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Telescope for a budding stargazer... where to start...


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My husband's birthday is coming up and I'd like to get him a decent starter telescope. I don't have a huge budget - if at all possible, under £250-300, but it doesn't need to be his forever scope, after all he's just getting started. I just want to get him something he can get to grips with, work out what he does and doesn't like, and then maybe next year we look at getting something more spectacular.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm a total novice, so I'm so confused by all of the options. I've been reading articles and reviews for weeks, and I'm no closer to making a decision. 

We live in a small town, so there is some minor light pollution. We do go camping and hiking a lot, and we're also close to dark sky areas which are accessible by car - so I was thinking something semi-portable? If the light pollution isn't an issue, a basic dobsonian perhaps? 

Please point a girl in the right direction!

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An 8inch Dobsonian would be a good choice and would fit in your budget.

Read the reviews at our sponsors, https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html

If you have a local astronomy group near a visit to an observing night would be good but this may not be possible with the light nights at present.

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Thank you all!

If anything changes budget wise, is there a massive difference between the 200P and the 150P skyliner dobs? Would it be an awful choice?

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Can't argue with the advice, a 200P is a great scope. Just be aware of how big it is before committing. It will easily go ina car but does take up a bit of room.

The 150P is also a very capable scope and if you live in a place with low light pollution you will see plenty with it. A 10" would make a nice upgrade for him next year :)

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There was a time when the thought of owning an 8" reflector ,was "the stuff of dreams". I no longer have the one I bought a few years ago, but it was such a fine and capable telescope, powerful for its very portable size.

I am certain your husband will be staggered by what it will show him.:happy11:

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Welcome from land down under

Great start would be either a 8" or 10" collapsible Skywatcher dob as previously mentioned

Easy to transport, and set up

To line up object want to view, just lay a laser pointer along the scope adjacent to the spotting scope

Both are ideal for viewing the moon, planets, nebula such as Orion

I started out with a 10" collapsible dob, and now also have an ED80 on an EQ5 mount

Pic on profile is with my 10"dob, taken recently during super moon, over looking the Broadwater, Goldcoast

Both of you will have heaps and heaps of fun

 

John

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My 8" is one of the collapsable ones and if space is an issue it results in a package no bigger than a dining chair in terms of floor space and about a metre high.  It is therefore not too much of a problem to store.

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8 hours ago, Knighty2112 said:

I could, but I don't want to stir the wrath of the dob mob! Yikes! ;) 

 

I myself have 8", sw200 pds, and the mount for it - neq6. £999 the mount alone. Wouldn't go for dob myself, started on gem and I find it no trouble whatsoever. But, if I had a budget of £300 and wanted biggest bang for the buck, I can't see a better option. Refractor and mount for 300? I wouldn't get the same versatility or view quality. I think?

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You real answer is to take him along to an astronomy club and have a look at the various types. Although for a first scope I would suggest that you/he avoids the Mak's and SCT's . Nice and compact but one property (narrow general field of view) makes them a bit of a gamble to my thinking for a first one, I bought one as a 3rd scope and basically never use it simply owing to the narow field of view - just too much trouble, and I want things easy. Also I would only suggest a Mak/SCT as part of a goto.

The customary 200P is both simple and specialist in a way. Simple in that there is little or nothing in the way of technology on it, specialist in that the user has to do everything themself and the angles that the scope sits at means that using one is not always intuitive. Consider that it could take him 2 months to get familiar with its operation. Will he have given up on it in 2 to 4 weeks and abandoned it before the 2 months learning. Equally some sort of drop into it's use while others just never managed to get comfortable.

If you get a scope then budget in 2 eyepieces. Over simple way of putting it is:: except for the 25mm one with the scope the 10mm and likely the barlow are not worth using. So plan on 2 eyepieces.

Ease of use generally comes down to refractors but they classic jack of all trades masters of nothing. You do not get big apertures, you do not get big magnifications, but they are easy and do a fairly decent all round role (avoid the f/5 ones).  Trouble is that the one I would half suggest is just not available here in UK or EU. Explore Scientific have not made it available. There is a Bresser 102S that is a good size but not sure if it is available as a package with an Alt/Az mount, not sure if they do a similar scope at 80mm but for ease they are worth considering.

If you go astro club hunting there is the state that at this time of year many are not active - long light evenings. Here is a link to astro clubs:

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

I do tend to hold to the idea that a simple easy to use and likely small scope is the better first scope. The size make them easy and if not easy then people tend to stop there and not move on, in effect they give up.

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16 hours ago, MrsC said:

My husband's birthday is coming up and I'd like to get him a decent starter telescope. I don't have a huge budget - if at all possible, under £250-300, but it doesn't need to be his forever scope, after all he's just getting started. I just want to get him something he can get to grips with, work out what he does and doesn't like, and then maybe next year we look at getting something more spectacular.

I hate to disagree with the Dob enthusiasts :happy11: but I'll repeat my standard advice: start with something that is smallish, good quality and easy to manage.  Beginners often find that GoTo is a great help in finding objects (while some can't get on with this technology). Trying to find objects with a non-GoTo scope when you don't know the sky well can be an exercise in frustration, and a lot of the 'used twice, as new' scopes offered on ebay are of the large manual variety. GoTo is particularly helpful in a light-polluted area.

As for 'semi-portable',  check out your expectations against the size and weight of an 8" Dob kit compared with, e.g. a 127mm Maksutov and tripod.  If possible, visit an astronomy store and check out what these instruments look like in the metal.

If you buy a budget Dob you have said 'no' to powered tracking and GoTo, and unless you pay extra for a RACI (right-angle) finder, hello to contortions and neck-ache.  With a straight-through finder, aiming at objects near the zenith is near impossible. In buying a first scope you should be exploring what you think of these and other usability issues without spending too much money. :hmh:

Personally, I find usability as important as size, and have gravitated to a fairly high-tech 8" SCT that is pleasant to use and quick to set up. And kept the smaller instruments.

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if you go for the dob then have a look online to get a idea of size- great for a home but if you are taking it camping it will take up a lot of room in the car!!

P.S Try looking online for a second hand scope in order to leave room in your budget for extras-eyepieces or the 'turn left at Orion' book. oh, and don't forget to download (free) 'stellarium' on your computer-it is a invaluable tool'

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2 hours ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

Trying to find objects with a non-GoTo scope when you don't know the sky well can be an exercise in frustration, and a lot of the 'used twice, as new' scopes offered on ebay are of the large manual variety.

just playing devil's advocate here, but i see this equally as often with goto scopes, where the user doesn't know the sky, doesn't know the alignment stars and can spend more time aligning the thing than observing (especially in the early days). Then quickly comes the requirement for a power pack, as they are tearing through AA batteries at a rate of knots.

having said that, I don't disagree with the comments. And though I am very happy with a manual dob, I know many that wouldn't be without goto

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4 hours ago, Erla said:

I myself have 8", sw200 pds, and the mount for it - neq6. £999 the mount alone. Wouldn't go for dob myself, started on gem and I find it no trouble whatsoever. But, if I had a budget of £300 and wanted biggest bang for the buck, I can't see a better option. Refractor and mount for 300? I wouldn't get the same versatility or view quality. I think?

It's always tricky giving advice to newbies. Whilst dobs are cheaper than any other form of scope for the aperture size, the size of them can be a turn off for some people starting out. I too had a 200P-DS Newtonian, which I used on my Skytee II mount, yet whilst I got great views with it the size always made me reach for either one of my 'fracs, or SCT to Mak (plus I don't find Newts intuitive really). Sure, only my 8 inch SCT could match the light grasp of the 200P-DS, but I would much rather use something smaller perhaps that meant I actually used it more. I've just recommended a scope to my brother for a gift to his wife, and avoided a dob altogether. 

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