About a new scope

[Ray02]

N

Hi again Ray.

If you are living within the UK, there is this... http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/256835-man-on-the-moon-telescope/#entry2809741

...for £59.00 GBP you have not lost much money when aperture fever strikes.

I started off with a Tasco 40x refractor and was literally 'over the Moon' when I first saw the Moon, Jupiter & Saturn + solar projection of sunspots.

No pal, im from Lithuania, but thanks

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[Ray02]

Refractors vs. Reflectors. Better? Doesn't really matter.

Ford vs. Chevy

Vanilla vs. Chocolate

For smaller grab and go I would think refractors are more popular but they both work as grab and go. Define grab and go for YOU.

Travel Scope?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cameras/dp/B001TI9Y2M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447878983&sr=8-1&keywords=celestron+travel+scope+70

Binoculars are my first choice for grab and go.

This is my grab and go telescope

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Meade-0805-04-21-ETX80-Telescope-Package/dp/B000BTPVHW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1447879015&sr=8-2&keywords=ETX+80

Same telescope in a different package

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjsD69fPg6Y

What do you want in a grab and go scope? In the car? On an airplane? Walk 100 feet from your garage?

At the budget level we are discussing and for an entry level telescope it really doesn't matter. Telescopes gather light, concentrate it and send it to an eyepiece. They all work.

Refractors are virtually maintenance free but they can introduce color aberations based on how they work. Reflectors need to be aligned, collimated, from time to time but it is pretty easy to do. They don't introduce color aberrations.

All the BIG telescopes, like Hubble, are reflectors because it is far less expensive to build reflectors than refractors as they get larger. There are also SCTs and Maks. (don't ask, beyond your budget)

At this point and at your budget level I would not really worry about which technology is better. But I would ask what grab and go means to you. Is it size? Is it weight? What would prevent you from taking a telescope, putting it in the car and going. You already have binoculars and they are the ultimate grab and go tool.

I would focus on something that will work for you within your budget.

Well it doesnt matter hat weight if its not 100 killos, the size would matter and yeah mostly I check the sky in my countryside house

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[Ray02]

But for now ill try getting better with my binos and maybe later ill get a scope

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[Ray02]

Good plan. And don't forget all the binocular resource I posted on the first page of this diccussion. You haven't even started to exploit what you have.

Yeah thats right, for now i have enough to do, best regards

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[Knighty2112]

Good plan.   And don't forget all the binocular resource I posted on the first page of this diccussion.  You haven't even started to exploit what you have.

Best plan I think. When I started off in astronomy I learnt most of the major constellations just by eye first. Never had any binos until much later on, and when I did get my first telescope (a 3 inch refractor) it greatly helped me to navigate and find things better. The stand for the scope was not the best in the world, but when you're a kid you make best of what you've got!

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Refractors focus more light into the Airy disc than Newtonians, Maksutovs or Schmidt Cassegrains, as the latter designs have a brighter first diffraction ring due to the secondary obstruction, and so refractors produce generally sharper images. Refractors can be great grab and go scopes. They offer stunning wide field views of star fields, comets and brighter DSO's, as well as sharp high power views of the moon and planets. They also cool quickly, don't suffer from tube currents and have no collimation issues. Inch for inch the refractor is superior. There are drawbacks though; cheaper end refractors are generally achromatic and so display a small amount of false colour (chromatic aberration). The longer the refractor the less evident the CA. It is not a fault though but just the nature of the beast, and is only usually visible around the limb of the moon or very bright stars or planets. Apochromatic and ED refractors use special glass or crystal lenses that all but eliminate chromatic aberration, they are excellent but are quite pricey, ranging from several hundred pounds to several thousand.

The Newtonian however has the advantage of greater light grasp, so DSO's will appear brighter. They are however large and generally cumbersome, and although good value for money, they aren't really a true grab and go scope. Personally I wouldn't entertain a Newt of less than 6" (150mm) aperture, and the longer the better, F8 and over.

Maksutoves offer sharper images than Schmidt's but both designs literally take hours to become thermally stable and so should be kept as near to outside temperatures as possible. Smaller apertures are easy to transport and a 5" (127mm) or 6" (150mm) Mak can make a nice grab and go scope, but they are narrow field instruments.

For a grab and go I'd prefer a 80mm to 150mm refractor to any other design of scope. And I'd go for quality over aperture every time. Today ED apochromats are cheaper than ever before and if you can stretch to one as a grab and go, or even as a main scope, I doubt you'd regret it. Skywatcher ED Pro's are excellent performers and relatively cheap.

Mike

I would agree that an 80mm frac is a great grab and go instrument for wide field, and likewise for a 4". However, I would carry my 8" SCT out ANY time as grab and go scope over a 150mm refractor (certainly the F/8 beasts). The light weight (4.7 kg) and compact size (45cm length) means it is easier to handle, needs a much lighter tripod, and grabs almost twice the light of the 150mm (and 4x compared to the 4"). My C8 never takes hours to come to thermal equilibrium, I just store it in an unheated garage. If I do not, 30 minutes is usually enough. Apochromatic refractors of the 5-6" size class cost an arm and a leg, and the much lighter Newtonian design will give more aperture at a fraction of the cost. I have looked through Olly's TEC-140, which is a gorgeous instrument, but hardly grab and go. His 20" Dobson (not at all grab and go) costs about the same as the TEC OTA, but gives views of DSOs that blow those of the TEC completely out of the water. M101 and M51 seen through a 20" Dobson from a dark site is amazing.

Similarly, my little APM 80mm F/6 triplet gives very sharp star images, and lovely wide-field views. Having said that, for fainter stuff, and planets, the 8" SCT is far far better. Horses for courses, as ever

[Ray02]

Hey guys ive been checking everything you said and well when im stargazing what should i do? Just watch the stars and etc.? How should i make more interesting? Because just to watch them i think is too boring

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[Astro Imp]

It's not a case of just watching the stars, there is so much more to this hobby than that. There are lots of different objects up there that deserve our attention. Just the solar system could take a lifetime of observation and study. As you move further from home there are a variety of objects in our galaxy, ranging from simple and colourful double/multiple stars, some of which are very challenging to star clusters, nebulae of various kinds and interesting asterisms. Going further afield you will find distant galaxies. The important thing is to not only observe but learn what you are looking at.

Good luck but if you find this boring then perhaps this hobby is not for you.

[Mak the Night]

Hey guys ive been checking everything you said and well when im stargazing what should i do? Just watch the stars and etc.? How should i make more interesting? Because just to watch them i think is too boring

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Wait until you see the Moon at 200x, or the rings of Saturn, or the Orion Nebula, or the cloud belts of Jupiter inter alia ... then you'll be hooked and want to spend ridiculous amounts of money on more & better equipment. Next you'll want to view as many of the Messier Objects as you can. But by then it's too late and you're an astronomy junkie.    

[Ray02]

Yeah thanks ill do it

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[Knighty2112]

Get up early in the morning at around 4:30am if you can and look for the three planets in the morning sky (this view is from my location in the UK) and check out Mars (small but but red), Venus (extremely bright, in fact the brightest object in the sky apart from the moon and the sun), and then baggsy a look at the current Jewel in the sky Jupiter. If they don't get you hooked nothing will (apart from maybe Saturn, but that's close to the sun for now and not easily seen). See picture below for area of the sky to view them from.