Need A Little Help

[LastVampyer]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to the whole astronomy scene and need a little help. I was thinking of buying the Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ Telescope and wanted to get some opinions and I also want to be able to take pictures

I hope to be able to see the planets, nebulas and maybe even andromida...am I expecting too much from such a telescope?

The thing that sparked my interest is Nibiru (Planet X), I want to be able to see it before it destroys us all

[The Warthog]

All of those targets are well within the capabilities of that scope. My previous scope was a 114mm reflector, and my present one is a 150mm. You can see most tings, subject to sky conditions and light pollution. It's a good scope from a company with a good reputation.

[DemonicOmelette]

Firstly, it depends on how you want to "see" galaxies and such. You are NOT going to see glorious images like you get from Hubble (obviously). I don't think you'll see spiral arms and such, probably just little smudges. Still cool, but don't go into this thinking you will see the things that are usually pictured on the box.

Secondly, if you want to take photos of anything other than the moon, you will probably need a motor drive. Not a go-to drive (that's cheating!), just one that will slowly pan the scope across the sky to follow whatever you're imaging. I've taken a couple great (in my humble opinion) photos of the moon just shooting down the eyepiece, but not been able to capture anything like a nebula yet. For that you need a bit of further equipment, such as camera mounts, or better yet a webcam with an attachment.

I just bought the Skywatcher 130pm, which is, as far as I can tell, pretty much the same as the one you're looking at, and I love it. It's my first proper scope, and the amount you can see will blow you away, once you get realistic about it! You'll find out that Venus is a cresent, you'll see the rings of Saturn (even though they're closed for refurbishment at the moment), you'll see jupiter's moons when they eventually appear, you'll be dazzled by some amazing nebula and clusters, and you'll literally explode when you look at the moon. You aren't going to see Pluto, you aren't going to discover any planets orbiting other stars, you aren't going to take the kind of pictures you see in astronomy magazines, but you WILL see some pretty incredible sights, and will be thrilled to the bone none the less!

However, I'm a n00b like you, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. Better to listen to some of the cleverer people here! Hope this helps! (apologies for length... oooer!)

-eli

[dweller25]

Hello,

Consider this scope .....

http://firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=dobsky200

It is a very capable and very stable telescope that will last years. It's really easy to move around and set up too.

I know it's more money than the Celestron 130 but it's worth it.

Best of luck.

[DemonicOmelette]

No motor drive though, and aren't Dobs difficult to use for photography beyond the moon, if you need longer exposures?

-eli

[Whippy]

Hi there and welcome to SGL . The Celestron model will show you plenty of objects, just be aware that the images that you see on here and in other places do not represent what you see at the eyepiece. Many of those pictures have hours of exposure and processing time which show much more than any telescope could visually.

As a newcomer to the hobby, I'd say that it'd be better that you get used to using the telescope, learn some of the basics about the sky before you consider taking pictures as you've got a steep enough learning curve without taking into account cameras and all the assorted paraphanalia which is a different (and more difficullt) ball game completely. I think the phrase 'learn to walk before you run' would be more appropriate .

HTH

Tony..

[Tiny]

I reckon the mount for the Skywatcher 130pm may be more stable than the astromaster one. The scope itself is the same either way. The 130pm is an excellent starter scope as many have found.

[Starjumper]

Hi Lastvampyer,

I have had an Astromaster 130EQ for 14months now and I think it is great, you will see all the things you have listed with the right seeing conditions, I also found the tripod to be upto the job.if you are going to go into astrophotography then you really should be looking at a motorised mount. I have upgreded my mount to an HEQ5 Pro goto and I am really impressed withit I spend less time looking for the targets and more time looking at them, it is not " cheating "to use one, for some people it is just more practical especially with our unreliable skies.

Hope some of this helps.

John