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new member ,hi there......

rocket man

By rocket man
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rocket man

rocket man

Posted
Posted

hi im new to astronomy ,and im about to buy my first scope for me and my daughter,can any one recomend any ,im on the verge of ordering the skywatcher

skyliner 300px or 350 dobsonion ,i have had financial clearence from my boss? the other half ....

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Interested

Interested

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Hi, and welcome to SGL!

My scopes are quite small, but then, I use them more for photography than observing.

Both of those scopes sound quite good for observing because of their relatively large aperture. I hope those that are using those scopes will come along and give you more information.

I would suggest you buy a couple of books to initially help you find your way around the sky. I bought "Guide to Stars and Planets" by Sir Patrick Moore (bought in Waterstones) which I have found useful, but again, I am sure others can suggest more titles!

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swag72

swag72

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Hi and welcome to SGL - Good advise so far - As I understand it these scopes are quite a size. Do you have sufficient storage and also is it going to be easy to get it to an observing place? 

Look forward to seeing you around :)

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HIP3802

HIP3802

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Hi, rocket man, a warm welcome to SGL - and to the worlds of amateur astronomy!

Both the scopes you have mentioned can give terrific views of  the night sky - no doubt about that. There are a number of other considerations to take into account, though (and apologies if you have already considered/explored these). Firstly, as has already been mentioned, is the size of the scopes, and their weight. If you haven't done already I would recommend seeing (and getting a feel for) both scopes before buying.

Both scopes will need collimating at some stage.This is merely the process of alligning the two mirrors so that light is angled and reflected accurately and without distortion to the eye piece. This is a painless operation and there are many articles on the subject. To do the collimating you will need a collimating tool (I use a 'Cheshire' manual tool, but lasers are also available). As this is such an essential part of using a Newtonian telescope I recommend buying this with the scope.

I don't know how well you know the night sky, but there are a number of  tools to help with this. One of the easiest is a planesphere which will show the constellations and major stars (also one of the cheapest astronomy tools at around £15!) Many on here use the free software 'Stellarium' to not only show where things are, but also to plan a night's viewing. The software is fully customisable to your location and even to an individual scope - giving you an idea of what you wiill see at the eye piece. This is downloadable here: http://stellarium.org/

Finally, before buying I recommend reading the article: "Essential Reading for those who are thinking about getting into astronomy" on the "Getting started" section of the forums.

I hope this helps,

Martin

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daiwelly

daiwelly

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Hi and welcome to SGL, A nice choice of scope's but I would have to eyeball it first, have a go handling it and moving it about,then there is storage and also transportation to take into consideration what is the LP like where you live its a big aperture light grabbing, any LP there its going to amplify it I would think.

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orion25

orion25

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Welcome to SGL!

As it has already been said about the scopes, take a look at them and decide if the size and weight are workable. You will be able to see lots with either scope.

Best wishes with your choice,

Reggie  :smiley:

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