Which one would you recommend?

[LeaWoo]

Hi all,

I am looking to buy a beginners telescope and I am currently unsure between 2.

I am looking at either the:

PowerSeeker 70AZ Telescope or

Celestron 31035 AstroMaster 76 EQ Reflector Telescope

i have done some research but I really am none the wiser as to which is better. This is for viewing stars and planets.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Spacecake2]

They both have similar power but the power seeker are for people who learn how to use telescopes and the Astromaster mount is the one you should get.

AZ - alt-azimuth mount, simply it is rotating around azimuth and can lift to zenith

EQ - it is equatorial mount. You need to know where Polar star is placed that to pointing telescope mount to it.

 

 

[Alan64]

The first listed is a refractor, an achromat.  The second is a Newtonian, a reflector, and that may require routine collimation, alignment of the optical-system.  

If this is your first telescope, I would suggest the refractor, the PowerSeeker 70AZ Telescope.  You might want to get a star-diagonal for it, eventually, as the one that comes with the kit, an Amici erect-image, is not ideal for use at night; during the day rather, for birds in trees, ships at sea, et al.  You can use the Amici at night, but the performance will fall short compared to that of a proper star-diagonal.  The second kit, the Newtonian, does not use a diagonal.

The refractor comes with an easier-to-use mount, an alt-azimuth.  The Newtonian comes with an equatorial mount, which may seem difficult to use, at first, but practice makes perfect.  So there you have a refractor which will not require collimation, generally, and mounted on a simpler alt-azimuth.  Then, you have the Newtonian which will require collimation on occasion, and on a more complex equatorial mount.  The equatorial will allow for manual or automatic(with a motor-drive) tracking of any object in the sky.  The refractor can be used day or night; the Newtonian at night, although solar-observations are possible during the day with the reflector, and with a safe solar-filter fitted over the front of the telescope.  The refractor is more the ideal for planetary and stellar(single-and double-stars) observations.  On the other hand, the Newtonian would be false-colour free, when viewing brighter objects.

Those are the differences.  In so far as brightness(light-gathering) and ease of achieving higher magnifications, the two are practically identical.  The eyepieces provided with each kit are essentially of the same type.  You may find that upgrading to better eyepieces, like Plossls, and perhaps a quality 2x-barlow, will enhance the enjoyment.

If we knew your location, we could suggest other and possibly better options for you to consider.

[LeaWoo]

Thank you for your reply.

I am currently in the UK. I think I will go for the powerseeker as a start off, what eye pieces would you recommend for this?

[Spacecake2]

Sorry for saying this so late, I do recommend the Astromaster 90az which has the same mount and focal length (Basically just magnification) as the astromaster.  but has more aperture (more thickness) so you can have more magnification. Astromaster also has better quality (my opinion). 😀

Edited October 12, 2020 by Spacecake2

[Ricochet]

5 hours ago, LeaWoo said:

Thank you for your reply.

I am currently in the UK. I think I will go for the powerseeker as a start off, what eye pieces would you recommend for this?

What is your budget? I would go for something from the Skywatcher Heritage range over your current choices, even if you have to save up/increase your budget to do so.

[John]

4 minutes ago, Ricochet said:

What is your budget? I would go for something from the Skywatcher Heritage range over your current choices, even if you have to save up/increase your budget to do so.

Me too 100%

 

[Alan64]

13 hours ago, LeaWoo said:

Thank you for your reply.

I am currently in the UK. I think I will go for the powerseeker as a start off, what eye pieces would you recommend for this?

Two to three eyepieces would make for a useful set for a long time.  Plossls are the minimum in performance eyepieces, and are economical; a 32mm and a 12mm, along with a 2x-barlow perhaps.  The 32mm would be for your lowest power and brightest/widest view of the sky, and for hunting objects to observe.  The 12mm, with and without a barlow, for the higher powers.

Plossls...

https://www.365astronomy.com/32mm-GSO-Plossl-Eyepiece.html

https://www.365astronomy.com/12mm-GSO-Plossl-Eyepiece.html

Barlow... https://www.365astronomy.com/GSO-2x-Barlow-2-Element-Achromatic-Barlow.html

Those are just examples.  If you want eyepieces that will show a wider view of the sky at the medium-to-high powers, those are available too.

 

[LeaWoo]

On 11/10/2020 at 16:21, Ricochet said:

What is your budget? I would go for something from the Skywatcher Heritage range over your current choices, even if you have to save up/increase your budget to do so.

Hi, thank you for your reply.

This is for starting out so really around £120. Is this good enough on it's own or are separate eyepieces required?

[LeaWoo]

On 12/10/2020 at 00:14, Alan64 said:

Two to three eyepieces would make for a useful set for a long time.  Plossls are the minimum in performance eyepieces, and are economical; a 32mm and a 12mm, along with a 2x-barlow perhaps.  The 32mm would be for your lowest power and brightest/widest view of the sky, and for hunting objects to observe.  The 12mm, with and without a barlow, for the higher powers.

Plossls...

https://www.365astronomy.com/32mm-GSO-Plossl-Eyepiece.html

https://www.365astronomy.com/12mm-GSO-Plossl-Eyepiece.html

Barlow... https://www.365astronomy.com/GSO-2x-Barlow-2-Element-Achromatic-Barlow.html

Those are just examples.  If you want eyepieces that will show a wider view of the sky at the medium-to-high powers, those are available too.

 

Hi Alan64, 

I've been awol this week, sorry.

I'll have a look at these, I'm planning on purchasing over the next week so I'll update you with what I choose.

I appreciate your input.

[Ricochet]

10 hours ago, LeaWoo said:

Hi, thank you for your reply.

This is for starting out so really around £120. Is this good enough on it's own or are separate eyepieces required?

Separate eyepieces will be beneficial at some stage. The ones supplied with a telescope are just cheap stater eyepieces to get you going. However, you should spend as much money as you can now on the best scope you can afford, and worry about upgrading eyepieces at a later date. If you can push the budget to £150 the heritage 130p would be my choice, if not then I would take the heritage 100p over the original options.