HI, another newbie going to be asking more questions on his first purchase!!!!

[blueranger]

HI all,

Brand new to Astronomy since I looked at the Moon about 2 weeks ago with a pair of binoculars that cost 20 quid from a car boot sale!

This made me look into buying a telescope and could not believe how things have progressed, especially with the GOTO scopes which appeal to me.

I will probably post regarding the best options for around £200-£500 (ABSOLUTE MAX cost as a package) as I have got my eye on a couple of models.

Also anyone know a retailer in East London/Essex with a showroom for advice, as I cannot find any?

Anyway nice to introduce myself,

Regards,

Blueranger (My sons idea of a username!!)

[beamer3.6m]

Welcome to SGL.

£500.00 is a reasonable budget. However you should let us know what you intend to look at, i.e. mainly the planets/moon or deep sky stuff, i.e. stars, galaxies.

In addition it would be useful to know if you ever intend to do astrophotography as this can alter the mount you may want to purchase.

I would recommend the the Skywatcher Explorer 200 on the HEQ5. This is a good all round scope - so good for planets, moon and DSO's and can be used for astropics with a DSLR or webcam and the mount (the HEQ5) can be upgraded to GOTO if you find that you need it.

For £500.00 you may find that much of your budget goes on the electronics rather than the optics. So it may be better to upgrade at a later time if you decide you really want to.

Hope that helps. I am sure many more people will chip in no time at all.

Alternatively you could get the smaller 130PM from skywatcher which is smaller and had a lower quality mount but this is very cheap and I may be willing to part with mine as I mainly use the 200.

[blueranger]

Wow, Quick replies!

Seeing as you have got the ball rolling I will continue with the models I have in mind.

The first was the Meade DS2090 for around £200 with 5 extra eyepieces.

Then after speaking to various retailers from magazines it was suggested I may consider the Celestron Nexstar 4SE around £500 with extra eyepieces or Mead ETX90 SE around £500 with free eyepieces.

I am at the very early stages of astronomy so I was tempted for the Meade DS2090 just in case I didn't take to it, and buy buying the other models would I be paying for something I would not use as the apertures of all seem roughly the same.

Regarding what I was interested in looking at, well planets of course being very new but galaxies and nebula would be a real bonus. I honestly never realised this was achievable until looking into it.

Thanks so far for the help.

[Ferox]

Welcome to SGL blueranger.

[jgs001]

Hi Blueraner Welcome to SGL

[Casus belli]

Hello and welcome.

To give us an idea of what scope to recommend we need to know a few things about what you want to do with your scope, how bad your light pollution is, how fit you are, in fact everything apart from your inside leg measurement.

An ideal scope for a beginner is a dobsonian. These can give brilliant views of deep space objects (DSO's). DSO's are galaxies and nebulae. You get more bang for your buck with these scopes as they don't come with fancy electronics. Instead your money goes on a big mirror which gathers light. The bigger the mirror the more you see. They are also pretty much idiot proof which is why I have one.

Downside to the Dobsonian is you can't take photographs with it.* They also tend to be "fast" scopes which does mean that they are not ideal for planets. That isn't to say you cant see them but through different types of scopes the view might be clearer.

I also own a Meade etx 90. Its a good enough scope but to be honest I wouldn't recommend it. Its a little on the expensive side and the main mirror while good is rather small. I use it as a grab and go scope and for observing the sun (IMPORTANT! I have a proper filter for this. Never point a scope at the sun without a filter that fits on the front of the scope. There are solar eyepiece filters for sale and these are very dangerous. Don't use them!) I also plan to start learning astrophotography and the etx will be my test bed for this.

I also found that the go-to on the ETX could be annoying. It took an age to set up and would often trip out. Most of the time I switched the go-to off and used it manually.

And that's the end of my telescope expertise. Others will be along with their opinions and recommendations. Take your time before choosing.

And here's a little something for your computer. Stellarium is a free easy to use virtual planetarium which is fantastic for helping a newcomer around the skies.

stellarium.org

*Well ok you can but its either difficult or costs an arm and a leg to modify your scope. You can take photos of the moon, Saturn and Jupiter but other than that you're pretty much snookered

[thing]

I would go with what Casus said (not that I'm an expert, I'm a virtual beginner myself), but please be aware that the photos you see in the magazines aren't the sights you will see through the scope, when we talk about seeing galaxies and nebula we mean seeing blobs of cotton wool that are in the right place.....don't let that put you off though, it's incredibly addictive and whatever you get, your views of the Moon and Saturn will blow you away.

[blueranger]

To give us an idea of what scope to recommend we need to know a few things about what you want to do with your scope, how bad your light pollution is, how fit you are, in fact everything apart from your inside leg measurement.

As I said previously, mainly planets Etc as that's all I know as I am brand new to this and anything else would be a bonus. Its compact size is quite important as being a new hobby having a huge scope might cause a few domestic whinges from you-know-who

I am about 17 miles as the crow flies from London so light pollution could be a problem, but I do travel around a bit, so it would occasionally come with me.

Fit?, well my wife thinks I'm "well fit"!

And thanks a lot for the software programme, things like that are much appreciated.

[blueranger]

And here's a little something for your computer. Stellarium is a free easy to use virtual planetarium which is fantastic for helping a newcomer around the skies.

stellarium.org

Had a chance now to run and use this programme and it's an absolute must for any Newby!! :hello1:

Thanks again.

[Stephen Green]

Hi welcome to the SGL :sunny: :sunny:

Stephen

[blueranger]

The more I look at this http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Meade_DS2090_Goto_Refractor_Telescope__1874.html the more I am tempted, would I really be throwing my money away as a beginner??

[Casus belli]

Its got a smallish primary. I think you could get more for your money. I havent heard from anyone that has that scope which worries me a bit. I could be wrong but it looks a little wobbily too.

This is supposed to be the best scope for a beginner

http://www.sherwoods-photo.com/sky_watcher/skywatcher_dobsonian.htm

Main site is here.

http://www.sherwoods-photo.com/sky_watcher/skywatcher_index.htm

And have a look at these. First light optics have a very good name on these forums.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/categories.php

A great dob!

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=dobsky200

But its entirely up to you. I believe Steve at First light optics is a very helpful chap and if you have made a few posts on these forums there is a discount.

[PaulG]

Blueranger

Welcome to SGL and a big wave from Nottingham

Paul

[Johnny Jupiter]

Hi Blueranger and welcome to the best forum in the country. You are sure to get lots of advise here.

John.

[lunator]

Hi Blueranger

welcome to SGL

Cheers

Ian

[Sam]

Hi Blueranger - Welcome to SGL. I would agree with the advice given for the 200 on an HEQ5 mount (pretty much what I've got). It's great sized scope that will give good capability for most stuff. The mount will also keep the FOV from moving when you are observing.

Sam

[DanDare]

Welcome Blueranger!

Lots of good advice already given.

GoTo's are OK and will help you find objects a lot easier but the downside is, as Beamer said, that a lot of your money goes on the electronics rather than the optics. It is also said, by some, that you only 'learn' the night sky by finding objects yourself.

Best of luck sorting it all out.

Roy

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

Welcome Blueranger to SGL.

I use a 200mm Skywatcher on a HEQ5 goto and can't recommend it highly enough, its great.

Kaptain Klevtsov

[blueranger]

O.K,

So you all seem to like the skywatchers, but could you give me an idea how much I would get for the £500 pound with the GOTO or even a link? It seems most sites have not got this exact set up as a package.

I am prepared to lose a bit of aperture for the GOTO although to you guys this may seem criminal , and I did want the scope as compact as possible.

I think the moral of this story is to get myself down a shop and have a good look around, but you guys have certainly helped me and narrowed my choices.

Thanks again and I will Leave you in peace

Regards.

[Sam]

I don't think anybody minds you asking questions Blueranger - it's a lot of money and it's best to go into this with as much information as possible and a cross section of the various opinions as well. There's nothing wrong with a GOTO, especially if you are short of time in observing sessions (my personal perception is to learn the sky).

Have a look at this one http://www.scsastro.co.uk/it030016.htm is basically a 8" Newtonian reflector on a dobsonian mount with a computer that give you directions to what you want to find (it doesn't have any motors though - it just tells you where where to move the scope.) 8" is a good sized aperture and the Orions are goods scopes. the price is a little over 500 at 510 GBP with the computer.

hope that helps

Sam

[centroid]

Hi, and welcome to SGL.

Dave

[AlexG]

Hi Blueranger

If I can put in my twopennyworth.

You were asking about a telescope shop. Your best bet is around Cambridge, there's Green Witch (which is related to Greenwich Observatory ltd but confusedly is based in Cambridge - just Google 'Green Witch').

If you are not going to a local astronomy club I would urge you to go to Green Witch or any similar shop I have overlooked. As you say things have really changed in the past 20 years and it is much better to get your hands on these refractors, reflectors, Dobsonians etc rather than just reading about them and looking at pictures on the web. Some of them are fabulous but really BIG. Only you know what is practicable for your house/garden etc). Nothing worse than having something for a week and realising you won't really be using it because it is just so much bother to set up...

AG

[blueranger]

Hi Blueranger

If I can put in my twopennyworth.

You were asking about a telescope shop. Your best bet is around Cambridge, there's Green Witch (which is related to Greenwich Observatory ltd but confusedly is based in Cambridge - just Google 'Green Witch').

If you are not going to a local astronomy club I would urge you to go to Green Witch or any similar shop I have overlooked. As you say things have really changed in the past 20 years and it is much better to get your hands on these refractors, reflectors, Dobsonians etc rather than just reading about them and looking at pictures on the web. Some of them are fabulous but really BIG. Only you know what is practicable for your house/garden etc). Nothing worse than having something for a week and realising you won't really be using it because it is just so much bother to set up...

AG

Good advice,

This is my plan as I have another thread going ( http://stargazerslounge.com/index.php/topic,25214.0.html ) regarding a local retailer to me.

Most are about an hour away as I'm in South Essex, and Green Witch is definatley a contender!

[barkis]

Don't forget the second hand market. Some good bargaains are to be found on the Astro Forums for sale boards.

As your experience is limited, I suggest you stay away from Ebay. Stick to forums such as SGL, and Astro Buy&Sell UK. No one is likely to rip you off on those. You can always ask for advice here before you commit money anyway.

Welcome to SGL by the way.

Ron.

[loron91423]

Welcome to Stargazers. Nice to meet you