Complete beginner

[TRACEY 1409]

Hi, I am a complete beginner and an independent site has recommended the celestron starsense explorer 114lt telescope. I have watched videos of this and it looks really easy to set up and I like the fact you can use an app to pinpoint stars and planets that you want to view but how good is this really. I have up to £200 to spend but have seen sites that say a good set of astro binoculars are just as good if not better for a beginner due to the increased field of vision? 

[Sunshine]

Binoculars are a great way for a beginner to begin exploring the night sky, most of us still use binoculars in tandem with our scopes. Binoculars offer huge field of views and, under dark skies they show an ocean of

stars your eyes cannot see, they serve up a view of the milky way which is breathtaking under dark skies. I would recommend a decent set of binoculars any day. I recall being 12 years old when my whole family would

head out to a dark sky site, mom and dad would lay back in folding chairs and they would both sweep the milky way for ours while I used my scope. Not a moment went by without me hearing them say "oh wow, so beautiful!"

others will weigh in with binocular recommendations if you choose to buy a pair as I have an old pair and I'm sure new ones are better.

[kev100]

Hi there,

binoculars and telescopes complement each other, rather than replace each other. Low magnification binocular views are lovely , but the minute you spot something interesting you’ll want to see it in more detail with a scope.

I don’t have any experience with the scope you mentioned, but personally wouldn’t place too much faith on gizmos like apps to ‘pinpoint stars, etc’. A decent finder scope, together with a planetarium app on the phone will do the job. It’s better to spend more on decent optics than a lesser scope with bells and whistles.

have a read of the ‘What can I expect to see’ post, and spend some time browsing the forums before jumping in and buying a scope. Consider second hand too, you’ll often get a better scope that way for the price of a new one.

Its very difficult to recommend a beginner telescope, as there are so many variables involved. Have you ever looked through a scope before? Perhaps consider going along to a local club meeting (hopefully they can start up again post lockdown), or getting in touch with some local enthusiasts and see if you can get some practical experience.

I know it’s exciting, believe me, but take your time, and do some more research.

kev

[Ricochet]

10 hours ago, TRACEY 1409 said:

Hi, I am a complete beginner and an independent site has recommended the celestron starsense explorer 114lt telescope. I have watched videos of this and it looks really easy to set up and I like the fact you can use an app to pinpoint stars and planets that you want to view but how good is this really. I have up to £200 to spend but have seen sites that say a good set of astro binoculars are just as good if not better for a beginner due to the increased field of vision? 

The Skysense app and phone cradle are supposed to be good and there are a few people here who have bought one of these sets just to get the app and cradle so that they can reuse it on a different telescope. The LT 114 telescope however, is definitely one to avoid. It has a cheap barlow lens built into the focuser to try to reduce the aberrations from the fast spherical primary mirror. Reviews of this type of telescope typically use the word "blurry". The DX 130 in the same range is probably a much better telescope to observe with and additionally, the DX mount is probably a bit nicer to use than the LT mount. Other telescopes are available, but with a relatively low budget you have to choose between spending the money on the telescope and spending the money on electronic aids to find things.

The usual recommended starter binoculars to learn the sky are 10x50, and if you decide to buy some of these the ones I would go for are the Opticron Adventurer T, but looking at the light pollution map for your listed location, I think they might be a bit of a disappointment. What I think you need is a telescope with a large aperture to gather the light from faint stars so that you can then observe star clusters at relatively high magnification to dim the background sky. This time last year the Skywatcher Skyliner 150p would have been ideal for about £200, but covid supply issues have pushed prices up and availability of all telescopes is very patchy. If you are prepared to wait until covid is "over" then maybe the price will come down again, but in the meantime I would definitely keep an eye on the second hand market.

 

[Cosmic Geoff]

I have no opinion of the Starsense Explorer app, but have regularly used the £300 hardware Starsense accessory.  As for the telescope, take note of the negative comments about it above.  Astronomy is not a cheap hobby, and a telescope costing £200 or less is liable to be a disappointment.  Some of them are frankly sold as a lure for the inexperienced and unwary. For beginners with small pockets we recommend the Skywatcher Heritage 130p as having good optics, but I have seen even this one criticised for having cut-price features, and you may have difficulty finding one in stock anywhere.

I suggest buying binoculars (I bought a ridiculously cheap pair of 10x50 from Lidl that are quite usable) or some second-hand telescope that you are prepared to replace as soon as you have learnt what you can from it about handling a telescope and finding objects in the night sky.

[Astro Noodles]

As a beginner myself, with limited experience, I would concur with what the previous posters have written. I think that you need the best optics you can afford at this stage and leave the electronics for later. I started with a 130mm reflector from Skywatcher which came with an equatorial mount, a tripod and some eyepieces and I was blown away when I first viewed the moon with it. 

I think that astronomy as a hobby has a steep learning curve, but there are no shortcuts if you want to get the best enjoyment out of it. Learning the sky, the constellations and how to find things is one of the most basic skills to acquire and I think that you might want to be able to do that yourself without relying on an app to do it. There is a great book called 'Turn left at Orion' which I would recommend to help select targets and find them.

[kev100]

2 hours ago, Astro Noodles said:

As a beginner myself, with limited experience, I would concur with what the previous posters have written. I think that you need the best optics you can afford at this stage and leave the electronics for later. I started with a 130mm reflector from Skywatcher which came with an equatorial mount, a tripod and some eyepieces and I was blown away when I first viewed the moon with it. 

I think that astronomy as a hobby has a steep learning curve, but there are no shortcuts if you want to get the best enjoyment out of it. Learning the sky, the constellations and how to find things is one of the most basic skills to acquire and I think that you might want to be able to do that yourself without relying on an app to do it. There is a great book called 'Turn left at Orion' which I would recommend to help select targets and find them.

My first proper scope was a 130mm reflector on an EQ mount. Yes the views were great, but the palaver involved (for me) in setting up the mount and keeping the eyepiece at a viewable position was a real issue. Unless you’re considering astro photography I’d recommend staying away from EQ mounts, and sticking to Alt/Az.

[Dazzyt66]

I, like a few that have replied, started out using binoculars to explore the sky many years ago (in Birmingham). You will get to know the sky and your way around. If you decide to go for a telescope my advice for a newcomer it would be: invest in a better telescope rather than the electronics. There’s a good YouTube video here about what might be a good buy for any taste/budget: 

and I also own the ‘basic’ scope he recommends (skywatcher ST80) which I think I would say is my most used scope (and my favourite if I’m honest) cos it’s so easy to use anywhere. 😊

[Tiny Clanger]

I agree with the comments above, the thing is, £200 is a very small amount to spend on a precision instrument like a telescope, the vast majority of 'scopes priced below that are really little more than toys and doom the viewer to frustration and disappointment . The tripod and mount the actual telescope are on are as important as the telescope itself, any wobbles or difficulty keeping the thing pointed where you want it will ruin your viewing.

Here's a an alternative review of the 'scope you mentioned :https://telescopestobuy.com/celestron-starsense-explorer-lt-114az-review-dont-fall-into-the-trap/ which is, let's say, not very complimentary ...

It's not all doom % gloom though, there are a few decent starter ;scopes around

The heritage 130 is right at your price ceiling, but has a pretty good reputation, it achieves its  low price point by being a table top telescope, which avoids the wobbly cheap tripod problem so many beginner 'scopes have, use it on a table, a stool (ikea do one which apparently fits it perfectly) a box or upturned bucket. It has a very basic focus arrangement, but it is simple to use .

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/skywatcher-heritage-130p-flextube.html

This would just be within your budget too, and it looks more like most people's idea of a telescope , https://www.firstlightoptics.com/startravel/skywatcher-startravel-80-az3.html

I use one on a second hand photo tripod which is perfectly adequate, if you have or can get a decently heavy/strong tripod, you could just buy the telescope on its own, without the wobbly mount.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/startravel/skywatcher-startravel-80-ota.html

For the money you are thinking of spending, you could get a decent pair of 10x50 binoculars, a monopod to hold them steady, a  bracket and a cheap photo ball & socket head to join the parts up, Binoculars are less niche products than telescopes, so quality comes a bit cheaper .  However, as others have said, binoculars are good for wide field viewing, but you won't get high magnification views of, for example, the Moon & planets with them.

I'm afraid there really are no easy answers, and very few cheap answers either 🙂  , but read around this forum a bit , see what other folk have bought and reported back on.

Don't give up, keep looking up when the sky's clear with any (or no) optical device, there are plenty of free apps you can use, SkEye is one which is supposed to do something similar to the starrsense app, I have no experience of it myself though

Heather

 

 

 

 

 

[Louis D]

On 17/04/2021 at 17:17, TRACEY 1409 said:

Hi, I am a complete beginner and an independent site has recommended the celestron starsense explorer 114lt telescope. I have watched videos of this and it looks really easy to set up and I like the fact you can use an app to pinpoint stars and planets that you want to view but how good is this really. I have up to £200 to spend but have seen sites that say a good set of astro binoculars are just as good if not better for a beginner due to the increased field of vision? 

What sort of reputable site would ever recommend a Jones-Bird type telescope?  I'm really curious because they are generally an abomination optically.