Spotting scope for astronomy

[devdusty]

I am thinking of buying a 20_60 x 80 spotting scope for astronomy. I have tried using a 90 mm refractor on an equatorial

 mount without success. I could never work out how to move it in ra and declination.  Also I couldn't, align the finder scope with the main telescope.

A spotting scope seems easy to operate on a tripod and also the image is the correct way up.

I would appreciate any comments or thoughts about this. Chris.

[Merlin66]

Chris,

In all honesty if you want to progress in astronomy, you'll have to bite the bullet and get used to the EQ mounts.

I understand your initial concerns, but believe me it all comes together with practise, and practise.

Aligning the finder is best done during the day with the telescope pointing to a known distant object........

[Paul73]

Hi Chris

I struggle with EQ mounts too. You do get used to it. But, why bother? Too complicated in my book!

All of my scopes are on simple up/down left/right Alt/Az mounts. Very easy.

You can use spotting scopes. And, you will enjoy yourself. But, you will soon find it limiting.

Once you have chosen your scope, you can ask advice on this forum re which Alt/Az mount suits the scope and your needs.

Paul

PS. If you have any imaging aspirations, you will need a driven Eq mount.

 

 

[kilix]

if you find EQ mount unusable, I would advice going the Alt-Az mount way.
For the same amount of money (or less) as a decent spotter costs, you can have a well-known, well regarded ST-80 on an AZ-3 mount. Even easier to operate than a spotting scope because of slow-mo controls (at least the spotter I operated a few times didn't have slo-mo, which was really annoying for astro use). And optics are quite good. Or for a few bucks more you can have the ST102, which has a bit more light grasp. If I were you, I would give it a try, worst case scenario, you sell the scope for 30% less than you bought it, which is not a terribly big deal. They tend to keep their price in second hand market quite well. But I'll bet, that you won't do that, you'll love it

If you struggle with mirrored image, you can always purchase an erecting prism for like 50$, but I guess you won't need that.

ST80 AZ3 image here
 

note: I went and adviced cheap, but still quite decent astro scopes on AZ mounts. Your scope selection may wary according to what you want from the scope.

[John]

The optics in spotters contain lots of prisms and quite a few have cemented objective lenses rather than the air spaced ones that most astro scopes use. Neither of these factors give an optimum experience with used for astronomical viewing.

I do have a decent quality spotter but I only use it for the occasional glimpse of the moon.

An astro alt-azimuth mount may be the answer for you - they are more straightforward than equatorial mounts and their motions are a simple "up-down-left-right".

 

[ronin]

You can get an Alt/Az mount that removes the fun/frustrations of an EQ.

However a reasonable spotting scope is a fair idea, not overly sure about the zoom aspect - I have a small Bushnell and I have the idea that the zoom bit is the weak aspect. Equally the whole scope was not costly. So will depend on how much you intend to pay. Always the main aspect.

Should be fine for astronomy within reason/limittions, lets face it we use binoculars a lot and I use the same for general sky viewing as I use for walking round an RSPB reserve.

Main concern is what they will show. They will not be up to the rings of Saturn, doubt that Jupiters bands will appear either. Reason is simple = they were not designed for that purpose, sparrow 50 yards away Yes, Jupiter a few million miles away No.

I picked up a Bresser 102S, nice wide scope that may be an alternative scope but that means buying one to find out, also means getting an Alt/Az mount (although they may come with one from a retailer). ANy clubs to visit? Someone may have something that is still an astronomical scope but fits what you want.

http://www.astronomyclubs.co.uk/

[Knighty2112]

As per everyone else an ALt-Az mount is much easier to use than an EQ mount. I don't do EQ mounts either and find my Alt-AZ and Goto mounts (which are also Alt-AZ mounts too) just fine for widefield views and close up views of the planets and moon etc. You don't need to use an EQ mount at all to enjoy astronomy at all. You can gat a Skywatcher Startravel ST80 on an AZ-3 mount (an Alt-AZ mount) for quite a reasonable price, and it should perform as well, if not better, than a spotting scope which is more suited to daytime terrestrial use rather than for nighttime astronomy. However, you could also get an erecting lens for the ST120 to use for terrestrial use too if you wanted it for dual purposes. The scope will out of the box show views eversed left to right and vice versa which is what all refractors will show without an erecting diagonal.  

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/startravel/skywatcher-startravel-80-az3.html

 

[The Admiral]

It's a bit of a horses for courses question really, it all depends on how serious you are about astronomy. I started with a spotting 'scope but found it a devil to align on a target, and its shape didn't help that either, having a bulge at the eyepiece end where the 45° prism is. But it is a good 'scope and an expensive one to boot, and I could have acquired a decent astronomical 'scope for the same price. But if you can only afford just one 'scope and are interested in both wild-life and astronomy, well, it may be your best bet.

It strikes me that it is the mount which is the problem for you, and as others have suggested an Alt-Az mount is a good way to go. It seems 'more logical' in use. If you go even further and get a GOTO Alt-Az mount then that will find the targets for you, though you will need to be able to 'calibrate' the mount so that it points correctly. That isn't difficult but will need a finder of some sort for the 'scope. Which is where a proper astro 'scope is to be preferred because there are fittings to take the finder which can be mounted onto the telescope tube, if it doesn't already come with one. For visual astronomy an AZ mount will be perfectly acceptable.

2 hours ago, Paul73 said:

Hi Chris

...........

PS. If you have any imaging aspirations, you will need a driven Eq mount.

Don't be put off by this, this isn't strictly true. Perfectly acceptable astro images can be made with a driven Alt-Az mount, within limitations. There is a long thread on this site devoted to that. It depends on what your ultimate aspirations are, but even so, it's a good way to 'cut one's teeth' on astro-imaging.

But don't be put off, there are some amazing things to see. If you are new to astronomy then it would be well worth your while joining a local astronomy club and seeing what it all involves, before departing with hard earned cash.

Ian

[happy-kat]

ST80 on an AZ3 very easy to use. You could have a 45° erect image diagonal for daytime use which can also be used at night but also have a 90° star diagonal for night time being 90° it is more comfortable for night time use.

[The Admiral]

Oh, and buy from an established astro dealer, such as the owner of this site, rather than a department store or the pile 'em high and sell 'em quick emporia. You'll get a 'proper' astro tool  rather than something that just 'looks good'.

Ian

[Star Struck]

I started off in astronomy using a spotting scope with a 20-60 zoom. I still have it but only use it for terrestrial viewing now. I also never use the zoom any more as I kept suffering from kidney beaning and that got annoying.

The one thing that nobody has mentioned, but I experienced, is that even though my spotting scope accepts 1.25 inch astronomy eyepieces not all of the ones I tried worked because there was not enough focus reange on the spotting scope. This was epecially true of high magnification eyepieces.

I bought a proper astronomy refractor on an alt-az mount and never looked back. I now have a range of diagonals and eyepieces and everything works just great.

The drawback with using an astronomy telescope for mobile terrestrial viewing is weight. They are heavier than a spotting scope.

Hope this helps.

Tony

 

[The Admiral]

37 minutes ago, Star Struck said:

I started off in astronomy using a spotting scope with a 20-60 zoom. I still have it but only use it for terrestrial viewing now. I also never use the zoom any more as I kept suffering from kidney beaning and that got annoying.

The one thing that nobody has mentioned, but I experienced, is that even though my spotting scope accepts 1.25 inch astronomy eyepieces not all of the ones I tried worked because there was not enough focus reange on the spotting scope

Good point, and if you go for a spotting scope check that they can accept standard eyepices. My Opticron has a proprietary fitting, and doesn't.

Ian

[Ricochet]

10 hours ago, devdusty said:

I am thinking of buying a 20_60 x 80 spotting scope for astronomy. I have tried using a 90 mm refractor on an equatorial

 mount without success. I could never work out how to move it in ra and declination.  Also I couldn't, align the finder scope with the main telescope.

A spotting scope seems easy to operate on a tripod and also the image is the correct way up.

I would appreciate any comments or thoughts about this. Chris.

What telescope do you currently have? Aligning the finder scope and telescope is a pretty basic requirement to be able to find things. Was it a red dot or a straight through magnifying finder with a reversed image? Perhaps we can help advise with that. 

A dedicated astronomy scope on a proper az mount will be a better choice than a spotting scope for astronomy. Even if you were to use a spotting scope I would still suggest an astronomical az mount over a photo tripod so I would suggest starting with a new mount and going from there. 

[Charic]

I would avoid the  MS206060  20-60x60 from a certain high street store. Cheap as chips, visual quality, poor at 60x (  even after a quick test outside the store won't always show the imperfections) and  under varying light levels, the image here is poor, probably down to the basic optics, and its  unsteady on its flimsy tripod, and Jupiter showed up as a rainbow, its shape/size was rectangular? ( imagine  about 4-5mm off the end of a matchstick for the shape!).

We have also discovered that an inline focuser would be of more benefit for our use ( mainly for Mrs)

I know there is better out there, just depends on how much you want to spend, I might visit the local bird hide, see what the folk are using, get a feel for the image quality.

[devdusty]

Thanks for all your advice and comments. I have looked at the Startravel-80 az3. Refractor and it seems nice and compact. Previously  I had the 90 mm f/10 refractor which I found too long and bulky to manage. The only problem I can see with the Startravel 80 is that it has a red dot finder. From my back garden near the city centre the naked eye limiting magnitude is only 3.0 to 3.5 due to light pollution , so a red dot finder would be of limited use. Also as I mentioned I did try to align the finder with the main telescope by focusing on nearby TV aerials

I needed to put masking tape on the finder so that it was a tight fit in the holder. I thought I had linked the main scope with the crosshairs in the finder during the daytime,but at night nothing seems to be aligned.

I have tried contacting local astronomical societies for help,but without any success.

Chris

 

[Ricochet]

10 hours ago, devdusty said:

I needed to put masking tape on the finder so that it was a tight fit in the holder. I thought I had linked the main scope with the crosshairs in the finder during the daytime,but at night nothing seems to be aligned

If the finder isn't physically moving between your daytime alignment and the night time use it must be that whatever objects you are using to align it are not far enough away to remove the parallax effect. What I do is to use the daytime alignment only as a rough guide to get the telescope onto an obvious astronomical target (say the edge of the moon) and use that to tweak before using Polaris for the final alignment. Polaris is the best object for alignment because it won't move in the time it takes to get everything aligned. 

If you do get the 80mm Startravel I wouldn't worry about it only having a red dot finder. My preference is to have both a red dot finder and a 9x50 RACI finder. The RDF makes it easy to point the telescope at a certain patch of sky and then the RACI can be used for star hopping. The RACI finder has a field of view of about 5.5° but if you get an eyepiece that maximises the field of view for a 1.25" barrel (18mm 82°, 24mm 68°, 32mm 50°) you will have a field of view of 4°, which will make the Startravel suitable for use as a finder in itself. 

Given that you are concerned about the size and weight of the telescope I think it would be a good idea of you were to visit an Astro retailer where you could actually handle some telescopes before purchase. @FLO First Light Optics, the sponsors of this forum, operate from a warehouse in Exeter that you can visit if you contact them in advance and I am sure that they would be able to help you to find your ideal telescope and also give you some pointers on where you can take it to avoid those city centre lights. 

[devdusty]

Thanks for your reply Proto Star. As I stated previously I had great difficulty using the equatorial mount for pointing the telescope in the right direction. Are there any videos on the internet showing operation of a telescope  on an equatorial mount.? I have contacted local astronomy societies to see if anyone would visit me to give assistance but without success.

Chris

[Cornelius Varley]

Many video tutorials on Youtube