Need Help with a Telescope

[Jubi_Resik]

Hello There

I've used so far a really cheap telescope that you can look at the moon, but its time for a big upgrade.

What I'm looking for:

Go To

Photo / Picture Capturing

Looking at Planets (no blurry images)

looking at nebulas

looking at galaxies

different eye peace's

possibly connect to pc software for screen usage

 

price range up to 1500$

 

I've no idea if I'm out of my mind with my wishes. but for me the market and numbers and features of the description for the telescopes are a bit overwhelming.

So I hope that someone can recommend a telescope for me

 

Thanks Jubi

 

 

[Orange Smartie]

Hello Jubi and welcome to the forum.

I know there are  lot of people more qualified than I am to answer your question, but I thought I'd give you my 2p worth.

You can certainly get a very nice telescope setup for VISUAL observation within your budget, but I would doubt that you could get started with astrophotography at that price point - at least not without making big sacrifices in terms of the quality and longevity of the equipment.  One thing you may have picked up if you've browsed the forum much, is that no one telescope design will do everything brilliantly, so you might want to have a re-think of what your chosen targets are - a telescope that performs well for planetary is unlikely to be as suitable for viewing nebulae or galaxies.

Perhaps it would be a good idea to explore exactly what your priorities are?

Pete

[Floater]

Hi, Jubi, and welcome.

Perhaps it would be good for you to go to the post ‘what can I expect to see’ by Qualia. Have a search for it; sorry I’m not sure how to provide a link.

Don’t get too stressed out about everything. Have fun. 🙂

[Louis D]

Basic questions:

1. How much weight are you comfortable lifting and for what distance?
2. Will you be observing from home or taking it somewhere?
3. If traveling with it regularly, do you have a car or SUV?
4. Are you willing to learn the skies and find things mostly on your own or would you prefer letting a computer do most of the work for you?
5. Are you opposed to manual tracking or do find occasional nudging to not be a big deal?
6. How much storage space at home do you have?

[Astro Noodles]

Hi Jubi

I think you are expecting a lot from a single telescope. As a beginner myself, I would suggest you get a modest Dobsonian/Newtonian telescope in the $300-$500 price range. This will give you good optics for lunar and planetary observations. Also, buy the book 'Turn left at Orion' which will give you lots of targets suitable for this type of telescope.

After that, if you want to pursue astrophotography, you will need a DSLR (perhaps you already have one), a couple of lenses, and you could consider a motorised equatorial mount such as a Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer or an Ioptron Skyguider Pro. This will give you an entry level AP rig.

If you already have a DSLR, you might bring it all in at under $1500.

Edited May 3, 2021 by Astro Noodles

[Tiny Clanger]

35 minutes ago, Floater said:

Hi, Jubi, and welcome.

Perhaps it would be good for you to go to the post ‘what can I expect to see’ by Qualia. Have a search for it; sorry I’m not sure how to provide a link.

Don’t get too stressed out about everything. Have fun. 🙂

Like this !

 

[M40]

Hello Jubi and welcome to the site. You and I are looking for the same thing, have a look around the site and ask away on any questions, someone will know the answer.

Just so we can help get you started on that first step, a couple of questions along the lines of what Louis D asked earlier, will you be using your telescope at home or taking it somewhere? Do you have somewhere to keep it as some of these telescopes can be big. 

[Spile]

You will find reading and researching very useful and this will reduce the chance of ending up with something unsuitable. I would always recommend starting with a simple, non-goto telescope. The Dobsonian works for me!

[Alan64]

If you're close to Australia, there are quite a few astronomy shops there. 

These go-to kits are good for the planets and double-stars, and a respectable number of deep-sky objects as well...

https://www.ozscopes.com.au/meade-lx65-5-mak-cassegrain-telescope.html 

https://www.ozscopes.com.au/celestron-astro-fi-6-schmidt-cassegrain-telescope.html

For galaxies, you want at least a 200mm aperture... https://www.ozscopes.com.au/skywatcher-8-go-to-dobsonian-telescope.html

Then, the bigger, the better...

https://www.bintel.com.au/product/bintel-bt302-b-12-inch-dobsonian/?v=322b26af01d5

[Jubi_Resik]

Thank you so much for the replies. 

 

So i live in a remote town in Switzerland with balcony for at home usage. I live near the Gurnigel (which is a good spot for looking at the stars).

I'm quite used to lifting heavy weights due to my job (up to 30kg 66lbs) is no problem. we just backpacked with heavy load for 750 km, so physical condition is pretty good. i don't have a car but a moped with a trailer. so mobility is kind of there but not really.  

 

Go To would definitely be my Joyce. But I'm definitely willing to learn the sky. 

Astrophotography is definitely not mandatory. (would be cool but not on the must have list)

Deep Space would be nice but I think the wise Joyce is to settle for a telescope to see the planets. For me is just important that i have a clear image and not just a blur... Would be really cool to see the storm on Jupiter or the rings of Saturn.

 

Thanks again Jubi

[Tiny Clanger]

5 minutes ago, Jubi_Resik said:

Thank you so much for the replies. 

 

So i live in a remote town in Switzerland with balcony for at home usage. I live near the Gurnigel (which is a good spot for looking at the stars).

I'm quite used to lifting heavy weights due to my job (up to 30kg 66lbs) is no problem. we just backpacked with heavy load for 750 km, so physical condition is pretty good. i don't have a car but a moped with a trailer. so mobility is kind of there but not really.  

 

Go To would definitely be my Joyce. But I'm definitely willing to learn the sky. 

Astrophotography is definitely not mandatory. (would be cool but not on the must have list)

Deep Space would be nice but I think the wise Joyce is to settle for a telescope to see the planets. For me is just important that i have a clear image and not just a blur... Would be really cool to see the storm on Jupiter or the rings of Saturn.

 

Thanks again Jubi

Auto correct is sometimes an absolute joy , in this case it has turned 'choice' into Joyce for you. I insist that any telescope  you buy be given the nickname 'Joyce' 🙂

There was a thread on here a while back by someone who said he wanted to observe from a balcony, I'll see if I can find it, it may help .

For planets I'd suggest a Maksutov or similar, more compact in length than a refractor , which may be a factor on a balcony .

Heather

[Jubi_Resik]

haha. yeah the auto correct messed this up pretty good

The balcony is fairly big. biggest part is 3x3 meters. 

[Tiny Clanger]

1 minute ago, Jubi_Resik said:

haha. yeah the auto correct messed this up pretty good

The balcony is fairly big. biggest part is 3x3 meters. 

OK, that sounds far bigger than the one the previous poster wanted to use ! Here's the thread , at the start he did not mention the balcony at all

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/369179-i-am-a-beginner-what-can-i-expect-from-the-skywatcher-telescope-n-150750-explorer-150p-eq3-2/

Heather

 

[Jubi_Resik]

8 minutes ago, Tiny Clanger said:

OK, that sounds far bigger than the one the previous poster wanted to use ! Here's the thread , at the start he did not mention the balcony at all

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/369179-i-am-a-beginner-what-can-i-expect-from-the-skywatcher-telescope-n-150750-explorer-150p-eq3-2/

Heather

 

So I'm definitely luckier than other people from the balcony. I don't have any Streetlights near my place. I only got 3 neighboring houses that also don't emit almost no light. The next bigger place is 10km away and i live on the border of a national park.  My balcony is facing south , the only view obstruction are the mountains in the background, but since i also live on top of a hill this is not that much of an issue. I have a 180° view from the balcony with just really small villages with no real light pollution. balcony use is mostly for winter, because we got really cold dry nights. in summer time would be more in the hills of the Gantrisch region.

 

[Starwatcher2001]

Hi Jubi. If you're viewing from a balcony, can you see Polaris (the North Star) from there?  Not being able to see it (or rather your scope not being able to see it), will affect the ease of using an equatorial mount.

[Kon]

I would highly recommend a Dob. I have an 8" Dob and I have managed to see several nebulas, galaxies and other DSOs. If storage space is not an issue you could also go for a larger one. With your $1500 budget you should be able to get some nice EPs as well. I am not using GoTo or anything like that since i enjoy the searching part, and that will save you quite a bit of money. A Dob is not suitable for AP since you will be limited on your exposures; you can do it for fun but nothing spectacular. I have managed to get some nice shots to share with my kids of M42 and M57 using a DSLR mounted on my Dob.

[Jubi_Resik]

23 minutes ago, Starwatcher2001 said:

Hi Jubi. If you're viewing from a balcony, can you see Polaris (the North Star) from there?  Not being able to see it (or rather your scope not being able to see it), will affect the ease of using an equatorial mount.

Hi Starwatcher 2001

Yes i can see Polaris from my place. So that's not a problem

[Louis D]

25 minutes ago, Jubi_Resik said:

So I'm definitely luckier than other people from the balcony. I don't have any Streetlights near my place. I only got 3 neighboring houses that also don't emit almost no light. The next bigger place is 10km away and i live on the border of a national park.  My balcony is facing south , the only view obstruction are the mountains in the background, but since i also live on top of a hill this is not that much of an issue. I have a 180° view from the balcony with just really small villages with no real light pollution. balcony use is mostly for winter, because we got really cold dry nights. in summer time would be more in the hills of the Gantrisch region.

Now you're just trying to make us jealous. 😉

[Tiny Clanger]

Great that your balcony gives you a view to the south, that's ideal for viewing planets 🙂

If planets are your main intended target, you would not really need go to , the planets with interesting features (Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) are visible to the naked eye , and a simple app or planetarium program like stellarium (there are many others, but that's what I use , it's a free open source download and online too) will show you where to look .

There is a dizzyingly enormous range of telescope types and sizes , and a similarly huge choice  (good old Joyce 🙂 ) of types of mounts to use them on. Often budget is a major limiting factor, but yours is large enough to leave much within your grasp. Things to think about which may influence your decision include storage : big telescopes take up space indoors, and you couldn't leave one out on your balcony all year round I suspect ! If you are thinking of taking the telescope elsewhere with the moped/trailer, I imagine a heavy setup might be a bit too much for your transport.

I'd suggest reading through this free downloadable book https://www.astroshop.eu/advice/telescope/telescope-knowledge/ebook-download/c,9154

which should help .

Heather

[iapa]

On 03/05/2021 at 11:11, Jubi_Resik said:

Hello There

I've used so far a really cheap telescope that you can look at the moon, but its time for a big upgrade.

What I'm looking for:

Go To

Photo / Picture Capturing

Looking at Planets (no blurry images)

looking at nebulas

looking at galaxies

different eye peace's

possibly connect to pc software for screen usage

 

price range up to 1500$

 

I've no idea if I'm out of my mind with my wishes. but for me the market and numbers and features of the description for the telescopes are a bit overwhelming.

So I hope that someone can recommend a telescope for me

 

Thanks Jubi

 

 

A GotTo mount is in the £700-800 area. E.g EQ6 or AVX. A Dobsonian or Alt-At will introduce rotation in your capture images which you will need to correct for. 

If you want to image, what are you wanting to take images of? Imaging is quite different to observing.

Even just viewing each of planets, nebulae and galaxies has is issues. For planets a longer focal length helps, for nebula you need a lot of light so, large aperture

You say different eye-pieces, so, you want to image and observe?

Over the years I have accumulated several Optical Tubes with different aperture (diameter) and focal length, to meet the different needs for different targets.

[Jubi_Resik]

So Thanks again.

 

Right now i'm looking at celestron nexstar 6se or 8se. What do you guys think about those? Positives and Negatives?

 

 

[Alan64]

14 hours ago, Jubi_Resik said:

Thank you so much for the replies. 

 

So i live in a remote town in Switzerland with balcony for at home usage. I live near the Gurnigel (which is a good spot for looking at the stars).

I'm quite used to lifting heavy weights due to my job (up to 30kg 66lbs) is no problem. we just backpacked with heavy load for 750 km, so physical condition is pretty good. i don't have a car but a moped with a trailer. so mobility is kind of there but not really.  

 

Go To would definitely be my Joyce. But I'm definitely willing to learn the sky. 

Astrophotography is definitely not mandatory. (would be cool but not on the must have list)

Deep Space would be nice but I think the wise Joyce is to settle for a telescope to see the planets. For me is just important that i have a clear image and not just a blur... Would be really cool to see the storm on Jupiter or the rings of Saturn.

 

Thanks again Jubi

Well, I was quite far off the mark; my apologies.

[Stu]

13 hours ago, Tiny Clanger said:

Great that your balcony gives you a view to the south, that's ideal for viewing planets 🙂

I’m a bit confused about how @Jubi_Resikcan have a view south whilst seeing Polaris from the same place? With a 180 degree view it’s going to be limited to a fair degree still.

Worth noting that the planets remain relatively low for the next few years, although Switzerland has around 5 degrees benefit over London.

Your statement ‘Planets - no blurry images’ is likely to lead to disappointment I’m afraid. This is just down to the realities of observing small objects at high power under often turbulent skies. A lot depends on your local seeing conditions, but regardless of scope, planetary observing is a game of patience, perseverance and at times sheer bloody mindedness to get to see those clear moments when the detail really shows through. If you go and live in the Atacama desert thing might be different, but certainly in the U.K. it is a challenging game.

I’m not trying to put you off, just to manage expectations.

 

[Cosmic Geoff]

2 hours ago, Jubi_Resik said:

Right now i'm looking at celestron nexstar 6se or 8se. What do you guys think about those? Positives and Negatives?

A sensible choice if you want a relatively portable outfit for visual on planets and other objects.  You will find the GoTo a great convenience for finding 'other objects'.  And they will align for GOTo whether you can see Polaris or not.  These both have the same mount, so buy according to whether you want more portability or more aperture.  The C6 is said to be more stable on this mount (less weight).  The C8 SE is on the limit for this mount but adequate for visual so long as you avoid windy conditions and keep the tripod legs retracted. They can also be used for planetary imaging if you want - just add a good planetary video camera and laptop (though the wobble and backlash in the mount may make this a little trying).  The Nexstar GoTo system is IMHO easier to use than Skywatcher's Synscan.

Both these outfits are more compact and lighter than any other scope type of the same aperture and the eyepiece stays in a relatively accessible position.

Note that the mount is not suitable for long exposure deep space astrophotography and the OTAs are not the best choice for a beginner in this area either.

[Tiny Clanger]

4 hours ago, Stu said:

I’m a bit confused about how @Jubi_Resikcan have a view south whilst seeing Polaris from the same place? With a 180 degree view it’s going to be limited to a fair degree still.

That I don't know,  but if the house is similar to traditional wooden ones I've seen in Austria and Bavaria, the balcony may well be at what we might consider the 'end' of the house as far  as traditional UK  design goes. Alpine roof design allows whatever drains off it to  shed to the side,  away from the access /  windows etc. Presumably because of snow.. So perhaps the 'A'  of the roof line as seen from the balcony allows a sight of Polaris from the end where the obstruction is low  ?

Pure speculation of course !

Heather