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Antman79

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Antman79

Antman79

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hi peeps im new to this forum, i have been into this kind of thing for over a year and i do own a telescope ( celestron powerseeker 127eq ) but it doesnt do what i would like. i am fasinated by the moon and would like to get real close viewing on craters etc really clear. My scope doesnt do that, its just a blur really. ideally i want to add my dslr camera to the new telescope like i currently do with the 127eq. i was wondering how easy is it to guide a 10" dobsonian telescope and would it get good detail on craters etc? are there mods i can do so it tracks the stars or the moon without me moving it by hand. i did look at the meade 105etx but not sure it would do what i want. i have a budget of £500 if this helps?

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umadog

umadog

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Hmmm... You shouldn't be seeing "just a blur" when pointing a 5" telescope at the moon. Something's wrong: are you sure it's collimated?

You can get a 10" Dobsonian with alt/az tracking. The result is suitable for imaging of planets and the moon, where you taking video frames and averaging the good ones. Even without tracking you could do reasonable moon shots. However, alt/az tracking won't be suitable for long-exposure (DSO) photography because the field will rotate. If you want to do longer exposures you will need a good equatorial mount. The Meade telescope you suggest would have the same problem, because it's on an alt/az fork mount.

I think you should do two things right now. Firstly, Google and read all you can about equatorial mounts vs alt/az mount. Also, Google and read up what is required for planetary imaging versus DSO imaging. Use this information to decide what it is you want your next scope to do. e.g. if you think you want do a little lunar AP but mainly visual observing, then a 10" undriven Dob may work for you. Secondly, spend some time with your current scope and try to figure out why you're getting blurry views.

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Antman79

Antman79

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the telescope i have is ok i get good viewing with say a 20mm errecting eyepiece that came with it from celestron. if i go to say a H12.5mm it starts to get blurry and very faint. i will read up on equatorial mounts vs alt/az mount tonight and see where i go from here, thanks for the great post :grin:

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ronin

ronin

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Except for the photography I would have said try a Mak/SCT, I had some very good views of the Moon through a 6" Meade SCT. Equally tou have a 5" scope already.

What I am unsure of is the design of your scope, it doesn't quite look as if the length is 8x the dia, so is it a Bird-Jones with a barlow built in to the focuser? If so then I suspect that this is where the lack of definition is coming from. Equally the mirror may just be housed in a larger tube so looks too short for the diameter.

Dobsonians are not the instrument for imaging, and although possible a Mak/SCT is not the simplest thing to attach a DSLR to. I think you need to get so many extre bits that it becomes a pain in the rear, also the weight of the DSLR has to be taken into account. Many image the moon through a Mak/SCT with a webcam - smaller and lighter.

Don't know if you have been there but there appears to be a club at Abingdon, it could well be worth a visit to see what is around. Could email and ask if they have an imaging side to the club, many do these days.

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umadog

umadog

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If you have collimation issues then it's at higher powers when they would make themselves most apparent. Ronin is right that your telescope looks like a bird-jones design. If that's the case then you will indeed want to upgrade if you're getting serious. Likely even a 6" Dob would provide an improvement. An 8" certainly would.

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Antman79

Antman79

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i think theres more fun in actually hunting down stuff in the sky than sitting with a remote control in your hands and saying go to orion and it moves. im going to buy a 10" dobsonian from skywatcher thats on ebay near me. i use my 127eq for astro photography and its ok for that. but i want clear detail of the moon and from a few youtube vids of the 10" dob it gives me what i like.

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jamoo

jamoo

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I completely agree with you Antman 79, its more fun looking for stuff. I have only been doing this hobby for roughly 6 months and have found myself daydreaming(mostly when i should be working)about buying bigger better scopes. I am now however starting to realise that if you are unable to get the most out of the basic equipment you have little or no hope of being able to understand how the complicated stuff works. I do love pointing my scope randomly on the sky and just seeing what's there.

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Qualia

Qualia

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I would really like to sell all my gear and get a decent dob (never though i would say that)

Wow! I never thought I'd see that written :laugh: Personally, if you've still got her, I wouldn't sell on the Tal 100rs, Jules. In a peculiar way, I feel it's going rate on the secondhand market doesn't reflect what it is actually worth, its quality and outstanding performance. I think it just needs a loving partner, something like a beautifully constructed, portable 10" Dob :grin: You get the best of both worlds then and a fantastic white light scope to boot.

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bingevader

bingevader

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Your original post says you want to track objects!

I'm not sure why you are buying a 10" Dob?!

People have given very good advice, I really think you should listen to it before buying anything else.

In fact, I'd get down to your local astronomy club (however far away that might be!) and find out what you really want, otherwise I'm not sure you'll ever be satisfied.

Cheers

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osbourne one-nil

osbourne one-nil

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I attended my first star-party/camp at the weekend....well, the first one dry enough for people to actually get their telescopes out anyway....and I think it was the best thing I've ever done in terms of future equipment purchases. It was great fun looking through everyone's big telescopes, or scopes which had tracking, or a combination of the two, but it also made me realise once and for all that I wouldn't actually want to own one. The ability to pick up my little 3" refractor if something's in the way, put it down again, point it at what I want to see and get lovely crisp images far outweighs my desire to lug big stuff about.....and this is despite owning big stuff myself in the past; it's easy to forget. I really would get to play with other people's kit and see what you think.

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Antman79

Antman79

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yeh ive seen mods on youtube where people have build tracking mods for them. my plan was to get a shed and keep the dob in that and my celestron 5" in my bedroom coz that faces south and i see everything which is great.

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AlexB67

AlexB67

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yeh ive seen mods on youtube where people have build tracking mods for them. my plan was to get a shed and keep the dob in that and my celestron 5" in my bedroom coz that faces south and i see everything which is great.

I presume when you say that, you are not literally using the scope form your bedroom, that may have something to do with the blur you are seeing ? I got a 130mm, and I certainly would not describe my views of the moon as a blur, and that is not from an exactly ideal location with LP and all.

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nightfisher

nightfisher

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Wow! I never thought I'd see that written :laugh: Personally, if you've still got her, I wouldn't sell on the Tal 100rs, Jules. In a peculiar way, I feel it's going rate on the secondhand market doesn't reflect what it is actually worth, its quality and outstanding performance. I think it just needs a loving partner, something like a beautifully constructed, portable 10" Dob :grin: You get the best of both worlds then and a fantastic white light scope to boot.

I have already posted before, there is no way i will be parted from my beautiful russian scope, i will need a special coffin when i depart this mortal world, to accomadate the tal :grin:

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umadog

umadog

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For £500?

Cheers

You're right, a new 10" Orion Dob with tracking would cost twice that. To stay within a 500 quid budget one would either have to get very lucky on the second hand market or build a tracking platform. Sometimes it's worth mentioning these options because not everyone has heard of them and people might change their plans when provided with the information. You're right, though, that we should try to stay on topic and not deviate too much from what the OP requested.

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bingevader

bingevader

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You're right, a new 10" Orion Dob with tracking would cost twice that. To stay within a 500 quid budget one would either have to get very lucky on the second hand market or build a tracking platform. Sometimes it's worth mentioning these options because not everyone has heard of them and people might change their plans when provided with the information. You're right, though, that we should try to stay on topic and not deviate too much from what the OP requested.
:grin:

But I think that's the problem here, hence my original post, I don't think the OP knows what he wants, or if so, isn't being realistic with the money he's prepared to spend! :rolleyes:

Cheers

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