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Another what first telescope thread....


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Hi all,

I've often gazed at the night sky and wanted a better look, but life has always got in the way. Anyway, long story short I bought a new house and a couple weeks back noticed a big red 'star' in the sky whilst lying in bed. I downloaded a free app which suggested it was Mars and have been dying to get a closer look before it moves too far away, somewhat spurred on by the idea I might have spotted Mars with the naked eye all by myself ?.

On that note I'd like to buy a starter scope, one hopefully capable of viewing the moon really well, possibly being able to see Mars (if not this time, maybe in a couple years), and I believe Venus is closing in which I'm curious as to whether we would be able to view well or not. So the question is, given the immediacy of Mars being on its way off from us, what would be a good starter scope, budget being say £150-£200, maybe a touch more at a push if it's worth it. 

Thanks in advance.

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21 minutes ago, Moonfly said:

On that note I'd like to buy a starter scope

I second Brown Dwarf, a dobsonian in the 8" range is the perfect beginner scope, good for years to come, parting with mine was like giving up a child lol, but i wanted bigger.

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Skywatcher Heritage 130 P Flextube. Within your budget, easy to store and handle, excellent optics, versatile, can serve as grab-and-go scope later, when aperture fever sets in. Many pleased owners on here, a lot of positive reviews.

Stephan

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Hi, and welcome to SGL :smile:

This is the scope that the two above posts are referring to: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html

It is a bit over your initial budget but if you want to get into astronomy you will find that to be a normal experience :lol: 

Seriously, that is a very good scope for the money and will give you lots of fun.

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Welcome from land down under

First of all you have to decide what you want to use your scope for

Viewing planets and DSO, or want to venture into AP

If just for viewing, then cannot go past a dob

If imaging, is your aim, then you need something on a HEQ5 or HEQ6 mount, such as a Skywatcher ED80

Before rushing out, and purchasing something you will later regret, rock up to your local astronomy club, and members only too happy to show you their set-up, then decide from there

John

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Hello!

9 hours ago, cletrac1922 said:

Before rushing out, and purchasing something you will later regret, rock up to your local astronomy club, and members only too happy to show you their set-up, then decide from there.

Definitely the above if there is a club near by.

The Skywatcher Heritage 130 P Flextube would be a cracking starter 'scope and one that would be easily transportable.

The 200p isn't ridiculously more expensive, however, it is considerably larger.

You would need somewhere to store it and, although it is possible to get it in the back of the car, you'd need to be prepared to do most of your observing from home.

Having said that, as others have said, as long as you don't want to get into astrophotography, you might never need another 'scope!

Just to put the perspective goggles on for a mo!

I'm always amazed at what I can see through a few pieces of glass and a mirror from own back garden.

However, although Mars is very easily distinguishable as a planet, not a star, as you have already realised, you won't see a huge amount of detail, even through an 8" dob.

I've seen a rather splendid orangey-red disc with some slight variation in the surface colour and the lighter polar caps, oh, and the 2 moons.

It's still an awesome site, but definitely not like the pics you see on t'interweb!

Have fun!

 

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I would also suggest the 200P Dobsonian (Dob) as an excellent scope - it's easy to handle and transport as the tube assembly lifts off the base so - two parts to carry. A good-sized aperture is a benefit and for the money I don't think you will get anything else near its 8" mirror.

Secondhand they seem to go for between £100 (if you're lucky) and £200 - I don't know where you live but there are a couple on the Bay at the moment...

Stored in an upright position a 200P will fit into a space 55cm X 55cm X 140cm (height).

 

 

 

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  • 2 months later...

Good price for a scope that retails for £389 new, assuming that all is in good condition and full working order.

Depends what priorities you have as to whether it's the scope for you.

 

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3 hours ago, Moonfly said:

I've been keeping an eye out for a cheap scope and a Nexstar 102slt has come up for sale locally. Advertised at £185 I'm thinking it's more about gimmick than image quality. Any advice? 

Assuming that the '102' is the short focal length f5 refractor, it's more suitable for wide field views of star clusters than anything else, and will have significant chromatic aberration, making it less good for looking at the Moon and planets.  If there is any 'gimmick' it's that a long focal length achromatic refractor would not mate well with this mount.

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It's kind of depends on the budget AFTER that first £150-200. Will you have budget in the 3-9 months after the purchase to buy decent accessories like eyepieces and maybe filters?

I remember I was VERY passionate about astronomy and getting into observing, but I was quickly dissapointed by the limitations of the supplied eyepieces. The eyepieces are just as important. I'd even say get ONE good one and add more ones as budget allows.
Learning your way around the sky takes a while anyway and taking into consideration realistic magnification limits regarding the atmosphere (seeing), all one really needs to start out is a medium or low-power eyepiece with a decent apparent field. If one is very certain that their interest is only to solar system objects or in the case of medium to severe light pollution, a medium power and a high power ~50° plossl will be just fine. Though many starters want/need to check out everything the sky has to offer, so deep-sky (nebulae, galaxies, globular clusters etc.) should be taken into consideration.

If there's no budget in the months following the telescope purchase I would rather recommend a smaller telescope with (a) better eyepiece(s) than the ones usually supplied with the scope.

For your budget, some alt-azimuth mounted (avoid equatorial) 3-4" refractor or 4-6" reflector with some 10-20mm 68-82° apparent field eyepiece will give you real nice wide views of the Milky Way, extended nebulae and nice context views of solar system objects.

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FWIW I have an 8" SW 200P Dobsonian flex/truss-tube and having owned one and seen pictures of the non flex-tube version I'd buy what I've got again.  The collapsible nature makes it quite portable in two pieces and it's easier to store in the house taking up about the space of a dining chair.  However, we all have our own favourites and we can all find reasons for saying 'mine is the best', but really.............. mine is!!!  LOL

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