Newbie Advice Needed

[Matthew Ansell]

Hello everyone!

I'm an absolute beginner and have a £250 budget for a telescope set-up. I'd like a general all-rounder that I can take to 'dark sky 'sites without slipping a disk in my spine. Any advice would be very welcome

[TerryMcK]

A Dobsonian like this would be a great starter scope within your budget https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-150p-dobsonian.html

[wulfrun]

As a newbie myself, my advice would be limited. However, I think your budget will get you something decent, provided you don't want to do astrophotography (£££). First I'd be doing a lot of homework (I did it) and think about where you want to start. What interests you in terms of what objects? What sky quality do you have at home or nearby and easily accessible? Does it need to be highly portable or can you have a huge lump that just sits in one place? Simple to set up or are you OK with powered and computerised gear? If you answer some of those questions the experts on here will narrow it down to a decent fit for your needs - IF you can actually find it in the current supply climate!

Remember to consider that most budget scopes come with mediocre starter eyepieces and your budget needs to consider either expanding or allowing for the inevitable upgrades. You won't get a do-it-all scope that'll have you set forever but it would give you a good start. You could do worse than the suggestion above.

Edit: the other sage advice I've seen a lot is to start with a reasonable pair of binoculars. They won't show you everything but they will show you a lot and they are highly portable. I'm guessing that nearly all astronomers own at least one pair.

Edited November 30, 2020 by wulfrun

[dweller25]

37 minutes ago, TerryMcK said:

A Dobsonian like this would be a great starter scope within your budget https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-150p-dobsonian.html

+1 👍

[AstroMuni]

1 hour ago, TerryMcK said:

A Dobsonian like this would be a great starter scope within your budget https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-150p-dobsonian.html

Thats a good one. @Matthew Ansell If you feel thats too heavy / bulky, there is the 150P flextube https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/sky-watcher-heritage-150p-flextube-dobsonian-telescope.html

[Matthew Ansell]

Thanks you lot! Does the heritage model have the same spec as the other one?

[Tiny Clanger]

6 minutes ago, Matthew Ansell said:

Thanks you lot! Does the heritage model have the same spec as the other one?

Easy to compare the two spec.s on vendor's websites like https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes.html

or the manufacturer's own site here : https://skywatcher.com/series/dobsonians/

I believe the mirrors are the same in the two, but don't take that as gospel ...

[wulfrun]

1 hour ago, Matthew Ansell said:

Thanks you lot! Does the heritage model have the same spec as the other one?

Not quite, the heritage is a 750mm f/5 and the skyliner is 1200mm f/8, so I think the mirrors cannot be identical. The heritage should have the edge for low magnification, wide-field use (DSOs etc) and the skyliner should have the edge at higher power (where FOV is compromised) for such things as Moon/planets/double-stars. I have the same tube as the skyliner but on a different mount and it is pretty good. Neither would be a poor starter scope though.

Edited November 30, 2020 by wulfrun

[jonathan]

Consider adding a moon filter and planisphere to that scope, links should be on the product page there.

[Matthew Ansell]

Thanks everyone