Beginner looking for advice on what telescope to buy

[pcaines]

Hello All, for years I have been fascinated with the night sky and really want to get my first telescope. I would rather start with a good one which would really amaze and which would be good as I progress. I have a budget of around £450 but there are so many telescopes out there and would love some opinions from you experts.

I have been looking at the Skywatcher Explorer 200P EQ-5 which seems impressive but I also like the idea of it been hooked up to my laptop with a motor but then it all starts to get confusing.

Any help is much appreciated.

[Astro Imp]

A few simple questions:-

    (i) What do you hope to observe?

   (ii) Where do you intend observing, at home or is portability important?

  (iii) If at home do you have any/much light pollution?

  (iv) As you are just starting out I take it that astro imaging is not a requirement.

  (v) Is there a local event coming up in January that ties in with Star Gazing Live where you can go and talk and try different scopes?

Try to answer some of the above and we will have a better idea of which way to go.

[pcaines]

Hello thanks for getting back, I would love to see the moon and other planets in more detail also satellites I would find interesting to track.

Yes at home at a fixed place

There is a little light pollution but you can still see great deal clearly with the naked eye on a clear night.

Yes I'm a complete novice that it's willing to learn and progress.

I will check out what's going on within the Uk for star gazing events, that's a good idea.

Thank you in advance.

[Charic]

pcaines........Hi, welcome to SGL. Your budget is about what I've spent on my basic system of 8" telescope and some lenses. I say basic, but excellent value, and great results, as will be vouched by several users. Astro Imp asks the key pertinent  points.

My system is very good for observations. I have used a camera, but lots to learn, I've got a couple of newbie pics in my gallery. For tracking and Astro photogrpahy you will need powered EQ systems. EQ`s not for me at present. But they do have their place dependent on your requirements.

[Spookylight]

Ever had to mess with a car, under the bonnet, in the freezing cold and also in pitch black? Enjoy it? I certainly didn't - I am the angry spanner thrower of old wigan town!

Manual EQ5 = messing around, lot's of setting up, in the cold, on your knee probably, blowing on your blue fingers, and if you do succeed you have to manually track afterwards or buy the motors (which incidentally are not great for AP).

Dobsonian = walk outside, plop on floor, and gozz at the skys (assuming it's pre-collimated & cooled). = I should of bought a dob to start with. Plus you get way more aperture for your pound.

AP? well that's another kettle of fish....

[pcaines]

Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian certainly does look like a good telescope for a beginner like me, has pretty good reviews to, thanks will look in to the further.

[Astro Imp]

Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian certainly does look like a good telescope for a beginner like me, has pretty good reviews to, thanks will look in to the further.

This scope isn't the number one seller for no reason, a great value for money piece of kit that will give you terrific views with minimal trouble.

[ronin]

What is your location?
UK is of little use, if I said go along to the Star Gazing Live event at Sidmouth NLO the chance of you actually living close enough is so small to be pointless. A more or less real location - just the town - means that there may be an event to be held in 2 to 3 weeks time that you could attend and see the various scopes in use, you will get the chance to use a few and talk with the people face to face that have them.

Around Jan 7,8,9 and a week after many clubs will be holding events and showing off their scopes, but UK doesn't help identify one.

Someone did this a few years ago and I said much the same then. They wanted to know about an eyepiece type of which I had the lot. Turned out they were 5 miles from me. We met up and they tried the eyepieces out.

[Andy69]

I wrote an article on the topic of buying a telescope for a beginner in this months newsletter of the Central Lancashire Amateur Astronomy Society.  http://class-astro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Newsletter-6-December-2013.pdf

It's not a comprehensive essay by any means but i hoped it covered the basics in an easy to read and entertaining way.

[66mikeg]

Find a local astronomy club and go along, others will be happy to discuss their equipment and let you try it out. The Dob Mob would have you believe that EQ mounts are the Devil's work but they are really not that difficult to master especially for visual observing or using a webcam to image planets. Setting them up for long exposure astro photography is a different matter  but not the most difficult thing to master in this black art.

[Astro Imp]

Hi Andy, I've just read and enjoyed your beginners guide to buying, a great read and informative too.

Well done.

[CSM]

Do go along to a Star Party before buying anything.  Look at the size of the scopes, the different types and so on.  It can be quite confusing and you may well change your mind lots of times.  And once you are into astronomy you will no doubt change it yet again as you progress.

[keybaud]

This scope isn't the number one seller for no reason, a great value for money piece of kit that will give you terrific views with minimal trouble.

I am also a beginner and that was the scope I had thought of getting until I added the option of taking photos, which introduced me to the ED80.

I don't have either yet, but I look at photos of them regularly with more affection than my wife thinks is healthy!

[Charic]

keybaud........Hi The Explorer 200P can be  used for Astro photography, Bigger aperture than ED80. The Skyliner 200P is  better for visual.

[pcaines]

What is your location?

UK is of little use, if I said go along to the Star Gazing Live event at Sidmouth NLO the chance of you actually living close enough is so small to be pointless. A more or less real location - just the town - means that there may be an event to be held in 2 to 3 weeks time that you could attend and see the various scopes in use, you will get the chance to use a few and talk with the people face to face that have them.

Around Jan 7,8,9 and a week after many clubs will be holding events and showing off their scopes, but UK doesn't help identify one.

Someone did this a few years ago and I said much the same then. They wanted to know about an eyepiece type of which I had the lot. Turned out they were 5 miles from me. We met up and they tried the eyepieces out.

I live in Manchester, from everyone's comments it's seems like going to an star gazing event will do me a lot of good, although no 1 seems to say a bad word about the Dobsonian range. Is there any of these models which I could hook my SLR camera to or is that a silly question?

[Andy69]

Hi Andy, I've just read and enjoyed your beginners guide to buying, a great read and informative too.

Well done.

Thanks for the feedback Alan.  I'm pleased you enjoyed the article.  Previous columns covered the frustrations of finding the Andromeda galaxy for the first time and the pro's and con's of GOTO.  Future articles will cover the perils of astro-photography and musings on the existence of extra-terrestrial life.

[pcaines]

I wrote an article on the topic of buying a telescope for a beginner in this months newsletter of the Central Lancashire Amateur Astronomy Society. http://class-astro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Newsletter-6-December-2013.pdf

It's not a comprehensive essay by any means but i hoped it covered the basics in an easy to read and entertaining way.

Great read Andy, easy to follow for a novice like me, going to read your previous one as I'm intrigued to find out what a GOTO actually is. Keep up the good work.

[Charic]

I live in Manchester, from everyone's comments it's seems like going to an star gazing event will do me a lot of good, although no 1 seems to say a bad word about the Dobsonian range. Is there any of these models which I could hook my SLR camera to or is that a silly question?

.......Using the correct adaptors and fittings, I can connect a DSLR to my telescope. The Moon is bright enough to take snaps, and during the Day, Aircraft for example can be snapped, but low level light / night astro photography  can require longer exposures or hundreds then "stacked" to create a final image. Stacking would require precise alignment of the target, so a motorised EQ would be required.