Newbie and novice here

[Richardvilla71]

HI all

I am new to this site. I wanted some advise on starting astronomy.  I have always been interested but never got round to starting it as a hobby. Now, I have looked at a few scopes on Amazon and read some reviews, watched youtube vids etc., and as I am on a budget just starting out I have come across the Orion Funscope (although the word Funscope puts me off a bit as it sound like a toy). This is £71 with moon filter, also its competitors like the skywatcher heritage and celestron firstscope. I have also looked at a few binoculars like the Celestron 15/25/70's skywatchers etc.

Please can you give me some advice on what to get please. My budget is around £80 (yes low I know but like I said just starting out). I would like to see the moons craters , planet rings etc. I do not expect to see little things dancing on the middle of mars for that budget!!

Any help much appreciated.

 

Thank you. 

[SacRiker]

You sound like me from a few years ago. Based on your budget I would recommend that you pick up a pair of SkyMaster binoculars from Celestron and get a cheap tripod to attach them. This same setup kept me happy for months as I learned my way around the sky. Jupiter and its moons look incredible through good binoculars. Eventually you can upgrade to a legit scope and be all the more rewarded. 

[TheMan]

+1 for the skymaster binoculars. I recommend the 15x70 ones, they are only a tiny bit over your budget, but they bring amazing views for the cost.

[Demonperformer]

Hi, Richard, and welcome to SGL.

For that budget it is hard to find a telescope worth recommending. Binoculars are a great first instrument as you "learn the sky". I don't know the skymasters, but a decent 15x70 pair of binos will serve you well. Personally, I always find a tripod a bit of a pain with binos, but you definitely need something for 15x70s. Mine get mounted on a cheap monopod, and I use them sittng down, the monopod leaning against my shoulder, so gravity holds the binos against my eyes, and this provides very solid (steady) support. But if you are OK with a tripod, that is fine too.

If your budget can stretch, I would also recommend a planisphere. Yes, you can get planetarium software (CdC, Stellarium, etc), but I always find a "hard copy" of the sky to be very useful, and with this you just dial in your date and time and hold it up to the sky. Simples!

Enjoy the journey.

[ronl]

http://binocularsky.com is a great site to help you on your journey.

[KP82]

The Olympus 10x50 DPS-I would be a good option if you dislike the idea of putting binoculars on tripods. Luna craters (the big ones) and Galilean Moons around Jupiter are both visible with this pair. Its wide FoV would also allow you to scan/learn the night sky, observe some of the brightest DSOs (e.g. M31, M42 and various open clusters) and familiarise yourself with the "star hopping" technique.

Now if you actually want to see Saturn's rings, then you would have no choice but to go for one of those giant binoculars with at least 25x mag. 10 - 15x would only show an elongated shape of the planet.

[Owmuchonomy]

Equipment aside just to warn you that the juicy planet targets are not visible from UK skies for a few years. Mars in October 2020 will put on a good show but other than that your options are a bit limited. As mentioned above download a free planetarium package such as Stellarium and this will show you what you can see now and in the future. Therefore, binoculars present a good option for the Moon or brighter objects such as star clusters. Enjoy.

[mikeDnight]

Binoculars are definitely the way to go with your budget in mind. If you can sit or lie back on a deck chair or Sun lounger, you'll be able to slowly sweep through star fields, picking out some of spectacular star clusters and brighter nebulae and comets. Even studying the Moon through binoculars can be quite a magical experience. You'll not regret buying an easy to handle pair of 8X or 10X50mm, or 10X60mm binoculars. 

When i started out in astronomy back in 1980, telescopes were way out of my price range, so I bought a pair of second hand 12X60mm binoculars with a broken bridge for £12.50. I set the focuseable eyepiece in place with plasterscene and set out on a great adventure. With those cheap broken binoculars i found every Messier object that was visible above my horizon, and i observed several excellent comets, including Comet Austin and Comet Iras, Iraki, Alcock. Those simple binoculars helped me to learn my way around the night sky in very short time. They were the best thing that could have ever happened to me in those early years. I soon made a wooden tripod and altazimuth fork to carry my bino's which made using them a real joy. You'll also need a good star atlas such as The Pocket Sky Atlas!

 

[Richardvilla71]

Thank you all so much for your help. I will go for a good pair of binoculars and the books etc. I'll let you all know how I get on!

[Astro Imp]

Good luck and enjoy yourself.

[Richardvilla71]

OK guys i have shortened my list down to 2 or 3 bins. I have looked at the Olympus 10x50's which are £65 on Amazon, and also on the same site are the Celestron Skymaster 25x70 for a little more at £87.

Now reading what you guys are saying i would need a tripod for the 25x70s which is going to increase the spend to over £100, so as i am typing i am realising that i need to go for the 10x50s which is adequate enough to start out.

If you guys agree with that ill go ahead and purchase !

Thanks again

[TheMan]

Sounds good. Remember, Binoculars sell quickly, so you can upgrade later on. You can also buy a tripod 2nd hand pretty cheap for about 10-15£ if you look in the right places.

[SacRiker]

14 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

You'll also need a good star atlas such as The Pocket Sky Atlas!

+1 for this. The Sky Atlas is brilliant. I also use Sky Safari on my iPhone to plan sessions.