Greetings from London

[Maho]

Hi everyone,

 

Long time lurker here. I'm new to astronomy, something I've always been interested in as a child but never really had the chance participate until now. 

I live in North London, which according to Clear Outside app, is a Class 8 site . I have been reading up on reviews, watching YouTube reviews on types of telescopes and I dont think I've ever been more confused and intimidated about a purchase I've made before as the options are so many. I havent got my telescope or mount yet, though I do have a camera. I like the look of the SW ED80, but it looks like it's out of stock everywhere, so looking for alternatives  which will be good for visual and in the future for astrophotography. I'm umming and ahhing about whether I should get a GoTo mount or a non motorised one as the non-motorised might force me to learn the technicals of observing the night sky.

Any and all advice appreciated.

Anyway, good to meet you all!🖐️

 

Maho

 

 

 

 

[cletrac1922]

Maho

Welcome from Land Down Under

I have SW ED80 on a EQ5pro mount

These days lot of people now going for the ED100 or ED120

As made in China, a lot of things are currently not avalable due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, industries closed in China

John

 

 

[PeterCPC]

Hello Maho and welcome.

Peter

[Floater]

Welcome. Have lots of fun. 🙂

[banjaxed]

Hi Maho, welcome to SGL.

[Tenor Viol]

Hi welcome

Almost all modern telescope equipment is made in China and factories were closed for a while so everything is on back order. I've been waiting a couple of months for one now, stuff is coming through so should be here in a week or two...

[sloz1664]

Hi Maho and a very warm welcome to the Lounge

Steve

[laudropb]

Hello and a warm welcome to the SGL

[Dave Lloyd]

Hi Maho, welcome. 

[Maho]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!

 

[toshapetriji]

Welcome to SGL.

[Mr Spock]

Hi Maho, welcome to SGL 

[Pete Presland]

Hi welcome to SGL from Peter in Bedfordshire 🙂

[carastro]

Welcome, to Astronomy and SGL.  Buying your first scope can be very confusing and you'll get lots of opinions and answers because people will like what suits them and their interests.  

The main thing to is decide what you want to do with it, visual only, then if visual, do you want to motorise it or push it and learn the sky (as you say).  Do you think at some point you might want to do photography, if so this will define the type of equipment you will need, but do you want to image the solar system or deep sky stuff (different scopes needed for each).  

Let us know where your interests lie and we can recommend the best suited to what you want to do.

Carole 

[Starwatcher2001]

Hi Maho, and welcome aboard.

Are you likely to be doing your observing from home, or might you be seeking dark skies sometimes?

I'm "old school" and would normally recommend learning to star-hop first rather than using goto, but in a light polluted environment that can be frustrating. 

You'll still learn the sky and can learn to star-hop with a motorised scope, but it is slightly easier with tracking.  It's often the case that by the time you've consulted the charts, remembered that the orientation is different through the eyepiece, and have worked out which star is next on your little journey... the star you were on has drifted out of the view!

 

[Pain in the Neck]

Hi Maho, and a warm welcome to SGL.
I was in the same situation as you just a few weeks ago, not having a clue what to buy. Everyone will tell you it depends what you want to view, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted! After lots and lots (and lots) of research I set my budget (bearing in mind all the essential extras I knew I would need), went for the best mount I could afford, and the biggest aperture I could comfortably transport to a dark-sky location.

Unfortunately I still don’t know if I made the right choice, as my OTA is a victim of the supply issues caused by COVID. Very pleased with the mount and eyepieces though - they all look lovely (and quite complicated!) sitting in the garage.

Enjoy!

[Maho]

On 25/07/2020 at 08:57, carastro said:

Welcome, to Astronomy and SGL.  Buying your first scope can be very confusing and you'll get lots of opinions and answers because people will like what suits them and their interests.  

The main thing to is decide what you want to do with it, visual only, then if visual, do you want to motorise it or push it and learn the sky (as you say).  Do you think at some point you might want to do photography, if so this will define the type of equipment you will need, but do you want to image the solar system or deep sky stuff (different scopes needed for each).  

Let us know where your interests lie and we can recommend the best suited to what you want to do.

Carole 

 

On 25/07/2020 at 16:44, Starwatcher2001 said:

Hi Maho, and welcome aboard.

Are you likely to be doing your observing from home, or might you be seeking dark skies sometimes?

I'm "old school" and would normally recommend learning to star-hop first rather than using goto, but in a light polluted environment that can be frustrating. 

You'll still learn the sky and can learn to star-hop with a motorised scope, but it is slightly easier with tracking.  It's often the case that by the time you've consulted the charts, remembered that the orientation is different through the eyepiece, and have worked out which star is next on your little journey... the star you were on has drifted out of the view!

 

 

On 25/07/2020 at 22:43, Pain in the Neck said:

Hi Maho, and a warm welcome to SGL.
I was in the same situation as you just a few weeks ago, not having a clue what to buy. Everyone will tell you it depends what you want to view, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted! After lots and lots (and lots) of research I set my budget (bearing in mind all the essential extras I knew I would need), went for the best mount I could afford, and the biggest aperture I could comfortably transport to a dark-sky location.

Unfortunately I still don’t know if I made the right choice, as my OTA is a victim of the supply issues caused by COVID. Very pleased with the mount and eyepieces though - they all look lovely (and quite complicated!) sitting in the garage.

Enjoy!

Thank you all for the responses. Having read further and reduced my budget somewhat I  have decided to go for the following:

SW 130PDS reflector

EQ3 Pro GoTo

 

Reason for the change is primarily cost.

 

However due to Covid, with a big delay in supply of the mount and scope, I have decided to get a decent pair of bins to look up at the night sky through the comfort of my garden.

 

As I live in London, I will be making trips to dark sky spots as and when I get the chance. The reason for the GoTo is to give me options of astro imaging DSO once I'm ready and to also make it easier for visual due to my location if I'm observing from London.

Clear skies!

Maho