Leaning Toward a Reflector

[Gflight]

Good day all,

I am a newbie from the Midwestern U.S. and about 3 years ago purchased my retirement homestead. (Retire Dec. 2022)

I have wonderfully dark skies out here with only a few dotted street/home lights and sit on a hilltop. From my deck is a clear view of the East, South, and West. Two large white oaks interrupt my view to the North. I have my camera, 7-15X35 Binos, and a spotting scope that I have been exploring the skies with and believe I want to take it to the next level.

In two years I will be on a fixed income so I would like to get something that would keep me equipped into the future but has bang for the buck.

I am thinking at this point a reflector type with a few good eyepieces. Manual stuff as on my homestead I am going back to old ways and the journey is as important as the destination.

From my reasearch on the lens sticky, my eyes are not up to speed with younger folks. For driving I wear glasses now but my near vision is still good. Didn't really grasp the exit pupil thing.

So since, I don't know what I don't know I would like anyones 2 cents or recommendations from experiences with reflectors.

Clear skies,

Gerald

[wulfrun]

Sounds like a perfect location for a large-ish Dobsonian scope, you won't need to lug it around so the size & weight won't be a problem. Fully-manual would suit the "old-school" idea. As for eyepieces, it depends what scope and what your interests are. Pick a scope and there will be plenty of advice on offer.

In regards to exit-pupil, think of it as a shaft of light exiting the eypiece and entering your eye through your pupil. If that shaft is too thin, it falls only on the very centre of your retina, making it somewhat dim. If it's too fat to fit through your eye-pupil, some is just wasted. There's a range of useful exit-pupils and as your eyes age the maximum pupil shrinks. Again, pick your scope and the sensible options can be advised.

EDIT: some idea of your budget would be helpful too.

Edited December 28, 2020 by wulfrun

[Gflight]

wulfrun,

 

Was looking at Skyline 12 Dob kit for $1299,  max would be ($1500.00 = £1115.16.) could pick up good lenses within the next two years. It comes with a 2" 30mm Erfle and a 1.25 9mm plossl.

 

Before I commit to anything I want to bridge the gap between research and reality to avoid buyers remorse.

 

The N, NE, and NW views I would likely have to move into yard, while not far and I carry 50lb feed sacks I was unsure about the base mount and leveling on soil with a Dob.

 

I also wondered the actual ease of use between a dob base and equatorial to follow objects. Also Reading about people replacing bearings and the like in Dobs?

 

Would a smaller diameter with better lenses get better views or is everything about the light?

[jonathan]

I certainly agree with the Dob concept as getting the most 'bang for your buck' from a reflector.

Skywatcher tend to be the main brand who make a lot of the popular Dobsonian setups, there are two designs in general - Skywatcher's FlexTube, which is basically a collapsible tube that can save on space when not in use (not sure if there's much of a weight saving as the frame and fittings probably weight as much as what the tube would have) and what Skywatcher now call 'Classic' which is the straight tube.  There are other brands that do decent Dobsonian mounted telescopes but Skywatcher is probably the most common.  Buy from a reputable astronomy retailer, or used from an astronomy hobbyist (they will likely know a lot about the scope, and have kept it in good order).

Which eyepieces to go for would depend largely on the scope but also on what's going to be comfortable for you to use.  A fast reflector (f5 or lower) can make use of higher quality glass and potentially higher magnifications, assuming sky conditions are ideal (some nights the higher mag eyepieces just don't work well - you'll have difficulty focusing or it'll just be like looking through muddy water). 

As for your exit pupil, I think this might be the sort of thing your optician can tell you.

[Zermelo]

2 hours ago, Gflight said:

Didn't really grasp the exit pupil thing.

There's a thread here discussing exit pupils and attempts to measure maximum pupil size. If you're observing from a dark site, it should mean that your pupils will be dilated as much as they can be. You should also suffer less from loss of contrast due to background light pollution when using larger exit pupils.
If you choose an eyepiece resulting in an exit pupil that exceeds your pupil size then you will lose some of the light as mentioned above, but you may want to do so to get a larger field of view. If you opt for a reflector, you may find that the central obstruction starts to become visible with large exit pupils.
At the other end, high magnification eyepieces that give very small exit pupils can increase the chances of seeing "floaters". You normally want to limit it to around 0.5mm.
Different types of target are best viewed with different exit pupils. There's a guide here to using exit pupil size as a criterion for choosing an eyepiece range. 

 

 

[wulfrun]

51 minutes ago, Gflight said:

Was looking at Skyline 12 Dob kit for $1299,  max would be ($1500.00 = £1115.16.) could pick up good lenses within the next two years. It comes with a 2" 30mm Erfle and a 1.25 9mm plossl.

Before I commit to anything I want to bridge the gap between research and reality to avoid buyers remorse.

The N, NE, and NW views I would likely have to move into yard, while not far and I carry 50lb feed sacks I was unsure about the base mount and leveling on soil with a Dob.

I also wondered the actual ease of use between a dob base and equatorial to follow objects. Also Reading about people replacing bearings and the like in Dobs?

Would a smaller diameter with better lenses get better views or is everything about the light?

I have no personal experience of that model, I'm quite a newbie myself but I've been doing the homework, like yourself. The base of a Dob doesn't have to be levelled perfectly but purely for stability you wouldn't want to be too far off. Some people put them on a wheeled base or add castors and such like.

Equatorial is better for tracking things but it's a more complicated system for a beginner and a stable mount for a large reflector will be heavy and expensive.

Aperture is always king, all other things being equal. Of course, the problem is all other things are never equal. Any scope involves a compromise somewhere.

Hope that's helpful.

[Tiny Clanger]

4 hours ago, Gflight said:

Good day all,

I am a newbie from the Midwestern U.S. and about 3 years ago purchased my retirement homestead. (Retire Dec. 2022)

I have wonderfully dark skies out here with only a few dotted street/home lights and sit on a hilltop. From my deck is a clear view of the East, South, and West. Two large white oaks interrupt my view to the North. I have my camera, 7-15X35 Binos, and a spotting scope that I have been exploring the skies with and believe I want to take it to the next level.

In two years I will be on a fixed income so I would like to get something that would keep me equipped into the future but has bang for the buck.

I am thinking at this point a reflector type with a few good eyepieces. Manual stuff as on my homestead I am going back to old ways and the journey is as important as the destination.

From my reasearch on the lens sticky, my eyes are not up to speed with younger folks. For driving I wear glasses now but my near vision is still good. Didn't really grasp the exit pupil thing.

So since, I don't know what I don't know I would like anyones 2 cents or recommendations from experiences with reflectors.

Clear skies,

Gerald

Hi Gerald, and welcome.

The way I read your requirements, I think the simplicity of a big Dobsonian would fit your style of 'back to basics' living . You can get a really big, light gathering mirror for your budget, the downside is that it obviously comes in a similarly big diameter tube, and therefore also a big weighty base. If you have suitable storage , and can deploy the dob from it to where you want to view from . Combine that with some decent eyepieces and dark skies, and you will be one lucky stargazer.

One small worry though : I have friends in the US who have lived in houses (in Massachusetts ) with decks which are essentially elevated platforms of wood: substantial things, but you might find vibrations a problem if your 'scope is sited on one .

Heather

[Gflight]

Thank you Heather,

Wood deck is a consideration I didn't think of. It is quite solid for my camera tripod but weight, magnification, etc. may put me on the ground.

Gerald