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Lawrence Saville

By Lawrence Saville
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Lawrence Saville

Lawrence Saville

Posted
Posted

Hi all,

Had an interest in Astronomy since I was a kid but never the time/money/etc until now. My youngest daughter has expressed an interest in Astronomy (and indeed Astrophysics at Uni for next year) so it's time to gear up and get stargazing  ( YES !!! :) )

We've been in contact with the very friendly folks at the Andover Astronomical Society and have been to a couple of events so many thanks to them all for their very warm and friendly welcome. Very encouraging to the nipper.

Looking at acquiring some kit now, taking time to read up and understand the formats,  differences and pros & cons (as well as costs!)

Seeing the set-ups that the AAS folks have was very informative and helpful. Daughter has expressed a particular interest in Astrophotography so focussing on kit best suited for that (so my desire for a huge Dobsonian may have to be parked for a while)

rgds

Lawrence

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ronin

ronin

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I would suggest (amongst the many you will get) that you aim at something like an 80mm ED refractor. They do imaging pretty good and will show most things that are floating around the sky. The 80mm ED is a good all round scope.

Mount needs to be equitorial and preferably goto.

Catch is which mount.

The EQ5 is about right, however if imaging becomes "serious" then you start adding a guide scope and guide camera then the EQ5 is going to be a bit on the lightweight side (maybe). The next one up is the HEQ5 and to be honest that is not exactly "user friendly" when it comes to weight and size. I bought an HEQ5, took one look, left it in the car, and eventually bought an EQ5. Much less scary.

You want something that will be used, your huge dobsonian may sound nice, but willing to bet that an 80mm will get used a lot more.

Also go look at the iOptron mounts, the "25" one seems good.

"25" is in the mount spec/name somewhere, means it will hold 25lbs.

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swag72

swag72

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Hi Lawrence and welcome to SGL. With regards to imaging, you really need to think about whether you're looking at planetary or DSO's. I say that a different equipment is needed for both really and I'd hate for you to get kit that wasnt good for what your daughter really wanted.

Look forward to seeing you around :)

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damnut

damnut

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Hi Lawrence,

Warm welcome to SGL, you have done the right thing, research before parting with cash!! You can always get a smallish apo for your daughter, so that maybe she can use it for uni, and a monster dob that you can look after during term time :grin:

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