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Hi all 

Im very new to astronomy, so new i havent even brought my scope yet haha...the one im thinking of buying is the Skywatcher Skymax 127 SynScan. Would you guys recommend this scope for a beginner like me?  Im from just out side of birmingham (bearwood to be precise)  so im guessing there will be a lot of light pollution, so what could i expect to see from my garden? in all honesty, even if i got to see the moon in some detail, i would be happy but of course i would love to see saturn or jupiter.

Stupid question i think?   could i get a filter to look at the sun with the scope im thinking of buying?...   yes you can call me stupid

Sorry for all the questions....there will probably loads more when i get my scope haha

Thanks in advance

Graham

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Graham,

When looking around at your new potential purchase, the general precept is that aperture rules and so you'll find that if a beginner asks "What scope should I buy" 99% of those answers are always going to suggest the biggest Newtonian (reflector) you can afford and carry about, and more than likely a Newtonian which is Dobsonian mounted rather than GEM (EQ) mounted, simply because the former mounts are easier to use and set up and are a lot cheaper, so in effect you're putting more money into the optics and less into the mount and go-to.

Most beginners want to see a little of everything and at a decent price. If you are looking for faint DSOs like globular clusters, nebulae or galaxies, you really need aperture and low magnification, the former to get as much light as possible and the latter to get as wide a view as possible. Newtonian scopes excel at all these factors and because of their light gathering capacity, they are also excellent scopes for viewing the Moon and planets such as Jupiter and Saturn.

In essence, a telescope’s main job is not to magnify but to funnel photons into your eyeball so your brain can assemble a picture. Larger the aperture, more detail you will see and because the bigger scope has a better light grasp, it will also show fainter objects and detail better. The only snag with bigger scopes is that they're heavier and may be more tricky to store.

But lets suppose, you just want to get high detail of planets and want to split double stars and do some Lunar and Solar observations (with the correct filters in place). Well, now, you don't need big fields of view, nor maximum light collection, but perhaps some really tasty crystal clear views at higher mags. That's when the refractors, or for the sake of argument, the Skymax enter the story. I don't want to bog you down with information at this stage, but taking the Skymax's central obstruction into account it would probably be more like a 117mm scope which is why the 127mm Skymax is often compared to a decent 4" achromat refractor like a Tal 100rs or Evostar.

Recall, a decent 8" dobsonian reflector is about the same price as an unmounted decent 4" achromatic refractor and about £100 cheaper than the Skymax 127 with SynScan. So, not only think about your budget, but have a really serious think about what you'd like to be seeing over the next year or so, and really question your choice of the SkyMax 127 as a first time telescope. I'm not saying it is a bad choice - far from it - but just one you need to contemplate and understand.

If it were me, the reasons I'd go for the 127 over an 8" dob would be: I don't have space to store a relatively small Dob; I physically cannot lift the Dob outside; I can't be bothered with reading a star atlas so I want GOTO.

Again, I'd prefer the 8" Dob over the 127 if I wanted: to see more detail, see more deep space objects, see fainter objects.

After you've got your scope with its supplied EPs you will probably want to get a couple more eyepieces, but do that after you've practiced a little. That way, you'll be able to make a much more informed enquiry and decision. But, if you do decide to buy a Newtonian, your telescope will require collimation. So, you will need a special tool to do this, so you ought to budget yourself for a Cheshire which I think are about another £30 - £40.

Another thing to look out for - and I think this is really important - are astronomy sketches. If you have a look at the type of telescope from which the sketch was made this is the kind of thing you will see when observing from a telescope of similiar aperture. From time to time folk do crop up here who are very disappointed with astronomy-stargazing, they thought they were going to see colourful swirling galaxies and nebulae, or those wide and super bright globular clusters seen in the photos and images, only to see a fuzzy in grey, a planet the size of a pea (in the palm of your hand). So, make sure you're informed.

If possible, try to get along to a local astronomy club and look through the type of telescope you think you may purchase and see if the view meets your expectations. Most stargazers will be only too happy to help.

It's probably not necessary to say, but just in case, I'd suggest that you buy your first set up from a specialist telescope shop that can provide advice and an ongoing service  – not from ebay and not from some supermarket or photographic store where the staff will generally have no knowledge of what they are selling. If you haven't already had a peek, First Light Optics comes highly recommended as one of Great Britain's top class astronomy shops and, of course, SGL can help out a lot.

Needless to say, the Baader ND5 Solar film will be fine for a Mak, Newt or Frac for visual solar observing. You can either make a holder yourself or buy the film mounted in a ready made holder. Easy.

I hope this helps and please don't hesitate in asking more questions :grin:

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A really informative reply from Qualia above.

One other thing to consider is that to use a scope equipped with GOTO you will need a power supply. Yes they can be run from batteries but these quickly loose power and then you have lost the GOTO capability.

Also from reading various threads here some sort of dew shield will be required using a Mak.

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I would say Qualia hit the nail right on the head, I am a fan of the Gregorian Maksutov, but my astro needs are more orientated to Luna and planets, so i would agree with qualia regards the 200mm dobsonian, this scope is Britains no 1 seller for good reasons

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I'm new to astronomy too and I have both a Refractor (90mm aperture) and Newtonian (130mm aperture) scope.  I also have two mounts; a GoTo and an Equatorial.  Everything is made by Celestron and I can interchange scopes and mounts as I please.

The only reason I got the refractor was that it was cheaper to by the NexStar GoTo mount with the scope than without it!!  Having said that, the views of the moon through it are great and I'm really pleased with it.

The 130 Newtonian is a good all-rounder and if you aren't sure what you'll use a scope for (planetary or deep sky), I'd go for a scope with the largest diameter/aperture you can reasonably afford (and by that I mean leaving yourself some funds for new lenses, filters and a decent spotting scope) but with your location, make sure it's portable so you can shove it in the car - your local astronomical society should be able to give you details of some good sites with low light pollution where you can see more with your scope.

Additionally, you may want to speak to your local astronomical society to see if there are any members looking to sell some second hand equipment.  My local group do "public viewings" where the members take their own scopes to different sites and interested members of the public can come along and have a go.

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Thank you very much for all of your replies, especially you Qualia so informative

I really like the sound of the 8" dobsonian and does sound the kinda scope I would like but transporting that around would be a real big issue for me, theres no way it would fit inot my car, ford ka, suppose i could cut the roof off :)

One of the main reasons I liked the skymax was because of the goto function but now, I think reading a star atlas would make it a bit more rewarding in the long run

Im in no real rush to go and buy a scope (ok thats a little bit of a lie, cant wait really) so ill have a look around at see what else grabs my eye and check in with you guys 

Again thank you all for your replies

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I really like the sound of the 8" dobsonian and does sound the kinda scope I would like but transporting that around would be a real big issue for me, theres no way it would fit inot my car, ford ka, suppose i could cut the roof off :)

Thanks, Graham :smiley:

Just to get some idea, the Dob is assembled in two parts: there's the Newtonian (reflector) telescope tube and the Dob wooden base. I think the tube weighs just under 9kg and the base about 12kg. As separate units, that's the kind of weight you're carrying as hand luggage on a plane :grin:. I think the tube length is about 112cm (44 inches) long and the base is about 73cm (29.5 inches) high with a diameter of about 50cm (20 inches). So, the tube should fit comfortably across the backseat of most smallish cars and taking into account the shape of the base, it should be relatively easy to place in a car boot or passenger seat for transportation.

Hopefully someone with the scope could confirm these estimates, but at least it gives you some idea of the size and weight we're talking about :smiley:

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Graham,

I hope this helps and please don't hesitate in asking more questions :grin:

..........Can there be any  more questions after that?  Great reply  (as usual)  :smiley:

grumbler.......Hi, get a Focus?  The  Skywatcher `Skyliner` sits comfortably across the back seats, with  the base on the front seat. If your skies are not dark, then a visit to a dark site, really shows off this telescope. Its very capable and built to be very user friendly. Easy to use, set up takes a minute, cooling takes longer, what more do you need. 

You may need some binoculars?  If you have some already, start using them. get to learn the night skies. Life becomes easier when you know your way around, and a nice pair of 7 -10x50's will  be a great addition to the  8" 200P telescope.

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theres a lot to be said for the dobsonion it's big it's cheap and it provides great views. It has it's downsides though. A popular way of navigating  the stars is star hopping which is fine in many areas but not so great  in light polluted birmingham  where your guide stars get washed out by the general glare of all those streetlights. Goto can take you straight there its a real quandary the 8" dob will show you better detail on everything including the moon and planets which are easy to find  but finding some other targets  can be much more difficult.  Just something to think, about ultimately the dob will be the more rewarding scope but be prepared for quite a learning curve

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