Complete Novice Advice

[Norrie65]

Hi new member and beginner looking for advice, set my self a budget of £200 ish. I want something that I can look at the moon but also some nebulae, I have been looking at a few telescopes,

saw some comments yesterday about the top one

Bresser Messier 6” planetary telescope £290

Bresser Messier 5” planetary telescope £190

sky watcher sky liner 150 about£225
are they easy to use?

or if someone can recommend something better?

 

cheers

Norrie

 

Edited November 23, 2020 by Norrie65

[Ricochet]

I'm not sure what you mean by the Bresser 5" planetary scope, do you mean the 5" dob? If so, I would recommend one of the 6" options as they are full size dobs that can sit on the ground and don't need to be placed on a table. You will need to also find some sort of height adjustable chair to use with the 6" telescopes, else you will have to spend the whole time stooping down to the focuser. 

For nebulae, telescope aperture is the second most important trait, after the ability to transport the telescope to a darker site. You won't get more aperture for your money than the 6" dobs you have highlighted, unless FLO have another 8" dob lined up to appear in their black Friday sale. 

[Norrie65]

14 minutes ago, Ricochet said:

I'm not sure what you mean by the Bresser 5" planetary scope, do you mean the 5" dob? If so, I would recommend one of the 6" options as they are full size dobs that can sit on the ground and don't need to be placed on a table. You will need to also find some sort of height adjustable chair to use with the 6" telescopes, else you will have to spend the whole time stooping down to the focuser. 

For nebulae, telescope aperture is the second most important trait, after the ability to transport the telescope to a darker site. You won't get more aperture for your money than the 6" dobs you have highlighted, unless FLO have another 8" dob lined up to appear in their black Friday sale. 

Hi thanks for the reply, yes the 5” was a dob. The 6” messier planetary seems to have different mount to the 5” no idea if that is meant to be better or not

[Ricochet]

1 minute ago, Norrie65 said:

Hi thanks for the reply, yes the 5” was a dob. The 6” messier planetary seems to have different mount to the 5” no idea if that is meant to be better or not

Yes, the 6" Bresser will have the best mount of all three options. It also has a much better secondary spider than the 5" and, if it is built like its bigger brothers, much better mirror supports than the Skywatcher. 

[Mr Spock]

Another advantage to the Bresser is it uses tube rings. This means you can rotate the tube to whatever you find comfortable.

It's called a planetary scope because it's f8. At 1200mm focal length though you can still get low powers for wide field viewing. Being f8 it will have a smaller secondary than short focal length Newtonians; this means a smaller obstruction and better contrast.

[Bongo]

Hi,

I'm a newbie myself, in a similar position to you. So I can't really answer your specific questions. However, I've just chipped in to say to be a bit careful and check stock levels. I was trying to order a Bresser and nearly everywhere was out of stock. Bresser themselves told me that some models might not be available until the middle of next year. You may be luckier than me, but check with the supplier, especially if you want one in time for Xmas.

For the record, I went for a Meade Lightbridge 130 Mini in the end. Can't recommend it as it hasn't arrived yet!

Good luck!

[KP82]

For £200-ish, these 6-inch dobs are perfect. I believe both the SW and Bresser are in stock with FLO at the moment.

[callisto]

4 minutes ago, KP82 said:

For £200-ish, these 6-inch dobs are perfect. I believe both the SW and Bresser are in stock with FLO at the moment.

+1 for that....If in doubt, give FLO a shout

[Norrie65]

19 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

Another advantage to the Bresser is it uses tube rings. This means you can rotate the tube to whatever you find comfortable.

It's called a planetary scope because it's f8. At 1200mm focal length though you can still get low powers for wide field viewing. Being f8 it will have a smaller secondary than short focal length Newtonians; this means a smaller obstruction and better contrast.

 

19 hours ago, Ricochet said:

Yes, the 6" Bresser will have the best mount of all three options. It also has a much better secondary spider than the 5" and, if it is built like its bigger brothers, much better mirror supports than the Skywatcher. 

 

19 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

Another advantage to the Bresser is it uses tube rings. This means you can rotate the tube to whatever you find comfortable.

It's called a planetary scope because it's f8. At 1200mm focal length though you can still get low powers for wide field viewing. Being f8 it will have a smaller secondary than short focal length Newtonians; this means a smaller obstruction and better contrast.

So the Bresser would be worth the extra £60 or so?

[Mr Spock]

I would say yes, it is.

[Norrie65]

Thanks for everyone’s replies, what deep space objects could I expect to see with the  Bresser 6” telescope?

[AstroMuni]

23 hours ago, Norrie65 said:

Thanks for everyone’s replies, what deep space objects could I expect to see with the  Bresser 6” telescope?

That depends on the light pollution in your area. Here is a good place to start https://binocularsky.com/newsletter/BinoSkyNL.pdf

It shows you what can be seen in binoculars so definitely visible thro a 6" ! As you are going to be viewing with your eyes, dont expect to see the lovely colours that you see in pictures 🙂

Good luck.

[Zermelo]

On 24/11/2020 at 17:50, Norrie65 said:

Thanks for everyone’s replies, what deep space objects could I expect to see with the  Bresser 6” telescope?

Have a look here to give you an idea: https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/196278-what-can-i-expect-to-see/

although what you can see of nebulae, in particular, is going to be affected by the light pollution at your observing site.