Telescope for beginner in a light-polluted areas

[kiwiinlondon]

Hi, sorry if this has been asked before but I couldn’t find anything. What is a good beginner telescope for someone living in an area with lots of light pollution (central London)? Understand I won’t get the same results as someone living in a dark area but I’d like to be able to see the planets and moon better and some stars too. I was thinking of the Sky-Watcher-130P Flextube but was worried the design wouldn’t be the best with lots of background light. My budget is up to £300 and want something easy to use since I know nothing about this subject.

Also, can the Dobsonian mount be used with a camera, if I got really into it? 

thanks in advance for any advice! 

[Zermelo]

There are folk who manage surprisingly well from city centres. In many cases the problem isn't so much seeing your target but finding it in the first place. In polluted skies you are going to struggle with star hopping because you will have fewer reference stars to guide you. Compounding this, a beginner scope will likely come armed only with a basic "red dot" finder or perhaps a 6x30. Substituting a larger finder will help with the hopping, but the extra weight may either throw the scope off balance or exceed the overall mount limit (especially if you start to upgrade eyepieces). A Telrad finder is very useful, but again it's heavy.

You might consider a computerised "goto" mount, which will help with locating targets, but be aware that they are (a) significantly more expensive and (b) don't do all the work for you - you will likely still need to do some manual finding.

That sounds a bit gloomy, but as I say plenty of people do manage well in cities. Another point is to pick your targets sensibly. Don't expect to see M33 from a balcony window (and now I know that someone is going to reply that they did just that). There are resources aimed specifically at the urban astronomer, like this book and this observing programme . Good luck.

 

Edited October 31, 2020 by Zermelo
typo

[Cosmic Geoff]

At a city centre site, a GoTo mount would offer significant advantages as otherwise you will struggle to locate any non-obvious objects.  You could fit a light shroud on the 130p dobsonian, but also consider narrow field instruments such as a long focal length refractor, or a Maksutov.

If you don't go with the GoTo, upgrading the finder to a 9x50 RACI  (right angled, non image reversing) finder would be helpful.

A Dobsonian is the type least suited to any kind of imaging.

[kiwiinlondon]

Thank you both! That’s really helpful

I was tempted by the Goto models but had assumed that I’d get less of a telescope for my money but will look again 

 

 

[Zermelo]

21 minutes ago, kiwiinlondon said:

Thank you both! That’s really helpful

I was tempted by the Goto models but had assumed that I’d get less of a telescope for my money but will look again 

 

 

You will get less - if you have a fixed budget then opting for Goto will leave you less for the scope (OTA) and accessories. If you were viewing from a dark site then you would probably receive advice to get the biggest dobsonian you could afford. But there's no advantage in having a bigger bucket if you're going to struggle to find anything in the first place. That's the trade-off you need to decide, and for a beginner I think it's important to be seeing stuff early on.

And I'd support Cosmic Geoff's mention of the RACI finder. I linked to a "straight through" model, but the RACI has the double advantage of (a) showing the sky as it appears in most sky charts (the other models are reversed L-R, up-down, or both!), and (b) saving you from contorting your neck into difficult positions. I'm waiting on a RACI myself (currently out of stock, like many items at the moment). Unfortunately, they are also more expensive than straight-through types.

[Tiny Clanger]

Hello kiwiinlondon,

with a £300 budget you are going to have to make compromises. A lot of enthusiasts would say that is barely enough to buy a basic go to mount and tripod , this is the cheapest I can see on FLO , a mount, tripod & extension Pillar:  £285 https://www.firstlightoptics.com/all-mounts-motors/sky-watcher-az-gti-wifi-alt-az-mount-tripod.html

And that isn't even the type of head recommended for astro photos (an equatorial or EQ mount ) for which (with go to ability) add at least another £100. Sorry to sound rather gloomy, but I've spent ages over the last 6months researching budget options for myself, and my conclusion is that the best route for a beginner with less than about £500 to spend is to buy a basic, affordable, simple, portable but well thought of 'scope as a starter instrument. If you get swept up by the hobby, long term, such a 'scope can be kept as a 'grab & go' tool for holidays or quick evening trips to darker skies once you've saved up for an all singing & dancing telescope of your dreams. By then you will know what aspect interests you too, so can make an informed decision about type of telescope, and will be able to make informed decisions on buying second hand to keep costs down.

Best starting point for browsing what is affordable, but not a toy : https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes.html

Be aware that you will soon realise  the telescope package you get will probably have some very basic accessories you will soon want to upgrade . The eyepieces that are included are generally cheap , and the finder that helps you aim the 'scope may be inadequate too. My choice was this, costing £200 :

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/sky-watcher-heritage-150p-flextube-dobsonian-telescope.html

It's a larger version of the 130p heritage (which is on the beginner's list above ) and has done me proud in the 4 months I've used it from a suburban back garden, I'm happy with it, but understand it has limitations.  I've added a 'shroud' made of black foam sheet to exclude light from the open section (big sheet of foam , £13 ) , when the red dot finder became just too much of a pain in the neck, a RACI viewfinder (essentially a little telescope that you don't have to perform acrobatics to look in, also helpful for pointing the main 'scope at faint objects ) which was about £50, and a few slightly better eyepieces ranging from £20 to nearly £50 each.

The RACI finder and the eyepieces can all be easily swapped to a different telescope if ( no, who am I kidding, when !) I upgrade, and I enjoy the tinkering and research and learning of a low cost, low tech approach, but, as they say, your mileage may vary ...

 

 

[kiwiinlondon]

Thanks, I was a little put off by the cost of a light shroud so good to know people have made their own. 
 

Good point about not expecting everything in a basic model. Really helpful to know limitations before buying one though so I’m aware of what trade off I’m making 

I’m going to take a look at the 150 now that I know I could make a shroud for it  - thanks again 

 

 

[AstroNebulee]

A maksutov telescope would be good for you, hardly or no collimation needed, good crisps views of lunar and planets, you maybe able to get a skywatcher 90 or 102 maksutov on a reasonable mount for such a price, but with the current pandemic getting a scope delivered anytime soon is a hard thing to do. You could try looking at astro buy and sell sites for something quicker as all astronomers look after their equipment very well. Not sure a goto mount would be that great as you still have to starcalign the scope and not have many reference stars to help the alignment process with the light pollution you have. It depends if you can see bright stars then it's possible. If so this could be good for you https://www.firstlightoptics.com/maksutov/skywatcher-skymax-102-synscan-az-goto.html

Lead time is 2 weeks according to FLO but could be longer you never know atm.

Here are some suggestions from flo for beginners scopes. 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes.html

You may have to up your budget slightly to get a scope to meet your requirements. Good luck and clear skies you'll love this fascinating hobby which will take over and your wallet 😉📷🌌🔭

Edited October 31, 2020 by LeeHore7

[Tiny Clanger]

1 hour ago, kiwiinlondon said:

Thanks, I was a little put off by the cost of a light shroud so good to know people have made their own. 
 

Good point about not expecting everything in a basic model. Really helpful to know limitations before buying one though so I’m aware of what trade off I’m making 

I’m going to take a look at the 150 now that I know I could make a shroud for it  - thanks again 

 

 

To inform myself of what might be possible with the heritage 150 I read my way through this 6 year ,  nearly 200 page thread which is about the US version of the slightly smaller 130 heritage,  which is available under a different name there in support of a charity. It's well worth a browse

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/463109-onesky-newtonian-astronomers-without-borders/

A shorter thread on here, featuring a very useful video by a member here (which I first found via youtube, so belated thanks Lockie !) about making a light shroud and PTFE taping the focuser

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/356601-new-product-alert-heritage-150p/page/3/

The Maksutov scopes (often abbreviated to Mak ) appeal to me, they are reminiscent of the catadioptric telephoto lenses that were around in photography back when film was the thing last century .  Whilst Maks do offer a longer focal length, their construction makes them more expensive for a similar light gathering ability ( the mirror diameter ) . You gather less light for your £, but gain in terms of magnification. 

This is good news for viewing detail on planets & the Moon, but, guess what ? Yep, there's bad news too - with higher magnification it's harder to line the scope up to see a thing , and once you do , the thing drifts out of your eyepiece faster ! Also any wobbles in the mount are magnified, and a cheap tripod bundled with a low price scope is likely to be another weak point in the setup.

Having said that, now I've used the heritage 150 for a few months and started up the steep learning curve of observing with it, I don't regret my purchase one little bit. It;'s shown me detail on Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, enabled me to see Uranus , various Messier objects and double stars from my suburban back garden.  However,  I do have a 127 Mak on order , an extra tool in my observing armoury , not a replacement, I will use both. The two types have advantages for different types of object. The 127 mak would be outside  your budget as you'll need a tripod and head too, but the 102mm mak with a simple manual mount would be within.

Tough decisions eh !

[xvariablestarx]

I have a 100mm Mak, it gives good planetary views, and is compact. Planets are easier targets than most DSOs and Maks excel at planets.