Absolute beginner. Best buy

[Longy717]

1 minute ago, johninderby said:

 

 

We've all looked through binoculars the wrong way to make everything look small 

[Davey-T]

38 minutes ago, Longy717 said:

We've all looked through binoculars the wrong way to make everything look small 

Try looking through bin's (the right way round) while driving on a crowded motorway, really scary, as a passenger of course 😂

Dave

[Astro Noodles]

55 minutes ago, Longy717 said:

My argument for these stores is that if I did buy one I'd at least have it. Anyway I'm glad it's overcast or I might be tempted to just buy. It's crazy how many are out of stock. However it reassures me that it is a good bit of kit if its sold out everywhere. Must be hard for the shops not knowing when the next delivery will be.

Hi Longy717

Backyard Astronomy is one of a number of hobbies which have become very popular during the current pandemic. Thousands of people (myself included) have been buying entry level astronomy kit. Add to that the fact that most if not all of the budget telescopes come from China. What with the Suez canal blocked, all the containers sat in ports in Europe, Chinese new year etc, supply chains have been affected. The second-hand market seems almost non-existent at the moment.

I know you are itching for a telescope but the advice on this forum is excellent. Hold out for that Heritage 130. Less than £200 for a scientific instrument is a real bargain. I bought a Skywatcher 130p in January and I have been delighted with it.

 

[Louis D]

Several folks recently bought those 70x300 to 70x400 telescopes that are everywhere on ebay and Amazon.  I bought one a year ago to convert into a super-finder on the cheap.  I knew what to expect and even I was surprised a bit by it.  It's hard to tell folks that it just doesn't make for a very good telescope.  A low power spotting scope, maybe.  Sadly, the price on them has jumped from $25 last February to between $70 and $90 now.  For some reason, there's no shortage of them.  Below, I sum up their pros and cons:

Positives:

• A decently figured 70mm glass achromat objective
• A decent plastic lens cell
• A decent metal tube that disassembles easily for modifications
• A decent lens hood
• Puts up decent images at low powers

Negatives:

• Terrible table to tripod
• 50% metal aperture mask directly behind objective, but it is removable
• 50% metal aperture mask in focuser tube that can't be accessed
• 0.965" Huygens eyepieces that actually aren't all that bad
• Really oddball long barlow (didn't actually try it to see if it works)
• Not really capable of what most folks are looking for in a telescope due to short focal length and small aperture

Edited April 23, 2021 by Louis D

[Longy717]

No reply from the guy on astrobuysell

[Longy717]

2 hours ago, Longy717 said:

No reply from the guy on astrobuysell

On 23/04/2021 at 19:11, Astro Noodles said:

Hi Longy717

Backyard Astronomy is one of a number of hobbies which have become very popular during the current pandemic. Thousands of people (myself included) have been buying entry level astronomy kit. Add to that the fact that most if not all of the budget telescopes come from China. What with the Suez canal blocked, all the containers sat in ports in Europe, Chinese new year etc, supply chains have been affected. The second-hand market seems almost non-existent at the moment.

I know you are itching for a telescope but the advice on this forum is excellent. Hold out for that Heritage 130. Less than £200 for a scientific instrument is a real bargain. I bought a Skywatcher 130p in January and I have been delighted with it.

 

He has just replied. Do you think it having the base of the 150p instead will be a problem? Is that not a lot bigger? 

[Longy717]

https://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=173252

 

Suppose I could always buy this to make it original. 

[Louis D]

The 150p base can't be that much bigger than the 130p base since the 150p only has 100mm (4 inches) longer focal length.  Given that the altitude axis is roughly at the mid point, the 150p base would only be about 50mm (2 inches) taller if it is proportionate to the 130p base.  I can't imagine it would be that much bigger than the original 130p base.

Besides, you'll probably move it to an alt-az mount on a tripod someday so you don't have to use it on a table top.

[Longy717]

On 20/04/2021 at 21:28, johninderby said:

There is one on Astrobuysell at the moment.

https://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=173435

Price agreed and purchase in progress thank you 

[Longy717]

New one purchased from Northern optics

[banjaxed]

19 minutes ago, Longy717 said:

New one purchased from Northern optics

Good choice, hope you get lots of pleasure from it.

[Stu1smartcookie]

24 minutes ago, Longy717 said:

New one purchased from Northern optics

Just in time for some nice weather (hopefully) this weekend 

[Tiny Clanger]

Excellent choice (it must be, the slightly bigger heritage 150 was my first telescope too 🙂 ) While you wait for the clouds to clear, this very helpful vid. by an SGLmember should keep you busy :

 

 

[Spile]

You are seeing a lot of similar recommendations and that should help make your decision easier I hope? For what it is worth I think a table top Dobsonian perhaps used would be a good choice for you. But do put £22 aside for a copy of Turn Left at Orion. 

Best of luck.

Edited June 17, 2021 by Spile

[Geoff Lister]

49 minutes ago, Spile said:

But do put £22 aside for a copy of Turn Left at Orion.

There is an on-line web resource site for this book at https://www.cambridge.org/turnleft

Enjoy the Heritage 130P. I have had mine for several years, and it works well for me.

Geoff

[Longy717]

First decent view of the moon last night. I've been looking at pylons for weeks 😂. Looked amazing and was really impressed with the level of detail I was able to see. We even had fun lining it up in a aeroplanes path and seeing even the very high planes in detail. However the photos of the moon just don't do it justice. The moon looked a nice white colour but the photos looked yellow using my Sony Xperia 5 phone. Are there better eye pieces for taking photos. Also if anybody recommends any other eyes pieces for this telescope I'm all ears. 

Edited June 17, 2021 by Longy717

[johninderby]

Ah been looking at pythons then. 😁

Try using a Baader Neodymium filter. Gets rid of the yellow and gives a nice neutral grey.  I’ve used 15mm and 25mm plossl eyepieces.

Taken with a 15mm plossl and an 80mm APO

 

 

[PeterStudz]

You can using some simple processing on your phone to get rid of any strange colours. These two examples were taken on a smaller telescope than yours (114mm aperture) with an iPhone using the stock camera apps very basic editing/processing. Play around a bit and you’ll soon work it out. No filter, just point and shoot.

[Louis D]

I just remove color in post processing to get rid of any color cast.  A simple way to do it is to desaturate colors to zero.