New to Astronomy

[sarahsmiffy]

Hi Everyone.

I'm Sarah, 32 from Kent, UK. 

Hope everyone is well during the Pandemic.

I wondered if i could have some help please ?

At the end of December 2019, I purchased my first telescope from Amazon - The Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ MD £170.

Due to COVID-19 i have had more time on my hands so thought id set it up again (used it once in January).

It has developed"several faults" , the main one being that the Mount has actually broken apart - ive used it 4 times. Gutted

I've contacted Amazon and they have agreed to a refund.

My budget is around £250 for a new scope - i dont want another Celestron as i found it really poorly made (the locking head came off the first time i tried to dismantle it and dont get me started on the motor drive thats in the way and doesn't work or the RDF. The reason i went for this particular scope is because its promised me great views of the moon, planets, nebulae and galaxies so i'm looking for something that will offer me similar, it stated about saturn and jupiter too.

In addition id like to be able to play around a bit with astrophotography - i managed to get a decent shot of the moon through the Astromaster with my phone held up to the lens. Now i'm not talking serious astrophotography, just something to get me going and good enough to show friends and share online - probably taken via a phone mount. The scope will need to hold my interest and have clear images.

I've loved statrs/space since i was a kid, now 32, im looking to deepen my knowledge and pursue it.  !

 

I've been looking at the Skywatcher Evostar 90mm AZ3 Refractor - i think id prefer a refractor but not sure. I'm not keen on the EQ mount. I'll want to travel with it in the summer so needs to be smaller than the celestron. Not keen on a dobsonian as you have to prop it on something or crouch !

I'd appreciate your views on the links below.

https://www.harrisontelescopes.co.uk/acatalog/skywatcher-evostar-90mm-az3-telescope.html

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-startravel-102-az3-telescope.html

 

I'll need to be able to mount a phone and eventually a DSLR camera.

Also do both of these scopes enable me to buy other 1.25" lenses ?

I am aware i may be asking "too much" on my budget

Thank you for your help - i am an absolute beginner with no idea what i'm doing.

Sarah

Edited April 12, 2020 by sarahsmiffy
hadnt finished typing

[PEMS]

Rather unfortunately if you want to do astrophotography then the mount needs to be equitorial. Also getting to a reasonable set up can be costly. Can be done at lesser cost but compromises are to be made.

The Evostar 90 will be a nice general visual scope, not ideal for astrophotography. Just a bit too big. A scope for astrophotography tends to be small and usually an ED is the start. Could you swap to a 72ED. They will cost more.

Mount would need to be something like an EQ3-2 but a goto. Astrophotography needs a driven mount. In honesty an EQ5 would be better, much better all round. Just more expensive all round.

Can I suggest a simple scope like the Evostar 90 and use that for visual. A slightly smaller one would be the Bresser Firstlight 80mm 640mm refractor on their Nano mount. I think it is a better mount. Again for visual only to look around and see things and get familiar with everything. Like finding targets.

Then consider astrophotography as a separate aspect. In a way the minimum is around a goto EQ5 and a 72ED scope, or 80ED. You could use a 72ED and an EQ3-2 but it is back to making compromises again and the EQ5 is overall safer.

Wait until we can all go out, find a club and look and talk to people. Where are you, if possible add the approximate area to your details.

[miguel87]

Hi Sarah,

Glad you are getting an opportunity to explore the night sky again!

Obviously everything I am about to say is my opinion only.

If your budget is limited then I would always advise going for a reflector. You clearly had a bad first experience but I dont think it should tarnish your opinion of all newtonians. Pound for pound you can get a better view out of a reflector.

I have a 8 inch newt upgraded from a 5 inch newt was my first. In reality, unless you have the EQ5 mount of better, the only thing you can take photos of is probably the moon. As soon as you try to attach anything to the eyepiece it will pull on the mount and what you were viewing will be out of shot and the added weight will mean the cheap motor wont rotate the mount at a constant speed. Also aiming your phone through an eyepiece when magnifying more than about 50x becomes very very difficult plus anything less bright will not register on your phone camera.

I tried several times using my DSLR with a 130p and EQ2 mount. Disaster, it's too heavy for the focusser, scope and mount.

My specific recommendation would be a skywatcher 200p. That is based on an inflexible budget.

Yes you can put 1.25 inch eyepieces in virtually any telescope you are likely to buy.

Mike

Edited April 12, 2020 by miguel87

[johninderby]

One thing to note the cheap scopes from all manufacturers are not good quality and  have flimsy mounts so doesn’t matter which brand you choose. Those cheap scopes can put a beginner right off the hobby.

BTW Celestron makes some very fine scopes and is well regarded. 

Astrophotography is often mentioned by beginners but can get seriously expensive. However get a smartphone adapter to fit your smartphone to the telescope and you can take lunar or planetary photos on a tight budget even with a dobsonian..A good place to start.

On your budget a dobsonian will show you more than any cheap scope on a wobbly mount. Get a height adjustable  stool to sit on and makes observing with a dob more comfortable.

This is a great beginners scope.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/skywatcher-skyliner-150p-dobsonian.html

This is one of the most popular beginners scope although also used by experienced observers.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html

 

 

Edited April 12, 2020 by johninderby

[Cosmic Geoff]

Don't be put off Celestron as a brand by your experience with one of their cheap offerings - their more expensive offerings are fine instruments. Their 8" SCT is a classic that has been popular for many years.

From what I have heard, the AZ3 is not a good mount and it is difficult to make the telescope stay where you want it as it tends to tip forwards or backwards being pivoted from underneath.  You should be able to find a better one among the more recently introduced mounts, e.g. the AZ5.

Beginners should avoid EQ mounts as they generate confusion without offering any marked advantage, and the cheap ones are wobbly and of poor quality.

The 'mini-Dob' Newtonian reflectors have a decided advantage in that the bulk of your money is invested in the optics rather than half of the money going to a cheap wobbly mount and tripod.  The problem of what to stand the 'mini-Dob' on is easily solvable (an old table?)

Whether you get a refractor or a reflector is really a personal choice, but in larger sizes the reflectors are cheaper and lighter.   I recommend that you choose your next telescope purely for visual use and don't consider astrophotography at this stage. By all means attach your smartphone and see what you get.  Beginners tend to totally underestimate the level of equipment, skill and costs required to make a proper job of astrophotography.   The requirements for photographing planets and photographing deep space objects like nebulae are different and neither is cheap.    The typical setup for imaging deep space objects using long exposures is a small high quality (apochromatic) refractor mounted on a heavy duty GoTo equatorial mount, plus a DSLR camera, and this typically costs well over £1000.  The book "Make Every Photon Count" is an essential reference.

The other route into imaging is to take wider field images with a DSLR camera mounted directly on a small equatorial GoTo mount.

[sarahsmiffy]

1 hour ago, PEMS said:

Rather unfortunately if you want to do astrophotography then the mount needs to be equitorial. Also getting to a reasonable set up can be costly. Can be done at lesser cost but compromises are to be made.

The Evostar 90 will be a nice general visual scope, not ideal for astrophotography. Just a bit too big. A scope for astrophotography tends to be small and usually an ED is the start. Could you swap to a 72ED. They will cost more.

Mount would need to be something like an EQ3-2 but a goto. Astrophotography needs a driven mount. In honesty an EQ5 would be better, much better all round. Just more expensive all round.

Can I suggest a simple scope like the Evostar 90 and use that for visual. A slightly smaller one would be the Bresser Firstlight 80mm 640mm refractor on their Nano mount. I think it is a better mount. Again for visual only to look around and see things and get familiar with everything. Like finding targets.

Then consider astrophotography as a separate aspect. In a way the minimum is around a goto EQ5 and a 72ED scope, or 80ED. You could use a 72ED and an EQ3-2 but it is back to making compromises again and the EQ5 is overall safer.

Wait until we can all go out, find a club and look and talk to people. Where are you, if possible add the approximate area to your details.

Thank you - for general viewing do you think the Evo 90 or startravel 102 AZ3 be good enough ?

[sarahsmiffy]

Thank you all.

I'm in Sevenoaks -Kent.

 

 

[johninderby]

This would be far batter as it has a decent mount. The AZ3 is a basic mount and something like the AZ5 with it’s slow motion controls is infinately better.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-az5-deluxe/sky-watcher-startravel-102-az5-deluxe.html

Edited April 12, 2020 by johninderby

[sarahsmiffy]

1 hour ago, PEMS said:

Rather unfortunately if you want to do astrophotography then the mount needs to be equitorial. Also getting to a reasonable set up can be costly. Can be done at lesser cost but compromises are to be made.

The Evostar 90 will be a nice general visual scope, not ideal for astrophotography. Just a bit too big. A scope for astrophotography tends to be small and usually an ED is the start. Could you swap to a 72ED. They will cost more.

Mount would need to be something like an EQ3-2 but a goto. Astrophotography needs a driven mount. In honesty an EQ5 would be better, much better all round. Just more expensive all round.

Can I suggest a simple scope like the Evostar 90 and use that for visual. A slightly smaller one would be the Bresser Firstlight 80mm 640mm refractor on their Nano mount. I think it is a better mount. Again for visual only to look around and see things and get familiar with everything. Like finding targets.

Then consider astrophotography as a separate aspect. In a way the minimum is around a goto EQ5 and a 72ED scope, or 80ED. You could use a 72ED and an EQ3-2 but it is back to making compromises again and the EQ5 is overall safer.

Wait until we can all go out, find a club and look and talk to people. Where are you, if possible add the approximate area to your details.

https://www.telescopehouse.com/bresser-messier-ar-80-640-az-nano-telescope.html

is this the one.

If so i really like the design of this and the specs. Cant afford anything more at the moment like the EQ5, but yeah not looking for main astrophography, just thats the ultimate goal. I defo do know enough about that so scope mainly for viewing but would like to take the odd picture of the moon etc to "to show off"
 

Do you think this one will allow me to see nebulae, planets eg jupiter and the rings of saturn and galaxies ?

[sarahsmiffy]

10 minutes ago, johninderby said:

This would be far batter as it has a decent mount. The AZ3 is a basic mount and something like the AZ5 with it’s slow motion controls is infinately better.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-az5-deluxe/sky-watcher-startravel-102-az5-deluxe.html

Looks great - thanks but a little out my price range 

[sarahsmiffy]

Lets say I manage to find the money, how about this:

 

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/bresser-messier-ar-90900-exos1eq4-telescope.html

[johninderby]

It’s a manual EQ mount not GOTO or motorised. Manual ait-az mounts are easy to use but manual EQ ones aren’t so nice to use.

Perhaps this one? 

https://www.harrisontelescopes.co.uk/acatalog/bresser-nano-90.html

Edited April 12, 2020 by johninderby

[sarahsmiffy]

6 minutes ago, johninderby said:

It’s a manual EQ mount not GOTO or motorised. Manual ait-az mounts are easy to use but manual EQ ones aren’t so nice to use.

Thanks so which one you recommend for a beginner who wants to find way around the sky, enjoy a bit of everything and take the odd pic of the moon ?

 

https://www.telescopehouse.com/bresser-messier-ar-80-640-az-nano-telescope.html                             

(no youtube videos of this for me to see)

 

https://www.harrisontelescopes.co.uk/acatalog/skywatcher-evostar-90mm-az3-telescope.html

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-startravel-102-az3-telescope.html

[Timebandit]

 

 

Hi . Personally If you want a first "proper scope" then I think there is only one scope I would recommend. That's a reflector 200mn something like a SW. This can be on a dob mount or if you have a bit more money some sort of AZ. These scopes are just such good bang for buck, ideal Luna ,DSO , planetary. Just such good all round visual scopes ,and you can put your phone up to the eyepiece with a steady hand and take some Luna photos. These scopes can be picked up second hand at very sensible money.

At a later date if you have a bit more in your budget and  if you still want to do some AP then there is the refractor SW80ed, such a well respected AP scope at sensible money second hand

I hope this helps 

 

 

 

[vlaiv]

Out of interest, what do other members thing of this alternative to 90/900 on Az3 mount?

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-az-eq-avant/sky-watcher-skymax-102-az-eq-avant.html

I don't really like AZ3 mount - slow motion controls need rewinding and it is very uncomfortable to view up near zenith.

Az Eq avant mount can be used both in Az mode and Eq mode. Can be outfitted with tracking motor for planetary observation later on.

102mm Mak is going to offer similar performance to 90mm achromatic refractor but in considerably smaller package. Easier to mount. Just a tad narrower field of view - comparable to that of 6" F/8 and 8" F/6 scopes (both being 1200mm and mak being 1300mm - vs 900mm of 90mm F/10). Of course - on Moon and planets, Mak will be better due to lack of chromatic aberration.

 

[johninderby]

4 minutes ago, sarahsmiffy said:

Thanks so which one you recommend for a beginner who wants to find way around the sky, enjoy a bit of everything and take the odd pic of the moon ?

 

https://www.telescopehouse.com/bresser-messier-ar-80-640-az-nano-telescope.html                             

(no youtube videos of this for me to see)

 

https://www.harrisontelescopes.co.uk/acatalog/skywatcher-evostar-90mm-az3-telescope.html

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/skywatcher-startravel-102-az3-telescope.html

Yes that would be a better choice .BTW Telescope House ( Bresser UK) ships everything from Germany whereas Harrison ships from the UK and their shipping is cheaper.

https://www.harrisontelescopes.co.uk/acatalog/bresser-messier-ar-80.html#SID=1683

Edited April 12, 2020 by johninderby

[sarahsmiffy]

7 minutes ago, Timebandit said:

 

 

Hi . Personally If you want a first "proper scope" then I think there is only one scope I would recommend. That's a reflector 200mn something like a SW. This can be on a dob mount or if you have a bit more money some sort of AZ. These scopes are just such good bang for buck, ideal Luna ,DSO , planetary. Just such good all round visual scopes ,and you can put your phone up to the eyepiece with a steady hand and take some Luna photos. These scopes can be picked up second hand at very sensible money.

At a later date if you have a bit more in your budget and  if you still want to do some AP then there is the refractor SW80ed, such a well respected AP scope at sensible money second hand

I hope this helps 

 

 

 

Thank you could you link me some please preferebly for no more than £300. Thank you.

[sarahsmiffy]

21 minutes ago, johninderby said:

It’s a manual EQ mount not GOTO or motorised. Manual ait-az mounts are easy to use but manual EQ ones aren’t so nice to use.

Perhaps this one? 

https://www.harrisontelescopes.co.uk/acatalog/bresser-nano-90.html

i like this one - do you think ill be able see nebulae with it and attach a phone mount ? 

Also i presume its lens size is 1.25 so interchangeable with othe makes/models of lenses

Edited April 12, 2020 by sarahsmiffy

[johninderby]

It takes standard 1.25” eyepieces and you will be able to attach a phone to it. 

Long focal length so best on moon and planets but will also be able to see DSOs (deep space objects) although the field of view isn’t wide enough to take in the bigger objects. 

With these acrhomatic scopes long focal lengths are popular as it reduces CA (chromatic aberation) which is the false colour around objects. 

At this price range you won’t be able to get a really good scope but more of a usable beginners scope. It actually comes with a decent 26mm eyepiece unlike most beginners scopes though although you’ll probably want another eyepiece of about 10mm.

Edited April 12, 2020 by johninderby

[miguel87]

Dont let everyone put you of EQ mounts. My very first mount was EQ and I have never looked back. I think they are very user friendly personally.

Also you mentioned a couple of times about "can I see nebula with this scope"

That entirely depends where you are and which nebula. You can see the orion nebula with the naked eye in fairly good skies.

With bad light pollution such as Bortle 8 or 9, you probably wouldn't see any nebula even with 4 or 5 inches of aperture.

Edited April 12, 2020 by miguel87

[Neil H]

plus 1 on the EQ  mount I have had 3 telescopes a 114/900 then 150/750 and now 200/1200 first two manual mounts took a bit of getting used too but after a few goes got easy to use , my telescope I am on now 200/1200 on an HEQ5 go-to mount , may be look second-hand your get a lot more telescope for your money this set up cost me £700 in total

New is about £1400 

[Paul M]

1 hour ago, vlaiv said:

Out of interest, what do other members thing of this alternative to 90/900 on Az3 mount?

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-az-eq-avant/sky-watcher-skymax-102-az-eq-avant.html

Looks like a nice bit of kit for the money. Compact and usable.

It seems to me that many seasoned observers spend more time using their grab and go set-up than their main set-up. There is a lesson in there somewhere!

[Louis D]

4 hours ago, sarahsmiffy said:

Not keen on a dobsonian as you have to prop it on something or crouch !

I don't see why you'd need to prop a 6" Dob on something to use it if you are seated.  It would give you the best views of the sky you could hope for for under £250 (£219).  It can break down to put the base in the trunk and the tube across the back seat of a car.

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-az5-deluxe/sky-watcher-explorer-130ps-az5-deluxe.html will knock the socks off an ST102 and Evostar 90.

I had this scope and regret selling it. I still use the mount with other scopes and the tripod for binoculars.

 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-150p-dobsonian.html

A lot of aperture for the money. 

 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-heritage-130p-flextube.html

Very cheap, leaving spare cash in your budget for a acessories. Easily stored and transported.

The tube has an integral dovetail, so it can be fitted onto an AZ manual mount and tripod should you wish to in the future. The base can also be fitted to a tripod.

 

Edited April 12, 2020 by ScouseSpaceCadet

[sarahsmiffy]

Thank you all -im even more confused and lost with it all now.

I am torn between a few .

 

Thank you for all your help - i need to do some research on the scopes recommended