Which scope for a beginner?

[New Star Gazers]

Hello all,

I have put a small introduction in the welcome thread. Basically, we are beginners in this field, we have always had an interest but now we have decided to get a good scope that would also be okay for our children to take an interest too. We have been looking around and are interested in the Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ-MD. 

Has anyone got any advice on where is best to start out or know of any fairly decent scopes which wont break the bank?

Any advise greatly appreciated, thanks.

[Alien 13]

Hi and welcome to SGL i dont have any personal recomendations but it might be worth you having a look at the FLO site starter scope section a lot of the scopes there are based on recomendations from this forum.

Alan

[JamesF]

That's not at all a bad choice for a first scope.  You may find this thread:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/204210-best-astronomy-telescope-for-beginners/

and in particular this post:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/204210-best-astronomy-telescope-for-beginners/?p=2169130

helpful.

James

[New Star Gazers]

Thanks for your replies, we are looking into the ones suggested on the threads now. 

[rory]

hi , one thing you need to know regarding the astromaster series ( I keep banging on about this ,sorry all !) but the finder they attach to the telescope is awful !  its totally unusable and youll need to get a replacement. OR  don't use a finder and get by with a low power eyepiece for finding the objects .

[crimpshrine]

I recently got a Skywatcher 130 for my first scope and it has been good so far. Finder is a bit cheap but does the job and easy to set up.. I think they are good value.

[Tlawrence84]

Hi,

Rather than adding advice as to a specific scope, could I m some comments regarding type? I have a Skywatcher explorer 130p on an equatorial mount (pretty much the same as you mention), the scope itself is awesome, I have seen some good sites (when I manage to find them!). My brother has a Heritage 130p (compact dobsonian), and this scope has seen the same as my explorer.

The difference? His takes about 30secs to set up in the garden, mine takes about 10-15mins. Mine is heavier, takes up more storage space, I end up with some Very interesting viewing angles when a target is identified!

Where my scope beats his, more stable, easier to focus (but only just), could be used for astro imaging, tracks objects easier. If I find something and want to share it with my bro when we are in the garden, it's a quick turn of the slo mo controller to put the object in the centre of the field after it's moved. To share a view on his (at high magnification) we have to re centre an alt-az motion.

I'm now changing my scope to a dobsonian as soon as my explorer sells on ebay as I want a goto. I find i go in the garden and end up in a viewing rut, where I keep. Cycling the same easy objects. with someone else viewing with you (you mention the whole family being involved) you may not find this rut occurring.

I'm just saying from my experience, the scope itself only seems to be half of it, getting the mount and setup that ensures you use it is the other half. The best scope for you is the one you will use the most.

[Bizibilder]

You may find a refractor like this one:  http://www.firstlightoptics.com/evostar/skywatcher-evostar-90-eq3-2.html  would suit better especially for children.

It is a good scope (I hate the concept of a  "childs telescope" - why can't they use a decent scope too??).  The advantage is that you will get a similar but image to the reflector but without the need for regular collimation (aligning the optics - which reflectors need from time to time).  It is "conventional" in the sense you look into one end and out of the other - rather than looking into the side of the tube.  This makes pointing at and finding objects somewhat easier.  The downside is that there will be a small amount of false colour when viewing bright objects but it is unlikely to put you off totally, if at all.  The longer focal length will give better views of the Moon and planets for the same set of eyepieces (the images will appear slightly larger).  For £20 you could buy some Solar filter film and make a filter so you could look at or photograph the Sun as well.  It also comes with a decent equatorial mount - which could be motorised at reasonable cost - this would allow objects to remain in the field of view for several minutes (even if the mount is not perfectly polar aligned). 

All the above are quite "child friendly" features but incorporated in a scope that adults would be pleased to use as well.

[Druid]

How bad is light pollution where you are? 

Roger is right that refractors are less hassle and more user friendly in some ways, but if you're somewhere with significant light pollution, I'd say that a reflector of some sort is worth the hassle because of the better aperture for your money. 

Trying to see through urban light pollution for anything besides bright objects like the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn etc can be a frustrating experience in a small telescope. 

[Druid]

Light pollution map ... 

http://www.avex-asso.org/dossiers/wordpress/?page_id=127

[Bizibilder]

Light pollution is .....well - light pollution.  There is not much you can do except maybe use LP filters - but even that depends on what sort of pollution it is.  I.e. It depends on the source of the pollution.  For instance yellow sodium streetlights can be cancelled out with a simple and cheap LP filter designed to do that particular job.

Refractors are less hassle than reflectors in many ways (they don't need collimating and to be treated quite so carefully) and can give better contrast for the Moon and planets.  On the other hand they get very expensive as they get bigger.  For plain "bang for your buck" a large reflector will usually win. Refractors are also more convenient to move and store as they tend to be less bulky.

[SW130p]

Skywatcher 130p I have had since xmas first scope too great one to start with and develop your skills till you want more. Was getting astromaster by skywatcher was better.

[New Star Gazers]

How bad is light pollution where you are? 

Roger is right that refractors are less hassle and more user friendly in some ways, but if you're somewhere with significant light pollution, I'd say that a reflector of some sort is worth the hassle because of the better aperture for your money. 

Trying to see through urban light pollution for anything besides bright objects like the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn etc can be a frustrating experience in a small telescope. 

Hello, 

Thanks for the map, it is very useful. We are in an area which is in between an orange and a yellow, but if we went a mile down the road we could be in the cyan area, so a much better vantage point.

We are now thinking of going for the SkyWatcher 200p Dob. This seems to be the highest recommended and we would purchase the 2x Barlow too. I know it's a beast for our first proper scope but we want something that will be good enough.

We are hoping to connect our DSLR camera to the scope as think this would benefit the childrens viewing. Do you think this will be a suitable telescope to do so?

Claire

[SW130p]

Nice choice that's what I want to upgrade to next. You will certainly have great views with it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SW130p]

I'm also using my dslr with mine but still find it hard to do, probably down to not having motors and the mount is a bit flexi. The setup your getting would be much better with the stronger mount, also use some sort of shutter release to avoid movement.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[rory]

I had the 200p skyliner dobsonian . and its very very popular for good reasons. hit hits a sweet spot between portability and light grasp combined with it being an f/6  , so its still kind on eyepieces.

 as for photography , well I know nothing of the subject apart from what I read on here. so basicly you can use this mount for short exposures on the moon and large planets , but deep sky objects would require long exposures on a equatorial mount.

  all in all though the 8" dob is fantastic .

[New Star Gazers]

I had the 200p skyliner dobsonian . and its very very popular for good reasons. hit hits a sweet spot between portability and light grasp combined with it being an f/6  , so its still kind on eyepieces.

 as for photography , well I know nothing of the subject apart from what I read on here. so basicly you can use this mount for short exposures on the moon and large planets , but deep sky objects would require long exposures on a equatorial mount.

  all in all though the 8" dob is fantastic .

Have you upgraded from this now Rory? We have just this second ordered the SkyWatcher 200p Dob from FLO (finally made our minds up), can't wait to get it now and hoping for clear skies.

Thanks everyone for your help and advice, it was greatly appreciated.

Claire

[rory]

Great choice. Congrats , look forward to hearing how you all get along .

Clear skies...