set of cheaper ones with filters etc that you'll hardly ever use

Link to comment
Share on other sites
bmc

bmc

Posted
  • Author
Posted

thanks again for advice. will post on other forum. but if anyone is looking. if a box set isn't recommended. could someone suggest make and size of EP's and barlow that would give me the broadest experience. my budget is £150.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.