Hello from Sicily!-- Choosing my first telescope !!help!!

[crcooney]

Good morning everyone,

Just to start out, a little about me:

I'm US Navy stationed in Sicily, Italy, originally from lower Alabama. I've always been an Astronomy geek, pointing out the stars and planets to friends at night....nothing beats a calm, windless, clean night out in the middle of the ocean. Other than what I've picked up over the years sky watching and reading, I've recently finished up my second semester of Astronomy so I have a decent understanding of the sky....but I know bare minimum about telescopes. I never owned my own telescope and it's been a while since I've looked through one. I did some research and almost bought an entry model celestron a few years bac, but didn't. I like to consider myself beyond beginner, so I'm looking for an intermediate level scope. I've done several telescope finders and seen several reviews.

On a budget of under $1,000, but would rather stay closer to $500. I want to see the moon yes, but more interested in the planets and deep sky objects. I will be traveling with it...by traveling, I mean driving about an hour or more to get to a nice dark field. With that I've eliminated a dob, as an option. I'm looking for something that will fit in my car, and a grab n' go/no hassle. My main question is does a newtonion/reflector type require much maintenance? like if I pack it up and drive to spot am I going to be fumbling with it in the dark, trying to get a clear picture? I really want something no-hassle and spend more time viewing than aligning. The reflectors get more aperture for the money over refraction type. Astrophotography is possible, once I get more comfortable and can afford it, ill get a mount, but other than that a simple iPhone snap will suffice. That brings me to my next point, I'd like to explore and would rather spend the money for a good view, than the motorized mounts. Are the motorized mounts really worth it? I also planned on getting a eye-piece/filter kit.

So, I've narrowed it down to the Celestron Omni XLT 120mm- the entire Omni line keeps popping up best reviewed/high rated lists; The Orion SkyView Pro 8". Like I said I also plan on getting a filter/eyepiece kit. Any other options or are these good?: no-hassle, decent deep sky/good planet view, $500-$1000 budget (including eye-piece kit), fit in a car. It's my first telescope, so I want the best bang for the buck, not a beginner scope. I'm an adept learner so I'm not scared off by non-computerized mounts (and I want to learn to use without it). Thank you for the help!

[Nyctimene]

Hello and welcome to this friendly forum!

It seems to me, that you have got enough patience, which is needed for this hobby/way of life. So you have successfully avoided the typical beginner's mistake, to rush and get a scope, that later will disappoint.

You mentioned, that you are at an "intermediate" level with this hobby; and you are interested in planets and Deep Sky. So I'd suggest a scope of "intermediate" aperture, as an 8". If you want to avoid hassles, why do you rule out a Dobson? In the 8" f/6 configuration, they fit easily in a car (OTA fixed on the back seats, rockerbox in the boot), are set up within minutes; no aligning, no electronics, just to enjoy viewing. There are several brands; the Skywatcher scopes are used from many members of this forum and get good reviews. They would also fit in your price range and leave enough money to get 2 or 3 good eyepieces, a RACI finder, Telrad/Rigel/RDF pointer and a good star map (Pocket Sky Atlas e.g.).

Enjoy the dark Sicilian sky (check with this),

https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/#zoom=4&lat=5759860&lon=1619364&layers=B0TFFFFF

and keep on asking here!

Stephan

[swag72]

Hi and welcome to SGL - Good to have you on board, I hope you enjoy your time here.

Look forward to seeing you around

[laudropb]

Hello and a warm welcome to the SGL.

[Floater]

Welcome. Hope you enjoy the hobby and the forum.

The SkyView Pro looks to be a good choice, although I have no experience of the scope.

[PeterCPC]

Hello and welcome.

Peter

[ronl]

Hi and welcome to the community, choosing a scope is not easy, as there are many types and sizes,

to get bang for your bucks the Dobsonion's are without doubt your best bet, they are easy to set up,

and easy to transport in a car, whichever you choose you will get good results, so good luck with whatever 

you get.

Clear Sky's.

[glowjet]

Hi and welcome to SGL, if your interests are going to lie with our local system and deep sky subjects, then a refractor will not really provide what you want. You will need a large aperture for the DSO and your choice of the 8" 4.5f mounted Newtonian will serve you better, however, the cheaper and more practical option, as already mentioned, would be the Skywatcher 200P Dob with a multitude of very satisfied users, quickly set up and by all accounts transports well. 

I personally would steer clear of eyepiece and filter kits, quite often many who have purchased these, tell you that, over time many of the eyepieces become unused, in favour of individual units that provide exceptional views, mostly purchased on user recommendations. It is better to buy eyepieces of known quality, that suit your scope, in magnification ranges that you are going find useful. The odd good quality filter for DSO work can be considered additions, at a later date, when you have gained a little more knowledge in this field, enjoy the forum

[cloudsweeper]

Hi - yes, a near-five inch frac would be a good 'scope, and would also give nice, fairly widefield views.  Easy to use, no alignment issues, portable.  I'd go for one on an alt-az mount myself, but that's a whole extra area of discussion!

Doug.

[crcooney]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

All the dobsonians I've seen looked like they were only for sitting on a table, So I figured that they would be sort of hard to carry out into a field and use! I'll look into it some more.

In the back of my mind, I guessed that about the filter/eyepiece kit. No different than a tool kit in that there's usually only 10 out of 50 tools that you use.

[Pete Presland]

Hi welcome to SGL from Pete in Bedfordshire :-)

[JamesM]

Hi and welcome to the forum. You could post your question over on the "Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice" as more people visit that section and so will be a way of securing a better consensus of what you need to get.

Clear skies in the meantime and hope you enjoy your stay here.

[sloz1664]

Hi and a warm welcome to the Lounge

Steve

[glowjet]

18 hours ago, crcooney said:

Thanks for the replies everyone.

All the dobsonians I've seen looked like they were only for sitting on a table, So I figured that they would be sort of hard to carry out into a field and use! I'll look into it some more.

In the back of my mind, I guessed that about the filter/eyepiece kit. No different than a tool kit in that there's usually only 10 out of 50 tools that you use.

Some of the very small aperture, short focal length Dob/Newtonians 4.5" or so, are designed for table top use, others with a longer fl are tripod mounted, anything with a larger mirror than this are mostly Alt/Az floor mounted systems, or in the case of the 8" Orion Skyview, which you quoted, comes supplied with an equatorial mount of sorts. Care should be taken here, as a good basic quality mount, is needed to handle a 1000fl 8" Newtonian, most are likely to go along at first base, with the Skywatcher EQ5 pro Synscan and this is not cheap. The last thing you want, is to purchase a complete scope and EQ mount where your view becomes like a wobbly jelly, with the slightest vibration.

As my fellow Mod, James has quite righty pointed out, you could well be better off reposting in the Equipment Help and Advice Section, rather than here in the Welcome section, you are likely to receive views from a wide cross section of forum members using Dob's and Refractors, enjoy

[BXRO]

If your just starting out and you want portabilityI would suggest a good pair of binoculars (15*70) mounted on a monopod with a pistol grip ball head. Later when you get some practical experience of star gazing you will be able to buy your telescope with confidence and still have a second viewing option

[Dave Lloyd]

Hi there, welcome.

[EWHB]

Hi there, welcome to the forum!

If you want to buy a good quality scope at a low price, then I would recommend either "SkyWatcher" or "Celestron" as these are good value for money and are very easy to use & start out with.

Hope this helps!  

[happy-kat]

Hi

At f8 the omni 120mm will show some chromatic aberration I think but not anything like the usual f5 refractor would on bright objects like Venus when observing, and a camera would also show it on bright stars like rigel, it might be a compromise between planet and DSO viewing (I only have a small refractor but I like how stars look). If the Celstron cg4 is like the skywatcher eq 3-2 mount members are using that just with dslr and camera lens to image plus motors. If you can get to an astro meet to see different gear and look through it that'll help your decision they look different in the flesh. I regularly read there is no one size fits all.

[cletrac1922]

Welcome crcooney Dobs are fun, with or without goto. From been from the land down under, I have a Skywatcher 10" collapsible dob. The mount and scope fit easily on the back seat of my SUV. Eyepieces are the secret to optical viewing. Most scopes come with a 10mm and 25mm eyepiece. Have purchased a couple of wide angle eyepieces, and use the 17mm the most. You mentioned about updating the mount at a later date. Recently went out and purchased a Skywatcher ED80 on a EQ5 mount. You really have to decide what going to use the scope for. Optical or astrophotography. With astrophotography, then you need a mount which has goto, to allow tracking of object trying to photograph.

[Ben the Ignorant]

I still remember the Milky Way and the southern constellations above the mountains in Sicily, especially the hook of Scorpius, but me and my brothers had only a puny refractor and toyish binoculars during these holidays. You are very lucky to be stationed there; the air is clean and dry, and light pollution is not bad.

As for telescope choice, I don't know. A 120mm refractor does not underperform compared to a 200mm reflector, especially when the sky is very dark, and if you drive an hour (is that much really needed?) into the sicilian countryside the sky will be very black.

A friend whose family owns a holiday-time house in Sicily says he can see the Triangulum galaxy with the eyes only, without stepping out of the village. The orange street lamps reduce the magnitude limit a little bit, but when you see M33 without scope or binocs the site is good enough. Still, a 200mm will show you more than a 120mm, unless you insist on image quietness. In that case the reduced sensitivity to turbulence favors the lens scope over the mirror scope.

 

[Charon]

Welcome aboard.

[Tigaroo]

My 8" Dob is easy to transport in the car quick to set up and loads of fun , it has a really good finder scope and I've added a telrad ....very affordable too.Just have to remember to pack my stool to sit on and good to go ! Its actually slightly easier than the 102mm cassegrain on eq mount that I bought as a grab and go!  Happy purchasing and clear skies 

[StormAurora]

Hello and welcome ? 

I agree with the 8" dobsonian, literally up and running in 2 minutes, excellent. It also gives stunning resolution on DSO. If you get a laser collimator it literally takes a couple of minutes to collimate, nice and easy.

A great scope. 

[Charic]

Welcome to the SGL.

A lot of the items your desire are instilled in a Dob, which you want to discount, then go on to ask if a Newtonian reflector is much trouble to maintain.
Considering a Dob and the Newtonian reflector are the very same, maybe study their merits a little more before you discount them.

If your stationed, how often will you have to move, some of these telescopes will take out your baggage allowance!
Is there not anyone else on the base or even a club you could start with funding from the Commander to acquire some equipment for others to use and share?

Binoculars are a great idea, I prefer low powered, wide angle for sweeping, but they won't produce any planetary detail. I also had a 5" Celestron on an EQ mount, which for me was a total waste of space, too much adjusting and setting changes, instead of just looking. The Dobsonian I own is not designed for photography, but as a visual tool, its a very popular and capable telescope, given  the right sky and conditions.There are 10" and larger versions, all providing more to an extent, but weight, size and portability are something you will have to contend with.

Best of luck with your choice.

 

[hippie]

Welcome to SGL.