Advice is most welcome!

[Murky]

Hello there,

I'm quite a novice when it comes to watching the sky, let alone getting my first telescope. I am very excited to start this new hobby and a thing or two about the night sky! My main interest would be getting good, clear images of the planets and the deep sky objects (galaxies, nebulaes..) I have done some research and found a couple that sort of appealed to me but I need help from the more experienced to make the right decision..  

Would the Celestron powerseeker 127 EQ or even the Bresser Galaxia 114 EQ be a good option to start with? 

Thank you for your help!

[DaveL59]

when you say "good, clear images" are you looking at visual viewing or photography as the latter would require significant investment.

For the scopes you mention the Celestron 127 I'd avoid being a bird-jones format so unlikely to give good or clear images. The Bresser is a better scope in that regard tho at 114mm it'll be limited in deep sky viewing.

Some more details in terms of budget, how dark your skies are and storage/transporting the gear would help others here to advise better.

 

welcome to the forum by the way 🙂

Edited November 18, 2020 by DaveL59

[Murky]

Thank you Dave for your reply.

In terms of good and clear images; I'm more interested in visual viewing for starters and photography can come later on once I'm a bit more experienced in this field.

We live in slightly air polluted area, so I'd like to be able to take the scope with me to the desert, where I can have good dark spots to view from. And when it comes to budget, I am looking at anything between £400 to £500. Saying that, I think I should consider the shipping costs of it as well since I live in the UAE and shipping something too heavy can end up costing more than the product itself.. 

I am open for any suggestion

 

[Cosmic Geoff]

I suggest you find and read the "What can I expect to see?" thread here.

I suggest you start with visual only in mind. When you have some experience, you can re-purchase for imaging projects - the latter is likely to prove expensive.

What kind of telescope? Really this is up to you; with a budget of £400 to £500 your first decision should be whether you want an entry level outfit with GoTo, or a somewhat larger telescope without GoTo.

Next choice: what sort of mount? The German equatorial is versatile, but needs polar alignment, and is only really useful or essential these days when equipped with a RA motor to make it track, or for long exposure astrophotography.  Alt-azimuth mounts are easier to understand, and in GoTo form work just fine and will track and do almost anything else you want.   The Dobsonian (a mount, not a telescope, but for Newtonian reflectors only) is popular because of its simplicity and low added cost, offering maximal aperture per £.

Then there's the telescope itself (the OTA): again plenty of choice here, and again it's partly a matter of what appeals to you.  In your budget you will be looking at Newtonians - a simple classic design, but need periodic collimation which will worry some beginners,  achromatic refractors: the short tube f5 versions are only fit for widefield viewing (or entry level inaging), while the long tube (f10) ones are good for looking at planets etc.  The Maksutov is a reliable design with long focal ratio that rarely if ever requires collimation - buy with confidence.    The smallest SCT at 5" aperture is another reliable design that has a long focal ratio (typically f10) and may or may not be within your budget.

If all this just leaves you confused, then get a table-top mini-Dobsonian telescope (e.g. the Heritage 130p) and try that till you are able to decide what to buy next.

 

[vlaiv]

Telescope that will give you best views of everything you want to see in that price range is simply this one:

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

However, it does not have goto / tracking and it is quite large. It can be transported by small car, so that should not be much of a problem for visits to dark spots.

[Murky]

Thank you for your advice. What about the Orion SkyQuest XT 8 inches? Is that any good?

I have a silly question.. Wouldn't looking through the eyepiece of a Dobspnian mount be uncomfortable in a way? 

[vlaiv]

Orion SkyQuest XT and Skywatcher 200p should be basically the same scope - different packing. Most of other brands also come from same factory - there are really two major manufacturers of mirrors for these scopes - Synta and GSO.

There is a bit of difference in how rocker box works I think - different tension system, but use is just the same. You just place it on ground - point and look. There is not much to it really.

That size dobsonian telescope offers one of the most comfortable observing positions. Only thing that you might find problematic is straight thru finder as you need to bend your neck quite a bit to locate objects near zenith.

People often replace stock straight thru finder with right angled version.

Otherwise, it will be very pleasant experience. You might wonder if looking "at the side" rather than "down the tube" will somehow confuse you, but I really never felt strange while using mine and never thought about it. I can see how this can confuse perhaps a small child, but I never heard anyone complaining about having issues with that.

I observe seated with mine and one of the things that you might like to get is simple height adjustable chair like this one:

or similar.