Telescope

[Mike409]

Hya guys I need some help looking at buying a scope for the moon and deeper space my budget is 2000 grand and I’m a pure 

novice so I need an automatic and the only thing I’ve learnt is  a 12 inch mirror is best any help appreciated I’ve looked at Meade and skywatcher thanks guys 

[miguel87]

Umm ok.

Have you ever looked through a telescope before?

What are hoping to observe? Do you want to take long exposure photographs? Where will you store your telescope and will you travel with it or observe from home?

A 12 inch reflector is not best. A 120 inch would give better views. My point being there is nothing special about 12 inches. 

Why do you want an automatic? Theres so much enjoyment to be had in delving into the sky, exploring, searching, finding, getting lost! You wanna spend two grand on a giant telescope that you dont know how to set up? It will just automatically roam around the sky, and point at an object for you to..look at.

Would you know what object to ask it to search for? 

[Carbon Brush]

Hi Mike and welcome to SGL.

Throwing a large amount of money at a 'posh' scope with bells and whistles is not, in my view, a good way forward.

Time spent talking to others, looking through their scopes, and looking through your own scope(s) are, in my view far more important.
These are the activites that will help you to get the best of any scope. Whether it be £200, or £2K, or £20K.

Keep asking the questions.

David.

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @Mike409 and welcome to SGL. 

I would suggest you start here: --->https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes.html 

If you are confident and know what is what in the sky, star-hopping, etc., have you considered a 'Dobsonian' type? (either a solid or truss tube) - if not then, I would consider buying some binoculars to begin with, or the SkyWatcher Heritage 130p Flextube to begin with; and get a copy of this book: 'Turn Left at Orion'.

Do you intend to do astro-imaging too? now or later? - the bigger the 'scope, the bigger the mount; (that is where most of the money will be spent, as it is the foundation for stable views/images). Also needs to be polar-aligned, kept in an obsy, etc. Getting accurately polar-aligned is going to be the biggest challenge for anyone, if it is not going to be a permanent fixture. 

Also, there are two types of popular mount: Alt-Az and EQ... an Alt-Az needs to be aligned via two or three stars if automated... EQ's need to be polar-aligned.

I myself, have a 70mm refractor, a 're-modded' 105mm Maksutov and 150mm Schmidt-Cassegrain on 'manual' Alt-Az mounts.

  

 

Edited April 22, 2020 by Philip R

[Mike409]

Hya guys thanks for your response I just thought an auto one finds planets easier I’ve only looked through s scope once which was cheep and I don’t want to be disappointed in a cheep scope I would like in time to connect may to a lap top and 

take images I might sound fussy but I wouldn’t want to spend an amount of a round 200 quid and be unhappy I would consider spending a grand if I could get good views of say Saturn and Venus and mars plus others I don’t want to rush into buying the wrong scope thanks guys 

[miguel87]

Ok, you dont want to be disappointed with a cheap scope. It would be worse to be disappointed with an expensive one!

That's why it is worth getting an idea of what the views will be like through any given telescope. Observing is a skill, it's not like looking at a photograph. It's not possible to just spend a grand on a telescope, chuck it up in the garden and have great views.

 

[johninderby]

There is a very good reason a dobsonian is so often recommended to a beginner. Cheapest way to get a decent sized scope with good optics and about the easiest to learn how to use. No other type of scope can deliver the views per £ spent. 

A lot of members here have a dob as well as a refractor or SCT or Mak etc. No one scope is good at everything so it’s normal to start out with one type and then later on add another when you have a better idea what it is you like observing most. After some time with the dob then a GOTO mount with an ED refractor of about 100mm would be a nice next step. 

To get a taste of astrophotography get a smartphone holder for ypur scope and have a go at some simple lunar / planetary  shots. Very cheap way to give it a try although at the moment just the moon and Venus are good targets. Even with a dob and a smartphone you can take some decent photos.

These were taken with asmartphone and a dob.

Edited April 22, 2020 by johninderby

[Owmuchonomy]

14 minutes ago, Mike409 said:

Hya guys thanks for your response I just thought an auto one finds planets easier I’ve only looked through s scope once which was cheep and I don’t want to be disappointed in a cheep scope

Hello Mike, the juicy planetary targets are poorly placed from UK skies at the moment. No scope can solve that problem.  Things start improving over the next few years. Mars is good this Autumn. So be sure what you are using it for before you buy. It’s sound advice to have a try before you buy. I’m not sure who told you a 12” mirror is best but that doesn’t mean much without context.

[Louis D]

4 hours ago, Mike409 said:

Hya guys I need some help looking at buying a scope for the moon and deeper space my budget is 2000 grand and I’m a pure

So, that's 2000 grand = 2 million?  Pretty deep pockets there.

19 minutes ago, Mike409 said:

Hya guys thanks for your response I just thought an auto one finds planets easier I’ve only looked through s scope once which was cheep and I don’t want to be disappointed in a cheep scope I would like in time to connect may to a lap top and 

Except for Uranus and Neptune, planets are super easy to find due to their brightness.  DSOs can be much harder to find, but the thrill can be in the hunt.

4 hours ago, Mike409 said:

novice so I need an automatic and the only thing I’ve learnt is  a 12 inch mirror is best any help appreciated I’ve looked at Meade and skywatcher thanks guys 

For 2000, I would look to get a nice, custom made, used truss Dob with a hand figured mirror.  I can't tell where you're located, but in the US, these come up all the time on the astro classifieds.  The optics and mechanicals are much better than commercial Dobs and really hold their value well.

[DaveL59]

one thing you've not mentioned Mike is where you hope to be using the scope from, balcony, garden or transporting it to darker locations, level/uneven ground etc. Likewise storage of the scope and accessories and how portable you might need it to be to get it in and out for use. Also availability of power if you want GoTo and other powered stuff to work.

In my case the most I spent on a single scope was £260 (TAL100RS) and the least £10 (76mm tabletop reflector), all bought used and with a little adjusting in some cases all give nice views for me. Depends what your appetite is for used gear but it can save a lot of cash for what comes next or buy you something better than your budget compared to new. Probably spent more on eyepieces, another bottomless pit that'll be waiting for you to step too close  

I'll also note that while a goto scope is useful, it does need to be set up each session or when you ask it to goto xyz it'll do it from where it thinks it is and end up anywhere, potentially. That part can be frustrating to learn, but a mount that can track does make for more relaxed viewing once on a selected target. You can achieve that with a RA motor rather than going the full GoTo rig at several times more cost.

 

 

[Mike409]

Hya,thanks guys I’ve learnt so much already any help much appreciated for a novice those photos are superb with a phone 

I’ve got an honor 8 smartphone I will look at that brand and  thankyou so much , mike 

[RT65CB-SWL]

A few things I forgot to mention in my earlier post. If you are going down the astro-imaging route, get a copy of this book: 'Make Every Photon Count'.

You will need an EQ mount, EQ5 or better. As I said earlier, this is where most of your money will be spent. You can do astro-imaging with an Alt-Az mount, but the OTA needs to be move in two axis, (rather then one axis for an EQ when polar-aligned), and you will need to find a method of compensating for the Earth's 'rapid' rotation. They are OK for Lunar/Moon & Solar/Sun imaging; (with appropriate solar filters or solar wedge*, etc). Venus, Jupiter & Saturn are doable too, but do require some patience of the end user. 

<--- This is my 70mm refractor, (c/w solar wedge*), for viewing the Sun in 'white-light'.

 

* a solar wedge, (a.ka. Hershel wedge), can only be used with a refractor telescope. 

Edited April 24, 2020 by Philip R

[Dr Strange]

My recommendation is find a local astronomy club when the current mess is over and go look through some telescopes. If there are no clubs within an hour or so of you or you don't want to wait then a fully automatic system that will get you the deep space objects (DSO), planets, and the moon but will not be for astro photography (AP) then you would want to look at the Celestron Evolution 203mm/8" EdgeHD with StarSense. It is over your budget but it will automatically align the telescope and require absolutely no actions on your part save looking through the eyepiece (EP).

The two additions I would make to it would be a 10mm and 7mm eyepiece (EP) from the Celestron Luminos line and the TEMPest fans from Deep Space Products. The former will give you different magnifications to work with on various objects and the latter will cut the cooling time for the scope (all scopes because they are closed tubes will need to cool down to match outside air to give you the best views and mirrored scopes take longer than ones with lenses) in about 1/2 to 2/3. 

A link to that scope is:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/nexstar-evolution-telescopes/celestron-nexstar-evolution-8-edgehd-with-starsense.html

[Mike409]

Hya guys I saw a clip on YouTube of a guy in the states with a Meade 12 in and he was raving over it that’s why I mentioned it he was saying it let’s far more light in I’m learning so much thankyou , mike 

[Mike409]

Ah David yes I’ve got a garden with a lovely open spot have any of you guys seen the space station close up or Hubble 

many thanks 

[Mike409]

Ps does anyone live in northwest wouldn’t mind some pointers when I get scope 

[johninderby]

One thing to think about is carrying the dob. An 8” or 10” is quite easy to move but a 12” is getting harder for some people.

[omo]

Satellites can be seen, but they move pretty quickly over the sky.

[Carbon Brush]

A very good cautionary note from @johninderby

All scopes and mounts tend to look the same size and weight on the web pages.

 

[johninderby]

There are big dobs and then there are BIG dobs. 🙀

[Dr Strange]

Then there are REALLY BIG Dob's! This one stands as 10.6m tall and has a 1.8m diameter mirror!

 

[DaveL59]

wasn't that the one built with a NASA mirror that had a slight flaw so he got it for a great price?

[Dr Strange]

It was designed for a spy satellite but there were flaws so it was mothballed until he got it at auction. 

[DaveL59]

ahh that was it, yes I remember reading about his scope, nice to have the room to be able to build and use something like that  

[Louis D]

45 minutes ago, DaveL59 said:

ahh that was it, yes I remember reading about his scope, nice to have the room to be able to build and use something like that  

The American West, like the Australian Outback, both have lots of room to spread out in.  Mike Clements is in Utah, which has vast stretches of emptiness like most of the rest of the Mountain West and the Desert Southwest.