To buy or not to buy?

[The Frog]

I am not new to astronomy but I am rubbish! I am looking to buy a good goto scope that is portable (my garden suffers badly from LP), goto (because I am rubbish), under £400 and to be used for observing only.

I got a 102 startravel years ago and tried it on its az mount, but as I said I am useless with it.

I am looking for any advice. I really want to see what's up there and was thinking a Skywatcher 127 maksutov cassegrain on a Synscan az would help.

Can anyone help and useless but hopeful star gazer?

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[Knighty2112]

A Goto will certainly help, but they are not all perfect. I had an expensive Celestron Goto about 6 years ago, which never really performed as to what I thought it would do. In the end I sold it, went away from astronomy for 2 years or so, then came back into it with a cheap 70mm Travelscope that slowly lured me back in over the last few years. Now waiting to get out with my ST120 on an AZ3 mount with slow motion controls to hunt for comet Catalina in the early morning.

[happy-kat]

Keep the ST102 it would compliment what s mak127 would show.

[The Frog]

Thanks for the comments. I will defo keep the startravel and get a dovetail for it.

I have been through some scopes and binos and always found the set up so time consuming .... that's why the goto. My binos are the only things that have survived.

Just need something to get me going in the little time I get.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[The Frog]

Intelliscope is pretty cool! No battery pack to worry about either.

Something to think about when I get my decking in my garden and cut of the street lights that flood my garden with lovely bright white led light.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[The Frog]

Thanks aeajr

The orion looks good..... only thing is portability. Definately something to think about when I get my garden sorted out.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[Peter Drew]

I think to really appreciate astronomy you need to confront the learning issue. We were all "rubbish" at one time, it just takes the patience and perseverance necessary to fully enjoy it. Goto still requires a certain level of knowledge for successful operation. 

[ronin]

Like Aejar I have the Meade's 2 of them. Not the size of the 127 but they are very easy to set up.

The ETX-80 being an f/5 refractor will have CA but never really noticed much on my 70. Equally I half expect it and whatever is present I just live with.

They are wide field, you would not get great magnification. The reality is expect a magnification equal to the diameter i.e. 80x.

I use 3 Starguiders as eyepieces, 5mm, 8mm and 25mm, they and everything else go into a trolly bag for transport

The 9 volt required for one is a bit of a pain, would be nice just to grab a £20 12 volt Li-ion battery, put it on the base with velcro and plug it straight in.

One Meade is the 105, Mak but the narrower field means bit more trouble to set up and I just use the 70.

[The Frog]

Peter Drew I do know a wee bit.

I try and figure out more everytime I go out. I just get lost star hopping. I have stumbled across some dso's (easy ones like andromeda and orion nebula), found planets, and split a few doubles.

It would just be nice to see something new each night and then find it when I know what I am looking for and I thought a goto would help.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[LukeSkywatcher]

Apart from learning constellations (not all of hem) and being able to spot them at a glance (which can take a long time)...........

The biggest learning curve ive experienced is going from manual scopes to Go-To. Granted its not a huge curve but its one that has to be learned quickly to be able to use the Go-To scope to its fullest.

Another big curve is collimation of a reflector scope. Again, once done is a piece of cake.

[The Frog]

I am pretty good with the northern circumpolar constellations and the winter constellations but summer I am lost..... probably because it never stops raining!

I have had a 6 inch bressier refractor... sold it (couldn't grasp the eq). Had a 130p... again couldn't get the eq. Got a 102 startravel on a az and started finding objects.

I will go back to manual I just want a bit of help to get me spurred on.

Just looking for some help to see if the goto 127 mak will be good along with my startravel to get me inspired.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[LukeSkywatcher]

The 127 is a popular enough choice because of price and it is Go-To.