new and in need of advice

[Pedder720]

Hi All,

I have always had a keen interest in the sky above but living in London you can barely see the sun on a good day let alone the moon on a good night out.

Thankfully I have now moved to somewhere with almost zero ambient light and looking up at night has rekindled my urge to look skyward.

My problem is now I want to do everything search the skies and try and take images (even if basic) of what I see to catalogue it.. My OCD

After research,budget and my urge to keep spending more and more I'm trying to limit myself to less than £200 for a scope, poss a motorised mount as I know this will help with imaging, as I know at this stage it will be a webcam or a basic camera...

So as a complete newbie would I notice the difference between a 130 reflector and a parabolic.... There is only so much you can read before speaking to people who have owned or upgraded their equipment....

I don't want to have the gear and no idea.

Any and all comments welcome and taken on board..

Also what can I realistically see and take images of so I can say to myself ... I did that.. and be proud

Thanks in advance

Newbie

[Charic]

Pedder720.........Hi, could you borrow another £200+ for your desires.

[steppenwolf]

Hi and welcome to SGL.

At the sort of budget you are considering, imaging will be challenging although using a webcam to capture satisfying images of the Moon is certainly within your grasp.

There are indeed two version of the '130' and if this is the route you fancy then you really should go for the Skywatcher Explorer 130P with EQ-2 mount rather then the ordinary 130 as the optics are better. Although the magnification with any given eyepiece will be less than with the ordinary 130, don't view this as an impediment.

[Charic]

..........Your going to have to break down your requirements. Astro-photography is very expensive, the mounts being very important for stabalized images, can cost far more than the telescopes. Yet if you just want to  just Observe, you can be set up for life for about £350 (telescope and a decent lenses) Its not an easy entrance into Astronomy?

"So as a complete newbie would I notice the difference between a 130 reflector and a parabolic.... There is only so much you can read before speaking to people who have owned or upgraded their equipment."

130 reflector is the Aperture size in mm. If it has a P then the telescope is fitted with a parabolic mirror, which focuses light better. The aperture is an important issue. Normally, the more aperture, the fainter the objects you can see, under good conditions, which you seem to describe.

My sugestion for starters, is to look at a Skywatcher  150P as a minimum aperture, but preferably a 200P. This is for just observing the Night Skies. keeping it simple, mounted on a Dobsonian. You will need an EQ (Equatorial Mount for photography) Others here will keep you informed, much better than I, on the astro-photography side of things.

[WyomingRob]

The big key with any scope used in AP, is the mount.

A 130 can do a good job as well as a parabolic, but for AP, I recommend a RC scope.

The mount will make the difference. 

I use both a fork mount and an EQ mount.

The fork is not as stable in windy conditions, but is easy to set up and use.

The EQ is more stable in winds, but is more compicated, but not much more.

In either case, in AP, tracking is vital.

There are many good quality cameras out there.

It will all depend on what you want to image, Deep Sky, or Planetary.

I use a SBIG ST10-XME on mt AstroTech AT6RC EQ mounted, and a SBIG ST7-E on my fork mounted LX200.

However, QHY makes great little camera, at a reasonable price.

It's all a matter of what you want to do, and how much you want to spend.

Your in the right place to find out all you want to know.

There is a lot of intelligent people on this site, who will be happy to "step" you through it.

Rob C.

[Astro Imp]

As you are just starting I would strongly consider forgetting about imaging and concentrate on visual observing. With this in mind the Skywatcher 150P Dobsonian  comes in just over budget and will serve you well especially as you are in an area of low light pollution. 

Have a look here:- http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-skyliner-150p-dobsonian-telescope.html

Good luck.