New to astronomy looking for guidance

[Adamchiv]

Hi, ive had a casual interest in astronomy for a while but I am a complete novice, Ive never used a telescope and have mainly observed things like the space station with the naked eye. Ive suddenly become fascinated with the idea of viewing the planets and lunar surface with a telescope. My budget is around 150-200 pounds and have been looking at the celestron astromaster 130 eq. My only real objective is to have a view of jupiter thats clear enough to see the two prominent white cloud bands on jupiter (possibly the eye too), saturn and its rings, the other planets and their colours, andromeda (hoping to see the shape of it and its spirals) and a nice contrasted view of the moons craters. Any advice would be very welcome and appreciated regarding; equipment needed, light conditions (I live in a built up urban area typically with bad light pollution) lenses, and anything else im missing, as I say, im a total novice but very excited about the possibilities. Thanks, Adam

[MARS1960]

For the money i would be torn between the SW 150P Dob or the SW Explorer 130.

[Putaendo Patrick]

If your interest is mainly lunar and planetary observation, I would look for a telescope with a longer focal length. The Astromaster is 650mm, something in the region of 900 or 1000mm would make it easier to obtain higher magnifications.

One of the best all round telescopes is probably a 150mm aperture reflector on a Dobsonian mount, such as:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-150p-dobsonian.html

However, for planetary and lunar, many people like a refractor which can provide sharper views:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-astromaster-series/astromaster-90az-telescope.html

The above is on a simple Alt-azimuth mount. Personally I would recommend this over the cheap Equatorial mounts which often lack in stability and precision.

[Adamchiv]

Hi thanks for your response, is the dobsonian one suitable for outside? Im a little confused as I have no idea whats what etc also is the 90az as powerful as the 130eq (or better than) im also hoping to see nebulas, kind of an all round deal. But yeah very confused about the mounting of the dobsonion one lol

[laudropb]

The Dob is on a very simple mount and is totally manual. It takes very little practice to master and for all round observing is definitely the best choice I'm my humble opinion.

[MARS1960]

Yes and TBH if i wanted a scope with your budget solely for observing the moon and planets it would be a big Dobsonian. All i ever read about during my 6 months of research was "the best scope you will ever buy is the one you will use the most" and "simple,simple,simple".

[Charic]

This link gives a guide to the scale of the telescopes offered by Sky-Watcher. I have their 8" 200P version. It offers more  visually than the 6" 150P  yet is lighter and easier to use  than the 10" 250P or 122 300P versions, and the 8" 200P does not require very expensive corrected eyepieces to get the best from the scope, all you really need,  to get the best is some patience, and really dark skies.

[Adamchiv]

Thanks for the advice guys, I understand now having seen further images of the skywatcher I now realise how it stands. It looks huge, is it ok for transporting to different locations frequently? My main problem will be the terrible light pollution so will have to head for the hills. Unless theres a way of combating this?

[Charic]

The scope separates from the Dobsonian mount for transportation in a car, yet I find it easy enough to lift my 200P into the garden with no issues.

As for light pollution, I just hide in the shadows or observe from within my "Dob-tent". There is light pollution all around my location, yet if I shield my eyes, I can see stuff up there. M31 Andromeda is just visible, but nothing much to look at, just the fact its visible in the first place. Yet viewed from a darker site, its as if I own a bigger better telescope, the darkness does make the difference!

[Adamchiv]

Thanks, thats good to hear. Would I get a really nice image with the 150p? The 200 seems a bit out of my budget, what can I expect from this telescope? Also, it looks very simple compare to some of the others I looked at, is it lacking in certain features? Thanks

[Charic]

yes........it lacks all that faffing about with an equatorial mount 

The images will be small, I'd love to see Jupiter twice its scale now, and  don't expect Hubble quality deep Space Objects either. The image scale grows slightly with the size of the primary mirror. There are three Moon images in my gallery taken from this telescope, just basic but ok for my needs. A manual Dobsonian was never designed for Planetary work!

 The Moon is just mind blowingly huge and so close  under extreme magnifications, but you need to keep up with it, which is a simple task, just push the scope in the right direction?

Jupiter, is truly a delight under good conditions. I've seen Jupiter many times, it looks good, but locationally, when conditions allow, ie perfect, Jupiter is more than stunning, especially when I last saw a clear cut shadow of the Moon Io, gliding across the Planets surface, its those nights that are really special.

The Stars and Planets won't be leaving soon, so while your budget may be limited this Month, it could increase a little next Month, and more thereafter?  The 8" 200P really is a good buy.

[Adamchiv]

Thanks thats very encouraging, I cant explain how excited I am by what im reading, to see these amazing objects is mind blowing to me I cant wait. Im gonna go for it and buy the 200p, I'll only be pining for it later on anyway. Couple of further questions, can you hook one of these up to a star finder/motor thingy (forgive the uneducated terminolagy) not a deal breaker but just thought id ask. Also is it easy to view the ISS with a telescope for a good period of time? Thanks for all your helpful responses guys and sorry to those who I didnt respond to

[MARS1960]

Thanks thats very encouraging, I cant explain how excited I am by what im reading, to see these amazing objects is mind blowing to me I cant wait. Im gonna go for it and buy the 200p, I'll only be pining for it later on anyway. Couple of further questions, can you hook one of these up to a star finder/motor thingy (forgive the uneducated terminolagy) not a deal breaker but just thought id ask. Also is it easy to view the ISS with a telescope for a good period of time? Thanks for all your helpful responses guys and sorry to those who I didnt respond to

No, but they sell goto dobs but they are expensive in comparison.

There is a goto add on available but i think it's over £500.

As for ISS with a telescope, damn that thing is fast

[BritAngler]

Waiting a short while to get the 200p is a good decision, it will give you more light-grabbing potential than the 150 and isn't too much bigger. One thing that has been missed out in the thread - those 'scopes are Newtonians (the Dobsonian bit only refers to the mount) and you will need to collimate the 'scope regularly. For this, you will need to buy a collimating cap and Cheshire eyepiece. There are hundreds of threads on this forum about collimating plus vids on youtube

I have the Equatorial version of that scope (f5 instead of f6), and will shortly be making a dobsonian mount & bar* for quick grab-and-go sessions.

* I'm sure I can find space for a couple of optics for shorts and room inside for a few cans

[Adamchiv]

Hi thanks for the advice, I will look into that, im swaying towards the 200p dobsonian but dont have a lot of room so im not 100% on it yet. The 150p would be better for storage but I dont wanna miss out on the deeper viewings of the 200p

[Adamchiv]

Thanks for the info, bit pricey for me, the 200p is as far as I can stretch, im hoping I can learn to find objects manually and just use my eyes, shame but if its superior telescope then id rather do that.

[RT65CB-SWL]

Thanks, thats good to hear. Would I get a really nice image with the 150p? The 200 seems a bit out of my budget, what can I expect from this telescope? Also, it looks very simple compare to some of the others I looked at, is it lacking in certain features? Thanks

The late John Dobson's philosophy... a simple lightweight telescope design to bring amateur astronomy to the masses on a sidewalk in a light polluted city sky.

[Adamchiv]

Thanks, thats excellent advice, it reminds me very much of custom pc building, you always want the latest and greatest. Think im gonna be sensible and go for the skywatcher explorer 130eq so I can get about with it, get me out there type of thing. Then if I really get into it I can save for the 200p, thanks again

[Alan64]

The 150mm f/8 on a Dobson-mount would be ideal for observing within the solar system; the Moon and the planets, along with many deep-sky objects.  However, to view the galaxy in Andromeda, a telescope with a focal-length between 500mm and 750mm would be preferable, and so to have a better chance at viewing the galaxy in its entirety, and within a wide-field 2" ocular.   The 200mm f/6 "Dobsonian" is of the same focal-length as the 150mm f/8: 1200mm.  Aside from that, the following diagram might help in determining from which of those two to choose...

The increase in light-gathering area is readily apparent, in addition to increased resolution.  The 7mm circle in red denotes the diameter of the dark-adapted pupil of the human in youth, with same decreasing to about 4-5mm in advanced age. 

Our eyes are weak, and among the weakest within the animal kingdom.  Telescopes serve as extensions of our light-gathering pupils, to see more brightly and farther away.  Telescopes are, therefore, "pupils" in and of themselves.  The question remains, just how large of a "pupil" would you like?

Then, there's this saying of old...

If you choose the 150mm, you may forever wonder what the 200mm might've been like.

[Alan64]

Thanks, thats excellent advice, it reminds me very much of custom pc building, you always want the latest and greatest. Think im gonna be sensible and go for the skywatcher explorer 130eq so I can get about with it, get me out there type of thing. Then if I really get into it I can save for the 200p, thanks again

I like the 130mm Newtonians a lot, the f/5 and the f/7, on the EQ2 mount, especially the f/5, however I could only get one by purchasing it under another retailer's brand, and I'd rather not.  Although, It is the same kit after all.

A 130mm is quite capable in its own right, and that combined with the kit's portability makes for a most sensible choice.  The EQ2 will serve as a basic introduction to the workings of most any equatorial that may be acquired in future. 

[Adamchiv]

Thats an excellent post, thanks, i keep deciding on one, then the other, are those 200p dobsonions always floating about on the net or do they get scarse? Ive got to wait until late feb before I can buy one. The more I look at them the more I realise what a serious telescope they are. One thing I did notice however was the moons craters arent quite as sharp an image or close as I imagined, seems very similar to the 130 scopes. Also seems a but watery if that makes sense, but I presume that is normal. (Watched youtube clips)

[Adamchiv]

Thanks for everyones superb advice and informative, friendly responses. I have decided that im going to go for the Skyliner 200p dobsonion, should be getting it within a week or two as have a little extra funding now. I cant tell you all how excited I am to observe space close up, looking forward to saturn and the andromeda galaxy very much. Found some local societys to go to and have some good dark sky spots in mind where I will reslly go to work on the nebulas and galaxies. I really hope the light pollution isnt going to stop my planetary observing during my home sessions, it will be a fun challenge though im sure, plus the lunar observing will be a real treat no doubt. Thanks again guys youve been great, I look forward to discussing my results and raising topics in the near future. 

[sandystone93]

I am also new to astronomy,  I got a celestron astromaster 114 as a gift.  it has a nice tripod and a couple of lenses.  I have only had the chance to use it a couple of times due to cloud cover, however I have seen some really nice views of the moon and some nice star clusters. I am anxiously waiting to check out some other stuff that I have been looking for.  By all means if you have access to the internet and a printer download a sky map and print it, I use this one http://skymaps.com/downloads.html I don't know if there are others or not, but this one helps me. 

Cheers,

Sandy

[Adamchiv]

Thankyou aeajr, very very helpful again. ?

[Cheviot]

Hi Adamchiv,

I was very much in your position a couple of months ago. Started off looking for a scope for my son for Christmas but soon realised I wanted one we both would use. As you've seen just in this thread it's a difficult choice. My budget was the same as yours up to about £200 but one scope kept getting mentioned and praised a lot - the skyliner 200p dob. In the end I took the plunge and went for it.

I wasn't disappointed!

I've only had it out a limited amount of time but have found it easy to use and although it is big it is a lot lighter than you would think and splits in two within seconds. On my first nights viewing I set it up in the garden on a very cold night and as I had read about letting the scope cool down for half an hour or so was about to go back inside but thought I'll have a quick look at the moon. I looked through the eyepiece for a couple of seconds then took a step back and had a bit of a moment, what a great sight. On my second viewing I explored the moon a bit more then pointed the scope towards Jupiter and was looking at it in the eyepiece within seconds. Another wow moment to see Jupiter and three of its moons (I think Io was hidden behind Jupiter).

Being an absolute beginner I'm sure what ever scope I had bought would probably of impressed me but I'm very happy with my choice and I'm sure you will be.