help in choosing a telescope

[hakika]

Hi all

Im currently living on a farm in south Africa with NO light pollution  so am super excited to get our telescope up and running and to embark on a hobby I have waited to start...well forever. I have a choice of two telescopes and was hoping for some advice on which one might suit us better, the one is a Bresser skylux 70/700 and the other a celestron nexstar 80GTL. im only just starting out and the information im getting on both don't mean a lot to me, would really appreciate some knowledge. Thanks in advance 

[Dave Lloyd]

Hi and welcome. These scopes look very similar but the Celestron being a goto will make it easier to find stuff if you're just starting out.

Pretty envious of those skies.

[hakika]

Thanks Dave. yes im super excited  I Just have to fight of the millions of insects that will surely want a piece of the action hopefully I will be to engrossed to notice. Thanks again for answering 

[happy-kat]

The Celestron has bigger aperture at 80mm.

[Ben the Ignorant]

45 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

The Celestron has bigger aperture at 80mm.

Yes, even if your skies are excellent the larger scope is always more desirable. You'll see more stars and more texture in nebulas. More graininess in globular clusters, better Moon detail, some extra detail on the distant planets. More solar grain, too, if you exploit your scope by the daytime.

[baggywrinkle]

If you have good dark skies then the 80mm will grab just that bit more light. However one is an F10 and the other F11. These would be good for planetary, lunar and some brighter DSO's they have a narrow field of view. However you have skies full of beautiful wide field areas and I would suggest maybe a 130mm reflector. Both Celestron and Skywatcher do versions. These are good all rounder's and with a faster focal ratio so a wider field of view and more suited to wide field sweeps.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Celestron-31145-Newtonian-Reflector-Telescope/dp/B0007UQNNQ has some detail, I am not suggesting you buy via them.

[Glimpse111]

Hi Hakika,

If you only need to choose from the two you mentioned then definitely go for Nexstar 80 as you will be able to see alightly more. Considering where you live space doesn't seem to be an issue so why don't you look for a dobsonian if you really want to see the wonders of the sky. Its cheap and will ahow you more. Do you have an astronomy club nearby? Visit the club and have a look through different scopes before buying one.

cheers!

[laudropb]

Hello and a warm welcome to the SGL. I too would go for the larger aperture.

[LukeSkywatcher]

South Africa,NO light pollution...............

Go for the biggest aperture you can afford. With NO  light pollution.......the aperture doesnt even have to be too big. 80mm would be fine. Upwards of 80mm (even 90mm) would be better.