I need help

[R.frankish]

I am after a new telescope and have no idea what to get I had the skywatcher 130 and it was ok for a while but I would like things to be bigger when looking at them and to be able to see a few more things 

[Ruud]

Do you have dark skies and lots of money? Are you strong and do you have a trouble free back?
I'm thinking of a 10 inch Dob, like this one.

[Nakedgun]

A 10" dob can provide a lifetime of objects to view. My recommendation, as well.

[Sunshine]

unless you catch the astrophotography bug, a 10 inch dob as mentioned above, or, SCT lets say for the sake of options will make for a lifetime of fun.

[Cosmic Geoff]

If you were buying a car you would shortlist according to the following kind of checklist:

Budget, size of your garage or parking space, no. of seats or luggage space, intended use (commute or track racing), technical spec, fuelling (electric charge point available?).

Same sort of thing with a telescope: budget, max size/weight, GoTo or not, power availability, usability, astrophotography aspirations? 

[mikeDnight]

22 hours ago, R.frankish said:

I am after a new telescope and have no idea what to get I had the skywatcher 130 and it was ok for a while but I would like things to be bigger when looking at them and to be able to see a few more things 

May be you should review the forums on this site and on Cloudy Nights to get a feel for the advantages of one scope over another. Refractors, reflectors and catadioptrics - each have qualities that are peculiar to the design, and each have their drawbacks. Refractors generally deliver the sharpest views and good ones can take very high magnifications, as well as giving superb wide field views. They can make a perfect lifetime telescope.

Reflectors have the advantage of greater light grasp and so can go deeper. If you want to chase faint objects then a 6" to 12" reflector may be right for you.

SCT's and MCT's offer large apertures with short physical length, but there's a price to pay. They take significantly longer to reach thermal stability. SCT's in particular have softer star images than any of the other options, but they make great imaging instruments, which is what they were initially designed for. The Maksutov is much closer to a refractor in performance but without the wide field capability.

Although many observers choose the larger aperture and light grasp of a Newtonian reflector as their first choice, many also choose the high definition and laser etched views of a refractor as their first choice. Yet others prefer the catadioptrics such as the Schmidt and Maksutov Cassegrains. Any of the above are preferable to no telescope, but not all suit the needs or observing preferences of any one individual. They are a personal preference after much careful thought.

The best thing to do would be to try each design at a astro society or star party.

 

[joe aguiar]

depends on your budjet

what kind scope you want?

some scope like reflectors need both mirrors to be aligned or views wont be good but refractors don't really need that, so to some this kin may be good to start so you don't have to worry about that atleast

do u want to look at the moon and planets? manilly? or that's plus deep sky itels like, nebulas, galaxies, open clusters?

also depends I u live in county skies subburbs, or citys skies

Joejaguar

[Frank the Troll]

On 10/02/2020 at 20:46, R.frankish said:

I am after a new telescope and have no idea what to get I had the skywatcher 130 and it was ok for a while but I would like things to be bigger when looking at them and to be able to see a few more things 

A bigger scope wont mean you will see thing alot bigger, what you will see, is more detail

[Ruud]

Frank is right. Unless the telescope is really small, the atmosphere is the limiting factor for magnification.

Small telescopes can generally be used to 2D magnification, maybe a tiny bit more, with D being the diameter of the aperture in mm.

This means that a 100 mm aperture is good to 200x and with a 200 mm aperture you might reach 400x with good results if you were lucky with the seeing.

For a 300 mm aperture to reach its maximum of 600x with good results though, you'd just about have to take it to a mountain top.

[mikeDnight]

Of course there are always exceptions to the rule, or rather rough guide. It is true that a 100mm telescope will reach its resolution limit at 200X, but its not always possible to see all the detail in that image if the scale of the image is too small. With the advances in telescope design, glass types and eyepiece design, some high end telescopes will deliver 100X to 120X per inch of aperture on nights of steady seeing; so some top end 100mm refractors are capable of showing a detailed image at powers in excess of 400X depending on the target under scrutiny. 

 

Edited February 12, 2020 by mikeDnight

[R.frankish]

I have bought the skywatcher skyliner 250 been speaking to some ppl and they said that it's good 

[Ruud]

Congratulations. I'd like a 10 inch dob myself.

[fiestazetecmk2]

My advice would be to go and look at various scopes.that's when you get to see size /weight .don't just buy a scope because it gets lots of recommendations .

Maybe visit a club.or shop.

After all your the one who has to carry it about.put it in your car.

The other thing is where to keep it.

Don't rush into buying something you may regret. 

Good luck.

[Alkaid]

200P Dob.  Very well regarded.  Have not read a single negative review.   8" aperture will provide wealth of detail on Moon, also very good on Planets.  Good all rounder on deep sky.   Inexpensive (for a telescope).   If I had my time again as a beginner, I'd have one of these.

Only disadvantage - no tracking.  But from what I gather, most Dob enthusiasts don't mind that.   You can also de-mount it and put it on an EQ mount (HEQ5 as a minimum I would say) if you want tracking.   You can also get tracking platforms (or even make one if you're handy).

[fiestazetecmk2]

You can track with mine.

[Frank the Troll]

3 hours ago, Alkaid said:

   You can also de-mount it and put it on an EQ mount (HEQ5 as a minimum I would say) if you want tracking.   You can also get tracking platforms (or even make one if you're handy).

Im currently doing that with my 10" mounting it on the EQ6.  with the base, I  cant cope with lugging it about anymore

Edited February 13, 2020 by Frank the Troll