Best Mobile Scope?

[rowan46]

I am another admirer of the c5 for planetary work it is more expensive than the mak but its lighter and cool down is quicker and at a dark site is no slouch on  the messiers. the mount is going to be the issue, for planetary work you need a very stable mount and these tend to be heavy or require counterweights which then means a bigger/heavier tripod to take the weight. The problem with astro tripods is not so much their weight but their size they don't really pack small enough to do any serious walking and if you are going to be prowling the fields at night you don't want big articles snagging on stiles and things. Portable astronomers have to do a lot of compromises between what they can see, what they can carry comfortably and what they can afford. Having a car is a lot cheaper as a 200p fits on the back seat it will show you just about everything and its cheap

[CJ77]

I can certainly recommend the Celestron Nexstar 127 SLT Mak, both in terms of portability and in terms of the planetary and lunar views. With the supplied eyepieces (25mm and 9mm, giving 60x and 167x mag), it is easy to see the equatorial bands on Jupiter and the Galilean moons strung out alongside even from my reasonably light-polluted back garden, and I can't wait to try it out from a darker site and on the other planets. The most awkward item is the mount, but the OTA is pretty light, and as others have noted, the benefit of a Mak over a Newt is the far less frequently required collimation.....

Whatever you choose in the end, I hope you enjoy the fantastic views that I'm sure you'll find!!

[bingevader]

I take my Meade ETX90 on holiday with me, it would fit in a rucksack. I don't know what you'd do about a tripod though. It usually just sits on what ever is available (a boulder this summer in Greece!).

Cheers

[Via Lactea]

Cheers guys. I'm doing my usual vacillating now. I've more or less abandoned the scope idea for walking due to the mount issues. A good pair of binos and a flask of tea should suffice for my ambulatory needs. I'm definitely getting a scope though, but it will now be for driving or home use. I'm still deep in thought about all the great suggestions for a first scope on here.

[rowan46]

going back to the c5 it will fit on a photo tripod and with the mount that naemeth showed you (i have the same) is certainly portable. A good photo tripod with the mount and c5 and you are probably talking about the whole lot with a total weight of about  5kg a zoom eyepiece or a minimal set of eyepieces I reckon 6kg  is what you are talking to carry about but you are probably  talking about £700 provided you can get the c5 second user they cost about 250 second hand. 

[rowan46]

Cheers guys. I'm doing my usual vacillating now. I've more or less abandoned the scope idea for walking due to the mount issues. A good pair of binos and a flask of tea should suffice for my ambulatory needs. I'm definitely getting a scope though, but it will now be for driving or home use. I'm still deep in thought about all the great suggestions for a first scope on here.

If you are going to drive get the 200p dob http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html it will beat anything portable except for maybe the very expensive travel dobs

[Via Lactea]

It's so tempting Rowan, and I would have to up my budget, which I could do... but for my needs I'm thinking of sticking to it as much as poss. I'll have, as you say, all the appurtenances to get as well as the scope itself, and the binos as well. It's something I'm going to have to figure out for myself I suppose, though I've got tonnes of good suggestions on here to choose from. I don't want to go too crazy with my first scope as it really is planetary and lunar obs I want to start off with, too. God my head is hurting!

[Via Lactea]

You read my mind with your second comment and suggestion there, Rowan! Haha! Well, it seems I've come full circle! My original choice, and now it looks like I'm going for it after all! Skywatcher Skyliner it is! Binos for walking will be considered later!

[angusb1]

edit: just read your post above, enjoy your new scope.

[Via Lactea]

Thanks Angus, just getting ready to order it now; I'll have a look on the "Getting Started With Equipment" section to determine what accessories I need. Thanks to everyone on here for all your help!

[impactcrater]

Your best option is to wait for the soon to be released Ride - N - Scope.  this bicycle will have the scope barrel attached to the frame and on alighting you will place the bike on its stand as an equatorial mount and use the saddle as a mount . wiring will provide battery powered  goto and recharging can be done by peddling.

impactcrater.

[Joves]

Sounds like a patent waiting to happen, Impactcrater! Haha

[Schorhr]

Scroll to the pictures :-)

http://www.astrotreff.de/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=107279

I have a bike hanger instead, I would be horrified if my telscope would be directly driving over the bumpy roads here :-)

[Stu]

Surely it's this one :-)

Stu

[Schorhr]

Is the tracking done by driving it? ;-)

[impactcrater]

Joves, I have mine on order and it is the Deluxe model which comes with rocket power so I can fly and thereby  pass by the full moon ET style and get rid of that pesky LP and atmospheric distortion.....simply cannot wait !

PS Schorhr....ein Rad mit Telescope ?  Nein, er seht wie ein Milchwagen aus !

[acey]

Having read a few threads on here I was, it seems typically, almost tempted into purchasing the Skywatcher Skyliner 200P, but my main reservation with this would be the size of the thing; I'm looking for something much more compact and mobile, yet capable of observing, say, the Galilean moons. My main interests at present are simply lunar and planetary observations, as I say, I've taught myself the night sky, I have celestial globes, star maps and Stellarium, but I'm not at "Messier stage" yet. Am I being realistic with my expectations from a mobile scope or would a decent pair of binocs be better suited (given that, ideally,  I would prefer walk to said location)?

For lunar/planetary observing you don't need to go to a dark site: these objects aren't adversely affected by light pollution and as long as there isn't too much air turbulence from buildings you can get fine views from within a city using a small scope (e.g. 80mm aperture). In bright moonlight a rural site is in any case no longer dark. For DSO viewing you do want the darkest sky you can get, so it's a good idea to have a telescope that can easily be transported. But a lot of enjoyable DSO viewing can be done at a dark site with binoculars or a scope of say 80mm. So my suggestion would be a planetary scope which you can use at home, and carry on taking your binoculars to the farm on clear moonless nights.