Good beginner scope choices......

I would drop the Planisphere and use your phone with free software like Skeye or Sky Safari to fulfill that function. If you have a laptop consider using Stellarium.

Enjoy the journey!

Edited December 29, 2022 by AstroMuni

Ricochet · December 29, 2022

Personally, I think that you should concentrate on choosing the scope that you want rather than thinking of which accessories you can also buy. Accessories tend to be cheaper and so it is much easier for you to save up again in the future for an accessory than it is to save up again for a whole new scope because you didn't buy the one you really wanted to save money now.

5 hours ago, spacedobsonian said:

Ursa Major 102mm set:

Ursa Major 102mm dobsonian:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/ursa-major-102mm-tabletop-dobsonian-telescope.html

The good thing about dobsonians is that you tend to get a very stable base for a relatively cheap price. However, with these table top dobs you need something stable to put them on at your observing location so the eyepiece is raised to a reasonable height. If you are going out in your garden or to a local park where there are nice sturdy tables you'll be fine, but in a featureless field or on the side of a hill you will probably want a tripod.

5 hours ago, spacedobsonian said:

Sky-Watcher StarQuest-130P f/5 Parabolic Newtonian Reflector set:

Sky-Watcher StarQuest-130P f/5 Parabolic Newtonian Reflector (Only a telescope, no accesories for this one because the budget is tight!) :

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-starquest/sky-watcher-starquest-130p-f5-parabolic-newtonian-reflector-telescope.html

Sky-Watcher Explorer 130 (EQ-2) set:

Skywatcher Explorer 130 (EQ-2):

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-130.html

I would prefer either of these to the first option due to the increased aperture. Particularly when observing DSOs, aperture is king and jumping from 102 to 130mm is a significant jump. If I was looking to buy myself a small Newtonian today, I would probably be looking at a 130mm scope just for that extra bit of light grasp over the smaller options. Of the two I think I would prefer the f5 parabolic scope but I do not know for sure how the two mounts compare. I think they are pretty similar but I notice that the 130p on EQ2 is the more expensive choice.

@Chris did a couple of videos on the Starquest 130p so I would suggest watching those and seeing what he thought of it:

Starquest 130p First Impressions

Starquest 130p Review

5 hours ago, spacedobsonian said:

Sky-Watcher Startravel 80 set:

Sky-Watcher Startravel 80 OTA:

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

Tripod:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/tripods/fotomate-vt-6006-heavy-duty-2-way-tripod.html

I don't really like this suggestion and it is mostly because of the tripod. I don't think that tripod looks anywhere near stable enough for astronomy and with any alt-az head where the telescope is mounted above the pivot, rather than to the side of it, there is a tendency for the telescope to drift upwards as the head is unable to hold the weight without extreme tightening. Aside from perhaps being easier to store and transport I don't see what there is to gain over the Startravel 80 AZ3 bundle which I suspect would be much better for astronomical observations, especially with the slow motion controls that should allow you to track without loosening the axis tightness.

However, there are a couple of other refractor options within your budget, namely the Evostar 90 on either AZ3 or EQ2 mounts:

Evostar 90 AZ3

Evostar 90 EQ2

The Evostar 90 has a little bit more aperture than the 80, but most importantly it has double the focal ratio, so chromatic aberration will be greatly reduced making it a superior scope on lunar and planetary targets. I think I would go for a Evostar 90 EQ2 over the ST80 if it were my choice.

If you prefer DSO targets then there are a couple more refractor options slightly over your budget:

Evostar 90/660 Pronto

Startravel 102 AZ3

The first will give better correction than the ST80 and a wider field of view than the 90/900 Evostar.

The ST102 will give a good jump in light gathering over the ST80 for better DSO performance. However, I think the 130p will probably be better for both DSOs and planetary.

jjohnson3803 · December 29, 2022

I'd go with an 80mm to 90mm achromatic refractor. They're inexpensive, have a small form factor if you keep the f-ratio low, are easy to transport if you go to a dark site or on vacation, don't require a king-hell mount, and seem to hold good resale value.

True, they have some chromatic aberration, but mine - 50mm, 80mm, 120mm - all do an ok job on the planets at lower power and the moon at moderate power. CA doesn't much matter IMO on deep sky.

Full disclosure - I did buy 72mm and 102mm ED doublets for lunar observing and double stars, but they each cost 4X to 5X as much as my achros.

Edited December 29, 2022 by jjohnson3803

spacedobsonian · December 31, 2022

On 29/12/2022 at 17:15, Ricochet said:

Personally, I think that you should concentrate on choosing the scope that you want rather than thinking of which accessories you can also buy. Accessories tend to be cheaper and so it is much easier for you to save up again in the future for an accessory than it is to save up again for a whole new scope because you didn't buy the one you really wanted to save money now.

The good thing about dobsonians is that you tend to get a very stable base for a relatively cheap price. However, with these table top dobs you need something stable to put them on at your observing location so the eyepiece is raised to a reasonable height. If you are going out in your garden or to a local park where there are nice sturdy tables you'll be fine, but in a featureless field or on the side of a hill you will probably want a tripod.

I would prefer either of these to the first option due to the increased aperture. Particularly when observing DSOs, aperture is king and jumping from 102 to 130mm is a significant jump. If I was looking to buy myself a small Newtonian today, I would probably be looking at a 130mm scope just for that extra bit of light grasp over the smaller options. Of the two I think I would prefer the f5 parabolic scope but I do not know for sure how the two mounts compare. I think they are pretty similar but I notice that the 130p on EQ2 is the more expensive choice.

@Chris did a couple of videos on the Starquest 130p so I would suggest watching those and seeing what he thought of it:

Starquest 130p First Impressions

Starquest 130p Review

I don't really like this suggestion and it is mostly because of the tripod. I don't think that tripod looks anywhere near stable enough for astronomy and with any alt-az head where the telescope is mounted above the pivot, rather than to the side of it, there is a tendency for the telescope to drift upwards as the head is unable to hold the weight without extreme tightening. Aside from perhaps being easier to store and transport I don't see what there is to gain over the Startravel 80 AZ3 bundle which I suspect would be much better for astronomical observations, especially with the slow motion controls that should allow you to track without loosening the axis tightness.

However, there are a couple of other refractor options within your budget, namely the Evostar 90 on either AZ3 or EQ2 mounts:

Evostar 90 AZ3

Evostar 90 EQ2

The Evostar 90 has a little bit more aperture than the 80, but most importantly it has double the focal ratio, so chromatic aberration will be greatly reduced making it a superior scope on lunar and planetary targets. I think I would go for a Evostar 90 EQ2 over the ST80 if it were my choice.

If you prefer DSO targets then there are a couple more refractor options slightly over your budget:

Evostar 90/660 Pronto

Startravel 102 AZ3

The first will give better correction than the ST80 and a wider field of view than the 90/900 Evostar.

The ST102 will give a good jump in light gathering over the ST80 for better DSO performance. However, I think the 130p will probably be better for both DSOs and planetary.

On 29/12/2022 at 21:47, jjohnson3803 said:

I'd go with an 80mm to 90mm achromatic refractor. They're inexpensive, have a small form factor if you keep the f-ratio low, are easy to transport if you go to a dark site or on vacation, don't require a king-hell mount, and seem to hold good resale value.

True, they have some chromatic aberration, but mine - 50mm, 80mm, 120mm - all do an ok job on the planets at lower power and the moon at moderate power. CA doesn't much matter IMO on deep sky.

Full disclosure - I did buy 72mm and 102mm ED doublets for lunar observing and double stars, but they each cost 4X to 5X as much as my achros.

Thanks for the replies, and I have decided to go with Sky-Watcher Explorer 130mm EQ-2 because it has aperture and has a EQ-2 mount which with a single speed drive installed will let me have some basic astrophotography and astronomy observing!

Thanks again for the suggestions

(P.S Mods close this topic, because my problem has been solved!)

Cosmic Geoff · December 31, 2022

12 minutes ago, spacedobsonian said:

I have decided to go with Sky-Watcher Explorer 130mm EQ-2 because it has aperture and has a EQ-2 mount which with a single speed drive installed will let me have some basic astrophotography and astronomy observing!

I think you will find that trying to do any astrophotography with this mount is a very instructive experience. 🤣

You may be shopping for a more substantial mount very soon.😀

allworlds · January 1, 2023

Hope you get on well with it. I would have advised to skip the Barlow and the moon filter anyway. Moon filters are a matter of taste and you might be quite happy without one, and I've not found cheap Barlows all that useful.

spacedobsonian · January 2, 2023

On 31/12/2022 at 19:39, Cosmic Geoff said:

I think you will find that trying to do any astrophotography with this mount is a very instructive experience. 🤣

You may be shopping for a more substantial mount very soon.😀

Yes, and I feel I may go down the rabbit hole of astrophotography 😆

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