Good Starting Telescope?

[Robert]

Hi all,

What would be a good starting telescope? I'm 25, so am not looking for a kiddy scope (no offence to youngsters). Now, I'm looking for an inexpensive one, no more than £200 max. I want to be able to view the solar system & beyond, as best possible.

I'd also like something that I can connect upto the computer, but keep in mind im a new to all this as possible

Cheers

Robert

[kniclander]

why do you want to be able to connect it to a computer?

for around £200 you can get a skywatcher 150 mm on a dobsonian mount. Or you can get something with a much smaller aperture on an equatorial or al/az mount, maybe with goto ( ie a little computer that finds things in the sky for you). To my mind, goto at that price is a bit pointless as you'll lose a lot of aperture and aperture is king.

I would say go with a dob - you get the most aperture for your £££. And you'll learn the sky (but you can't connect it to a computer).

good luck

[The Warthog]

Well, youngster, I took a look at what's available where I live, which is cheaper than where you live. The best combination of ease of operability and aperture that I could find was the Skywatcher 6" dob. It is an excellent little scope, and a friend of mine used one for years.

I usually don't recommend a reflector of less than 5" aperture, or a refractor of less than 90mm, so your choices are limited, but there are some out there that should fit within your budget.

Choose a scope that comes with 1.25" eyepieces, preferably Kellner or Plossl. In this price range the type of mount doesn't matter very much, as it will probably be a bit shaky, and is not a precise astronomical instrument. (I should make it clear that I'm talking about tripod mounts here, not the very solid dob mounting.)

Ignore the claims for magnification on the box; your maximum magnification is 2x the objective diameter in millimetres. This means 180x for a 90mm scope, and a practical maximum in average skies of about 2/3 of that.

Avoid computerized mounts in these price ranges, they are usually in packages that compromise the quality of the scope in order to make it possible to put a computer mount in at that price. Get a decent scope instead of a bad one on a computer mount.

Good luck!

[John]

I'm with these folks - get a 6" Skywatcher dobsonian and you can see a load of things with it. OK you will need to do some research to find out where things are in the sky and there will be times when you can't find what you are looking for but that's all part of the fun.

Good luck !

John

[TheThing]

Best starting scope, it has to be said, is the Skywatcher 130pm, without doubt. Numerous awards from Astronomy Now etc, endorsed by Sir Patrick himself and, more importantly, the starting scope of choice for many people on this very forum!

It is an excellent all rounder, without being too large that it wont get used. Plus, they'll be some left over from your budget for a red light, Turn Left at Orion, moon filter and a wooly hat.

Motor drive will keep things in the field of view (FOV) once you've found them. A very capable and user friendly scope.

[Robert]

Cheers guys, thats a real help,will keep you posted on what I manage to get my hands on.

Again, many thanks

Robert