A virgin needs help

[fatboystu]

Morning all, I am a complete novice to this but have always been fascinated what's up there etc, I have a budget of roughly £300, what in your opinion is the best scope for me, I would like to see planets, and the moon-moons of others, don't think I will go down the photography route as bit complicated I would think, I have a SLR though, so one day maybe, also not sure if automatic is the way to go either.

thanks and I look forward to advice from all

[Cornelius Varley]

Hello and welcome to SGL. The best £300 telescope is the Skywatcher Skyliner 200P . The mount is very simple to use, just place it on flat ground and your ready. no need for any alignment just point the telescope at the object you want to look at.

This video will give you an impression of the size and simplicity of the design. The 200P is slightly bigger than the reviewed 150P.

 

[cloudsweeper]

Welcome to SGL!

There is no one answer to your question.  There will be lots of advice, then you're going to have to take the plunge!

For a bit above your stated figure, there is:

https://www.harrisontelescopes.co.uk/acatalog/celestron-nexstar-127-slt-telescope.html#SID=42

Easy to use, very portable, shows planets, moons, clusters, even galaxies and nebulae (depending on conditions).  And the GoTo is a great feature for pointing you more or less right at the targets you seek.  (Only other thing to note: you'll need a decent power pack.)

Doug.

 

[Scott Brown]

I have only been doing this a couple of months but I totally agree with the above. I bought the Skywatcher Skyliner 200P as my first telescope because I wanted an easy to set up point and shoot scope that I wouldn't need to change as I progressed in the field, it is easy to move around and gives fantastic views, also it's easy to store together with the base when you point the scope up. I can also transport it around easy enough with the base in the boot and the scope along the back seat. If I get a clear sky I go out to my shed get my scope, place in an eyepiece and I'm viewing in 5 minutes. Also if it starts to rain the scope is lifted and put back in no time. It is bang on your budget and also you could save around £100 picking up a second hand one. The first one in the video is a 6 inch one and the one you will be looking at is 8 inch so it's just a little bit larger but a lot smaller than the 12 inch. It's a great telescope and have read a lot on here that it's one of the best " bang for buck " telescopes out there..... Hope this helps...... Scott 

[mikeDnight]

These are the serious scopes that could last you a lifetime!

 

skywatcher-explorer-150pl-eq3-2.html

skywatcher-skyliner-150p-dobsonian.html

[tooth_dr]

I can only agree with the above, buy something that is easy to lift and set up and put away when done.  I gradually upgraded to the point where my setup was not portable, and I used it a lot less as a result.

[JOC]

I'd never owned a telescope before, but posted a similar question with similar needs to yourself before Christmas - based on the advice received I ordered the one in my signature which is the 200P in collapsible easier to store format, but apparently they don't do it without the Goto, however, its the 200P in just another form and I've been fine with it.

[dweller25]

Hello Stu

Another vote for the skyliner 200P - an excellent scope for your needs

[kilix]

you said nothing about portability.
How far are you going to haul the scope? Is going just outside the door enough, or will you have to travel by car, or do you plan to backpack the scope and hike with it? Is your current location light polluted?

[fatboystu]

Portability not really a problem as have a Nissan medium sized van, so should be able to,put in that

[Cosmic Geoff]

You are going to get a variety of advice - as already evidenced above. In the end, you have to decide what flavour of kit suits you best.  The 200p Dobsonian/newtonian is certainly cheap for its aperture - but there is a reason for that - the mount is very basic (no slow motions, no single axis or powered tracking) and costs very little to manufacture.  To some degree the same could be said of the Newtonian OTA - asides from the precision mirror there is not much in it that looks expensive to manufacture. Nonetheless this is a classic design that performs well.  

For your stated interest  in planets, a small aperture will serve nearly as well as a large one much of the time, because of atmospheric conditions. The large apertures score on 'deep-sky' objects like galaxies that need light-gathering power. 

There is much to be said for starting out with a general-purpose telescope that is easy to move around, easy to store, and makes it easy to find objects in the sky. That may imply a fairly small telescope with a decent mounting.  Even a small telescope will show you lots - provided it is properly mounted and you can find the objects.  As has been said before, the best telescope is the one you will take outside and use.

Personally I think that a GoTo electronic mount offers a massive advantage, particularly if you are observing in a light-polluted area or want to find faint non-obvious objects. Without GoTo it is much harder to find faint objects than people tend to think.  The GoTo also automatically tracks objects once set up, something that other mount types other than motorised equatorials won't do. On the other hand, some people just don't get on with the technicalities of GoTo and prefer the simple point-and-look of a manual mount.

As a final comment, as a beginner you might want to avoid equatorial mounts, as beginners seem to find them more confusing than helpful.

[Pondus]

For that Budget +1 for 8"dob.

[Floater]

+2 for the 8"/200mm Dob.

My first scope was the 150 Dob and I like it. If I started again I'd buy the 200. Both are good value for money scopes.

[ronin]

Decide on the astrophotography side or not. If there is the idea that one day you will want to attach the DSLR then that in many aspects rules out the 200p dobsonian. They are a good visual scope but they are not an astrophotography scope.

I say this as you say

don't think I will go down the photography route as bit complicated I would think, I have a SLR though, so one day maybe,

So you mention astrophotography - you have considered it, you have a DSLR and I see a "maybe" in there. How about a bet: Within a year you will want to get an image of things you see. Most do.

Cannot see Brighton specific in this list but look for a club and pay a visit to one or two: http://www.astronomyclubs.co.uk/Clubs/Counties.aspx

[Pete G]

Greetings from a felling Brightonian.

You are very welcome to come and join us at Brighton Astro (https://brightonastro.com/) should it interest you...

Pete