Switching Gear - What do I need?

[BenOak]

As per a few threads I've seen, the UK astronomy scene has been rubbish and with my local sky seemingly getting brighter year on year I think it's time to change what I look for. 

I currently have the Skyliner 300p flextube as DSO's were more interesting to me but as time has gone on, and due to the weather and glow etc I have moved to double stars and planetery objects. However, getting the 300 out and then searching around takes longer than the time I have most nights (if I get any night of course!) so I am looking at selling or swapping to make things a bit easier. I'm also intersted in looking into some entry level astrophotography so at least if I get a night, I can take some images and print them out and stick them on my windows when its cloudy 🤣

The thing is I'm not sure what I need. I've had larger diameter dobs ever since I started so I have no knowledge at all of what would be the best for double stars, a little planetary viewing, and maybe move to astrophotography. I would like to try something with a goto but I've never had one (I just like the idea of saving a bit more time when there is some clear sky), an EQ mount would be a nice change too.

Any suggestions?

 

Edited November 11, 2023 by BenOak

[Mr Spock]

How much would you like to spend?

For a reasonable cost, for doubles and planets, I'd recommend a Starfield 102mm on an EQ5 - you can get a goto version. For AP an HEQ5 would be better and the Starfield has an 0.8x reducer/flattener. Visual/AP needs don't always agree though and I'm not sure what scope would suit both.

The Starfield does exude quality -

[Elp]

I havent tried imaging with it yet but I'm sure the SF102 will be fine photographically if it's anything like my Z61 which is also an FPL53 doublet. Visually it was quite nice to use.

In terms of equipment, usually getting nice planetary views and DSO usually don't necessarily go hand in hand as different scopes provide different experiences. I usually use my C6 for planetary viewing as it has long focal length, the refractors work okay, planets are sharp they're just a little small. Imaging via the refractors is the sharpest you can generally get.

I would have thought your dobs already cater for what you're after, could you possibly look to EQ mount them (size of mount permitting) or convert them to tracking?

Another option to speed up finding things is to adapt a Celestron Starsense explorer onto your existing equipment, or if you can adapt SkySafari to work with your mount (I've done it with my azgti for example).

In terms of photography a dob will have excellent light gathering capability for you to do EAA type imaging.

But I understand your wish for goto, you still need to spend a few minutes polar aligning but once you have it set (especially with plate solving and a computer controller) browsing the skies becomes a breeze almost like window shopping the skies.

[BenOak]

I'm moving away from DSO's as those that the 300 are good at seeing are less visible each year where I am. The dob size is good for doubles of course but I doubt you can EQ mount it. I should have got the goto version at the time but considered it an unnecessary expense. Hindsight is a pain.

The imaging side is really only a side thought too. I suppose what I'm after is an EQ mounted, potentially goto, scope that will be good for doubles and looking at the planets occasionally, but nowhere as big as the 300 is.

That 102 looks good but I was hoping to get something, inlcuding the mount within the sale price of what I have or even as a swap. 

[Beardy30]

What about getting into EAA - much simpler than AP and a fraction of the price - wise have a startravel 102 refractor on the AzI GTI and a zwo ASI 224 camera - very simple, portable and enjoyable 

[BenOak]

I could do. I already have a Nikon d5300 and I've toyed with the idea of putting that on my scope but without an EQ mount or plate it wouldn't give me the photo's I'd want. Maybe I should try that first and then decide whether I want to stay with visual astronomy or go for AP/EAA and then buy accordingly?

[Elp]

By the sounds of this last response it sounds more like you want to image. I'll tell you now, it isn't necessarily simple and it certainly isn't cheap. You'd certainly need a goto tracking mount for it, for longer exposure autoguiding is generally needed. If you want to image with the dslr maybe consider a star tracker or smaller mount, mounts like the azgti and SWgti can certainly accommodate maybe up to an 80mm refractor.

If you want simple browsing and imaging a ZWO Seestar is difficult to beat considering how simple it is to use, not too expensive either though availability at present is an issue due to the high demand. Dwarf2 also achieves similar.

[Cosmic Geoff]

Should you be interested in EAA, note that I put together an EAA rig with a Startravel 102mm f5 achromat, Eq5 Synscan mount, ASI224MC camera, a helical focuser and a recently acquired dual-band light pollution filter.  I had most of this to hand, but if bought new it would amount to about £1300, twice the price of a Seestar, but offering twice the image scale. 

If you want to image, there are various options depending on the size of the objects you want to image, e.g for wide nebulae you would choose a DSLR + camera lens, for smaller ones a telescope, and for very small ones a bigger telescope.  A number of popular nebulae more or less fit into the Seestar's FOV.

A GoTo mount is a very useful thing to have, but be aware that an equatorial GoTo mount is rather a fag to set up starting from storage, and an alt-azimuth mount is generally much less work, and optional devices can cut the setup work still further.  An equatorial is reckoned as being needed for deep-space astro-imaging, but the Seestar demonstrates that this is not necessarily true.