Starting with Astronomy

[Rainerio Andolong]

Hi I will buying a Celestron 11" HD cassegrain and to save I need to buy most of the needed equipments since they are 2x -2.5x price in Asia and  i would not want to end up with things I dont need. For eyepieces will a combination of Ethos 13, 17, 21, Nagler 31, Panoptic 41 or William swan 40 and a TPO 50mm. Any suggestions please? Im not really well versed yet with filters for planets and deep sky and other than sky viewing I will be using a Nikon D5500 for astrophotography and maybe buy a simple webcam. Any suggestions? Im also considering getting a JMI dual speed motored focuser....Any suggestions?  I hope with your suggestions I can gather most of what I need since I will be bringing them home to Manila Philippines where there no astronomy stores. Thanks in advance.

[Merlin66]

Rainerio,

You're certainly jumping in at deep end!!

The C11 is a good scope (I use the original C11 for spectroscopy) but like most scopes it has it's limitations. It's a slow scope f10 and long focal length 2800mm so not ideal for wide field viewing or imaging.

The JMI focus motor is probably a good idea. I have one but also the excellent 10:1 Feathertouch micro focuser.....

If you want to consider imaging, then the x0.63 reducer should be considered. Very expensive....

Your choice of eyepieces, in my opinion, are overkill for the C11 system. The more basic wide angle designs, even good Plossl's will work well.

 

 

[D4N]

Are you planning t travel to a dark site?

 

Having been to Manila I know you will really struggle with the light pollution there otherwise and I think the only way you could image DSO's would be with narrowband filters.  You may be able to image planets though.  Normally you would use a reducer to bring the focal ratio down to around f5 for deep space imaging but for planetary you would do the opposite and use a barlow.

 

What are you mounting the scope on?

[Rainerio Andolong]

I have a place to go to near the beach in Batangas (province 2 hrs from Manila) where you have clear skies all the time and practically see the belt of the milky way with your naked eye  . Im thinking of getting barlows 1.5, 2 and a 2.5 and for reducer maybe .63 and a .5. Im thinking Celestron CGX to go mount. Thank you for your reply!

[Rainerio Andolong]

Mr. Brown Dwarf I just visited (Stockholm) Sweden and (Bergen) Norway last year. Really beautiful countries and really pleasant locals and cold weather. Im considering Baader clicklock diagonal and the starsense autoalign. Any suggestions?

[D4N]

I have Baader clicklock 2" and also the clicklock 2-1.25" adaptor for my dob, they are a really great product.

[Rainerio Andolong]

What do you think is better a Panoptic 41mm or a William swan 40mm or just go for a TPO 50mm?

[cloudsweeper]

With that size focal length, I'd aim for long FL eyepieces to get the widest field of vision you can at low magnification.  (And the exit pupil will still be good.)  Get whatever your budget allows, but an f/10 'scope is more forgiving of less expensive EPs.  Personally, I wouldn't bother with a Barlow (or a set!) - just carefully choose some EPs that give a good range of mags.  And you won't have trouble getting those high mags with that long focal length!

Doug.

[D4N]

I haven't used those so can't say which are best but I think as stated above you can use less expensive eyepieces to good effect with an f10 scope.

[Rainerio Andolong]

Guys thanks a lot for your inputs!

[Cosmic Geoff]

I'm a little surprised that you are choosing a 11" SCT (cassegrain)  as your first scope.  Perhaps you have used astro scopes before and know what to expect of a big SCT.  There is no scope type that does all tasks well. I note that you intend to observe from a remote dark sky location - well a 11" SCT is perhaps not the most portable of instruments.  If your primary interest is photography of deep-sky objects, this won't be cheap, but as the astrophotographers here may advise you, a much smaller and cheaper telescope OTA might serve better for that particular purpose.

Perhaps if you discuss your intended projects in detail, further suggestions might be made that would lead to a lower budget, or more manageable telescope setups.

[MattJenko]

Welcome to SGL

Few comments/questions spring to mind.

- Another thing not mentioned yet is the fact that the setup chosen is BIG. If this is to be taken to a dark sky site and not permanently setup, or setup in a close backgarden/shed, then putting this rig together is a pretty major undertaking each time. I guess the 2 hour travelling time is indicative of commitment to a session though!

- Barlows for visual use with a 2800mm FL scope seems like sledgehammering an egg. As mentioned already, I would look for some much cheaper EPs to cover your visual needs which will do just as well as the very good, but overkill EPs mentioned in you original post and save you a lot of money. The best views I have had through an (admittedly not HD version) C11 was with simple design EPs.

- Don't worry about filters yet, especially for the dark site. A light pollution filter may be worth it from Manilla though.

- DSLRs and long focal length SCTs are not a match made in heaven. Not saying don't do it, but this hobby is hard enough as it is without giving yourself additional challenges before you start.

Have to say this though - C11 Edge for a starter scope - love it!