Complete beginner looking for first scope

[NE1976]

Evening all i am new to this & appreciate this has probably been asked many times but could not find what i need by searching so will try to keep this short. I have always been interested in astronomy but never really explored my options to make the most of it, i fondly remember my father showing me Halley's comet when i was just a boy & often used his binoculars on my own growing up but now have kids of my own asking why they cant see craters on the Moon or Saturn's rings so for them & myself am looking to purchase our first scope so hoping some here with experience could possibly recommend a decent model as a starter scope. This will be used from home most of the time where light pollution is a problem so not looking to spend big money right now just enough to show the brightest objects in more detail.

Thanks in advance for any tips.

[alanjgreen]

Asked before, no, you must be the first!

whats the budget?

what are you wanting to see, planets, galaxies, double stars, nebula?

visual only or Astro photography?

any size restrictions?

manual control or goto motors?

 

[Davey-T]

I would say an Alt Az mounted GoTo refractor of some sort, something of reasonable focal length for Moon and planets.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/astro-fi-series-telescopes/celestron-astro-fi-90mm-refractor.html

Or similar without the electronic gizmos

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

 

 

Dave

[NE1976]

9 minutes ago, alanjgreen said:

Asked before, no, you must be the first!

whats the budget?

what are you wanting to see, planets, galaxies, double stars, nebula?

visual only or Astro photography?

any size restrictions?

 

Hi Alan & thanks for your prompt reply,

Money is tight right now so just looking for a basic scope that could see the moon especially & close planets in more detail, currently only own a set of 12x50 binoculars which don't see much at all. Visual only for now but im sure our first scope will be upgraded very soon once the eyes are opened, i see loads of great looking deals on ebay ect but really would prefer to pay a little extra for something i know will do what i want.

[alanjgreen]

for visual, best bang for buck is 150p dobsonian

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

mount rotates on its base and the tube is manually moved up and down.

6" aperture will show brightest objects well. Moon, Jupiter and Saturn will be easily seen. Some planet detail and a few moons will be seen too.

Can't see more for £200!

They are easy to sell as well, so you can get 2/3 back or look for one second hand is also a possibility, people look after their scopes so bad ones are rare.

[Davey-T]

4 minutes ago, NE1976 said:

Hi Alan & thanks for your prompt reply,

Money is tight right now so just looking for a basic scope that could see the moon especially & close planets in more detail, currently only own a set of 12x50 binoculars which don't see much at all. Visual only for now but im sure our first scope will be upgraded very soon once the eyes are opened, i see loads of great looking deals on ebay ect but really would prefer to pay a little extra for something i know will do what i want.

If this is your first scope I would avoid EBay and purchase from FLO, the folks linked to from the top of the page,  very helpful and understanding company one of the few who realise that people sometimes don't know what they want until they try it and then want to return it 

Dave

[Sarahm78]

Hi and welcome 

I am also in the same situation looking for my first scope and you won't get better advice than off these guys/gals :-) I have a 5year old son who I am also wanting to introduce to astronomy. So far the top of my list is the skywatcher 150 dobsonian and then the skywatcher heritage 130.

Do not worry you are in safe hands ? 

 

[alanjgreen]

Here are some reviews (first light is the term used for the first time you use it!)

 

[NE1976]

Thank you both what a great place this is, i was looking at the AstroMaster70EQ without the gadgets before signing up here as fits the bill perfectly until i get accustomed to using a scope then hopefully upgrade in time for the autumn nights. Would love to have it with the gadgets maybe my first upgrade but the 150p dobsonian also looks great, blown away by the level of support i have received in the short time since joining here. Thanks to all.

[alanjgreen]

EQ mounts are not the best for visual use - they are designed for photograpy. (Astromaster70EQ - the name tells us thats its on an EQ mount and the aperture is 70mm - at this price point it will be a very basic wobbly mount and 70mm isn't a lot)

ALT-AZ mounts are best for visual.

If you want a REFRACTOR (traditional looking scope, they cost more by the way) then they are best on ALT-AZ for visual use. Davey-T above linked to a couple of Alt-Az versions.

Aperture is the key, the bigger the aperture the more light that can be gathered. more light in the scope = more light (brighter image) in your eye. 70mm aperture will show much less than 90 and 130 and 150mm at your eye. The sizes dont sound much different but mirrors are circles and the area increase is huge.

If price is an issue then REFLECTOR scopes are cheaper so you get more aperture for your money.

 

If your budget is £100, then this is the best scope for that money

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/heritage/skywatcher-heritage-100p-tabletop-dobsonian.html

You stand it on the garden table (none of your money is wasted on a crappy mount, its all gone on the 100mm aperture)

Sarahm78 referred to the heritage 130 (130mm aperture) - this is priced in-between the 150p and the 100p

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/heritage/skywatcher-heritage-130p-flextube.html

(10 customer reviews posted on the linked page)

 

 

Hope that helps.

Alan

 

[alanjgreen]

NE1976,

FLO have 2 of these scopes in their offers section

 

they have a 30 day no quibble return policy

 

[NE1976]

Thanks to all who replied i have purchased the Skywatcher Heritage-100P which looks ideal for a starter & love the fact it could be set up anywhere quickly so may well be one i keep when ready to upgrade. Thanks to all for the friendly welcome & good advice, i will let all know how we get on when it arrives.

[Sarahm78]

Congratulations, let us know how you get on

I am so jealous how you made a quick decision ;-) wish I could lol

[Astro Imp]

You have made a wise choice which will give you and your kids a lot of pleasure.

Don't forget when/if you have problems you know where to come.

ps Welcome to the greatest forum on the web.

[alanjgreen]

Good stuff NE1976!

Hopefully you will get some clear nights to try it out.

but DO set it up in the daytime, align the finder with the main scope and test out the eyepiece combinations on a distant TV Ariel or similar - it's much harder in the dark.

[happy-kat]

Turn Left at Orion is a great book to use to get started with.

Stellarium is brilliant planetarium software. It's free and brilliant.

[Cosmic Geoff]

9 hours ago, NE1976 said:

Thanks to all who replied i have purchased the Skywatcher Heritage-100P which looks ideal for a starter & love the fact it could be set up anywhere quickly so may well be one i keep when ready to upgrade. Thanks to all for the friendly welcome & good advice, i will let all know how we get on when it arrives.

A sensible choice, and congratulations on making a quick decision. An easy to manage telescope is good. Now that you have a telescope, you can find out for yourself about the conflicting issues associated with equipment and observing. Opinions do differ in the amateur community about what equipment is best and what amateur astronomy is about.  If you like the telescope but not the mounting, you could probably transfer it to a different mounting at a later date.

If you are thinking that your telescope is of small aperture, and  if you have a spare hour, check out the threads here about what telescope is thought best for planetary observing, regardless of cost. It might be an eye-opener. 

[laudropb]

A nice scope. I am sure you will be happy with it.

[Charic]

One of the issues you may encounter with your new scope is your city's bright lights. Get away from these and the scope will show an  improvement over what you can see from a back garden.
Another issue you may not have considered just yet is our Summertime,  very long hours of twilight, it does not get dark,  and your lucky to see even the major Stars, so the scope may get used less during the evenings against regular use during the cold freezing winter nights, when the skies and seeing conditions allow? 

These are  just two of the problems outside of purchasing a telescope that I have  discovered, since owning a scope. Their not often discussed prior to ownership,  its something you find out after the event!

The fact that you have already bought your scope helps us because your task is complete, but not over? Collimation needs to be learnt, setting up the finder scope ( best during daylight)  further eyepiece selection. 
Keep asking questions  if your in doubt of anything, someone here will have the experience or the answer you need.

If you had not already bought your 1st telescope, and based on your original question, I would have suggested the Skyliner 150P, its portable enough, to get away from the city lights (by car) I own the 200P (still portable) and both scopes will do justice under the right conditions. @Floater will clearly vouch for the 150P and if your ever passing through  Elgin City, there's a 200P  always ready  and setup to view!

Binoculars, if you still have the 12x50s. get them mounted or rested on something to keep them stable, this will improve their steadiness, giving a sharper image, but sadly, unless you have the largest of objectives, you wont see much, if any, planetary details, although the Moon is quite impressive, but more impressive through a 200P . I have 15x70 and see no details on Jupiter, that's why I need a scope. But for viewing the Milky way and all the other Stars and constellations, I prefer low powered  binoculars, such as my 8x40's. These get used the most.

If/When you get aperture fever?  the desire to want a bigger aperture, to see  even more!  consider  the 150 and upwards, its a simple ,no nonsense and affordable  telescope.  If you do happen to pass my way  bring the 100P for comparison?

[rockystar]

good choice. I think, if/when you decide you want something bigger, you'll probably keep this as well, as something you can take away with you

enjoy it, welcome to the forum, and let us know how you get on during your first session

[Alan64]

10 hours ago, NE1976 said:

Thanks to all who replied i have purchased the Skywatcher Heritage-100P which looks ideal for a starter & love the fact it could be set up anywhere quickly so may well be one i keep when ready to upgrade. Thanks to all for the friendly welcome & good advice, i will let all know how we get on when it arrives.

Hello,

I have a Zhumell Z100, which is essentially the same telescope as the Orion SkyScanner 100mm and the Sky-Watcher Heritage 100P...

The three telescopes, all 100mm f/4 Newtonians, have a focal-length of only 400mm.  They're primarily for low-power wide-field views, but that hasn't stopped me from ramping up the magnification, and where observing the Moon and the planets is most beneficial.  You will need at least a 2x barlow to combine with the eyepieces that will come with the kit.  This is how the Moon will appear, and as my camera had snapped the shot through the 10mm included with my kit...

Not bad, as I do see some craters, but you'll want to get closer, and a 2x barlow will help with that.  A 2x barlow will transform the telescope from a fast f/4 to a moderate f/8; the latter being better suited for lunar and planetary, as well as for double-stars, globular clusters, etc. 

At one point, I barlowed the 10mm with my 2.8x Klee, for a simulated 3.6mm(111x), and managed to get a closer shot of the Moon...

Therefore it is possible to reach the higher powers necessary, and with a barlow, perhaps even a 3x which will transform the telescope into a slow f/12, and ideal for your observing interests.

Enjoy the new kit, and clear skies to you always.

[Nyctimene]

Next things you'll need are a red torch (dimmable), and some star maps. Widely used by the members of this forum is the Pocket Sky Atlas (Roger W. Sinnott from Sky and Telescope designed this very useful field companion); very recommendable.

If you are on a tight budget, you could as well use some freeware stellar atlas, e.g. the Torres Tri Atlas (3 versions, set to 9, 11, and 13 magnitude limit), or Toshimi Taki's 8.5 mag Star Atlas. Stellarium was named above; it's a must!

Have fun with your new scope; little scopes get a lot of use, when you have not enough time or energy to schlep your bigger gear out.

Stephan

 

[Charic]

2 hours ago, Alan64 said:

Hello,

I have a Zhumell Z100, which is essentially the same telescope as the Orion SkyScanner 100mm and the Sky-Watcher Heritage 100P...

 

The scope looks huge from this angle......