celestron?

[ottoman]

Has anyone bought on of these before and are they anygood?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170176591910&ssPageName=MERC_VI_RSCC_Pr4_PcY_BIN_Stores_IT&refitem=180242904277&itemcount=4&refwidgetloc=active_view_item&usedrule1=StoreCatToStoreCat&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget&_trksid=p284.m184&_trkparms=algo%3DDR%26its%3DS%252BI%252BSS%26itu%3DISS%252BUCI%252BSI%26otn%3D4

[asteria]

Hi there - this has a small aperture and a relatively long focal length. The type of telescope is known as a Newtonian reflector. It might be OK for Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon, but might disappoint for anything else. There are plenty of people on the forum who can advise, but most seem to suggest looking at something like this but with a minimum aperture of 130-150mm, which is around double the aperture of this scope.

If you double the aperture you quadruple the light-gathering ability, so a scope with 150mm aperture will show you much more in the night sky.

Good luck.

Ed

[algol]

i have a 130pm newt reflector and while it has given me good views, i am looking to upgrade soon, so anythin less than that may dissapoint in the long run

[ottoman]

i wont be going for one of those then! cheers!

[algol]

not saying they'd be rubbish but with lp taken into account you probably be better off with a bigger starting scope

[ChrisEdu]

Like they said - go bigger!

[asteria]

Hi Ottoman - in general terms, the bigger the aperture the better. However, a number of other factors come into play with large scopes: portability decreases, cost goes up, storage may become an issue (let's face it, most scopes in Britain spend a long time on shelves!) and general handling (mounting, unmounting the scope) can become tricky. Big scopes also take an age to cool down, and without this time, the views can be poor.

I've got a number of small scopes (none bigger than 150mm) and I'm a fan of them because all the secondary issues haven't become a big factor. I can still see a lot with them, and I think I've concluded if I want to step up from what I've got, there's not much point unless I go with a big scope (300mm or bigger). I think at this point, the gain from the bigger aperture probably begins to outweigh the cost of the secondary factors as the views will markedly be better.

Having said all that, I've gone a long way in the last couple of clear nights with a pair of Meade 10x50 binos from Lidls (cost - £10-£15). Lots of enjoyment, and no big issues storage, handling, weight etc. And blumming cheap!

Cheers.

Ed