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taking the next step.

tigernationjim

By tigernationjim
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tigernationjim

tigernationjim

Posted
Posted

hello all. im new to this forum. ive had alot of fun over the last little while with my Skywatcher evostar 90. i think its a great budget package scope. however... i now feel the need for more. i get great views of the moon, and jupitor. but i would love to look a bit further. the next step (im hoping to be around the 500 pound mark) would it be worth getting a reflector? and what about that 'Go To' auto track technology?  ive been looking at the skywatcher 'star discovery 150p ' but  i still get a bit lost with the technical terms. has anyone used a star discovery 150p? any advise would be very appreciated. thankyou.

j

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Tinker1947

Tinker1947

Posted
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For viewing it should be ok, i have never looked through one so others that have will have better views on its performance, a EQ GoTo will allow you to find DSO yourself or GoTo them via the mount then it will track them while you go for a cuppa tea ect,  Welcome to SGL

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Purplehayze104

Purplehayze104

Posted
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not looked throu the star discovery but I have there explorer 150P seems pretty much the same, nice scope can see a fair bit with it, clusters, the brighter galaxies etc (don't expect hubble pics thou) an I havn't used the mount the discovery comes with but had an EQ3-2pro version which is an Equatorial mount rather than a fork, if you feel you may want to progress to astro imaging further down the line the EQ will be better for it, but if not then it seems ok for visual aspect. goto is good an handy to have it just makes things easy if you don't get much time of an evening as you just type in wot ya wanna see an it slews to it (with polar alignment done first), but a lot of people like going manual as enjoy the hunt using charts, atlases etc choice is yours in the end but should be a nice upgrade from the 90/900 which I had as first scope too.

hope this is of any help

regards

john

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glowjet

glowjet

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Posted

Hi Jim and welcome to SGL, advancing on from your 90mm refractor may just cause you some frustration in choice, the 90mm should have given you some nice clear rewarding, visual views of your targets, which at times may well have been better than a 150mm reflector. Any next step towards a bigger scope, consideration should be give to a big increase in light gathering capabilities and the very popular Skyliner 200p Dobsonian springs to mind. Low budget cost and although not GOTO, learning to use one should come quickly to hand. At some future date, when finances permit, you can attach the optical tube to a tracking equatorial mount assembly, a route which many members of this forum have taken and are now enjoying both visual and imaging with their equipment. The 200mm reflector will open the door to discovering many deep space objects, just another part of the fascinating World of Astronomy, enjoy the forum :)

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Tim99

Tim99

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Hello and welcome.  I am also fairly new to this wonderful hobby.  I used my ED80mm Refractor for a year or so before I decided I wanted more light gathering ability and a Go-To mount.  There are so many options to consider and I did a lot of reading before I made my decision.  It all depends on what you want to look at, how portable you want to be and of course how much money you want to spend!

I found the my little 80mm refractor gave me great views (and great pictures) of the moon.  I learned that many APers use the small refractor for Deep Sky Photography as well when used with a tracking mount. (Wide field of view and short focal length is great for AP)  I also use that scope for terrestrial viewing and photography so I have enjoyed the grab and go ability of this telescope and its quick set-up.  I plan to use it for DSO astrophoto work now that I have my Go-to mount.

I enjoy planetary lunar and planetary viewing and with the planets being so small, I decided I wanted more light gathering and a longer focal length.  I finally decided to buy a SCT.  I wanted a telescope that was as portable as possible and one that would give me some decent aperture.  I had saved my money and sprung for the Celestron Edge HD 9.25 along with the CGEM go-to mount. ( I am retired and decided to indulge myself in a telescope package that would keep me busy for quite a while!)

The learning curve has been pretty steep for me but I am making progress.

I mention all of this because it seems that many of us tend to go down the same road as we learn more ... and want more.  There are many choices and certainly much cheaper ways to go than the choice I made.  Read about and talk about it and then you can decide what way suits you the best.  

I think the most important thing is to enjoy yourself along the way.  There is so much to learn  and many likeminded people here at SGL who have a lot to share.

I look forward to hearing more as you go along. 

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