Hello to all...My first thread, and first question.

[RedShift]

I apologize that this is another 'which telescope do you recommend' post.

I’m very new to astronomy, but highly interested by the hobby, and I’m already hooked. I have (and am currently reading) a few good beginner astronomy books I was recommended to read first. I’ve been studying star maps and have already purchased some 10x50 binos.

So I’m now very close to buying my first scope, but am a bit stuck on choice, as I have some awkward problems at my home for viewing.

I only have a back 'yard', not a garden, so I’m very limited for space. And as houses are in the way, I don’t think I will be able to polar aline etc properly?

I do live near the sea/beach, which will be great for some viewing sessions...but mostly I will be looking at doing it in my 'box' of a yard!

Does anyone else have these problems to, and how much will it limit me?

At the moment I really like the following scopes;

Maksutov - Skywatcher Skymax 127 (EQ3-2)

Dobsonians - Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian

Reflectors - Skywatcher Explorer 150P EQ3-2

Advanced Series GOTO - Celestron Advanced C6-N GT (GOTO)

Quite a wide choice! Im mostly interested in deep sky viewing, but with fairly ease of use and set up (as im very new)!

I don’t have great storage capacity for the scope either, so don’t want something to bulky (what put my off a larger dob), which is why I thought the Maksutov would be better suited?

I really want to get involved in astronomy, but don’t want to have to limit my viewing too much, because i have to get a small aperture scope.

Any help/advice much appreciated!

(Sorry I dragged this post on and on....it is my first here )

[barkis]

From a personal viewpoint, and considering the limited space you have, I would go for simplicity, coupled with light gathering power, so my choice would be the Dobsonian Scope. No need to concern yourself with polar alignment with a Dob.

However, that is my choice, others will follow.

Ron.

[steppenwolf]

Welcome to SGL.

Limited space for storage and viewing can be overcome and the best view of most objects is achieved when they are overhead as you will be viewing through the minimum amount of atmosphere. Many modern Alt/Az mounts do not require you to be able to see the north celestial pole (or rather, Polaris and work from there) but equatorial mounts will require either a view of Polaris or some time consuming work carrying out what is known as a drift alignment to work at their best if they have 'GoTo' facilities. For purely visual use though with a non-GoTo mount, an approximate alignment with a compass will suffice.

Deep Sky Objects (DSOs) tend to be dim so aperture is 'king' here to allow you to get as much light as possible into your eyeball! Each of the systems detailed in your post have their merits but storage and cost come into play here. A Dobsonian has the light collection and the lack of need for polar alignment but they can be big! I am an imager not a viewer so I'll leave it to others to be more specific on your actual telescope choice. Hopefully, they will be along shortly!

[John]

Quite a wide choice! Im mostly interested in deep sky viewing, but with fairly ease of use and set up (as im very new)!

Hi and welcome to SGL

Given the preferences I've quoted above it would have to be the 8" dob for me as well.

As for storage, if you point the tube straight up then the "footprint" of the scope is small - about 2 feet in diameter.

John

[philsail1]

Hello "Redshift" and welcome to Stargazers Lounge!

With the information you've given, I would tend to think a "Dobsonion" scope would be the most suitable choice.

Re you only having a "back yard," well I'm the same - and like you with houses all around, but I do have a clear view of "Polaris." to enable me set up my Equatorial mount. It is surprising what you can see (in Astronomical terms that is!) even from a back yard.

Best wishes on your final choice,

Regards,

philsail1

[argonaut]

All I can say is that you started well buying 10x50 binoculars. Its much easier finding your way around the universe with a correct image.

Oh,and welcome to SGL.

I like refractors and alt/az mounts for my small back yard. Aperture rules only if you can use it.

Glen.

[RedShift]

Thanks to all for such quick replies!

Sounds like a DOB will be best for me. I though it may be the easiest option. Trouble is I have been big into PC's for a while (I have 6 running current), so I tend to try go for the more 'feature full' purchase. But I know it doesn’t work that way with astronomy. I always try to go 'higher' when looking at scopes...but it’s still my first one, so I know deep down simplicity will be best.

What DOB would anyone recommend? (I’m still open to any other suggestions of course.

Thanks again...for the welcome and advice!

[mdstuart]

The modern Dobs are now coming out with drives to help point the scope but you need a pole star, but surely you can work out once where it is an then use the corner of the roof or whatever to line up to after that..

You can also get gadgets that you put on the Dob which tell you the angles which help lining up...BUT nothing is better really than learning the sky with your 10 x 50's and then using a right angled finder / Telrad to star hop.to each galaxy etc...

Mark

[acey]

Glad you're thinking of a dob because that's where my vote goes too. Like you I started with 10x50 binos, then moved to an 8-inch dob, and that kept me happy for quite a few years (I recently upgraded - to a bigger dob!). My starter scope was an Orion SkyQuest but Skywatcher would be fine. All the mass-produced dobs have their optics made in China (by GSO), the only difference between brands is in the mechanics, and I don't think there's much to choose.

You can certainly go for features and high-tech in astronomy but you've already discovered the charm of binos, and a dob is about as close as you can get to that in terms of simplicity. You'll appreciate the quick set-up.

If I was being picky then I'd say I preferred the mount of my old Orion to my new Skwatcher Flextube - I liked the Orion's tension springs and I'm not a fan of the Skywatcher tension handles. Also I feel the base of my 12" is bigger and heavier than it really needs to be. But optically they're the same.

Andrew

[Astro_Baby]

No advice but welcome to the board from me

[RedShift]

So would the following DOB be a good choice;

Dobsonians - Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian

I know you can get the lightbridges, that break down;

Lightbridge - LightBridge 8" Truss Dobsonian

But for £100 more, are they worth it? In terms of mechanics and optics, or is it just better portability?

Any suggestions for essential extra's that I would benifit from?

Thanks again!

[chui]

There is a DOB for sale right here in these forums. Maybe give it a look.........

http://stargazerslounge.com/sale/79036-10-revelation-dob-ideal-beginners-scope.html

[acey]

RedShift - don't get a truss-tube dob (like the LightBridge) as your first scope, unless you need really something that will pack away small (e.g. to fit in your car).

It's not because these are bad scopes (far from it!). It's because a scope that needs to be put together every time you use it is a lot more hassle - not only assembly but also full collimation and finder realignment. If instead you keep it permanently set up and ready for use then for that aperture you might as well have a solid tube. The open-tube design also brings up problems of dewing and stray light (in light-polluted areas).

Collimation is the main issue, though. Just look at threads on this forum and you'll see what it does to people's brains. It's a perfectly simple job (five minutes or less in pitch darkness once you've got the right tools and know what to do with them), but the place to learn it is on an 8-inch solid tube, where you'll rarely need to do it (and the first time you do - preferably after a year or so of blissfully happy scope use - it'll take you all night).

The 10-inch Revelation would be good too but I would recommend an 8-inch to start with, as anything bigger needs collimating more frequently, and you honestly won't see a whole lot of difference between 8-inch and 10-inch, though you'll feel the difference in weight.

My upgrade path was binos to 8-inch to 12-inch (with a couple of little fun scopes and bigger binos along the way as travel accessories) and it's worked for me.

The finish and mechanics of my SkyWatcher (12") is not what I'd call deluxe but I've seen grumbles about Meade too. All the brands appear pretty much equal but some are cheaper than others depending on which country you buy them in. For UK observers the Skywatchers are excellent value - a bit less so since the slippage of the pound, but still excellent.

If I was starting out now I'd get the SkyWatcher 8-inch solid tube. I'd use it for a few months (until autumn/winter when there'll be enough darkness again for it to be getting lots of use and I'll have got really used to it) then spend the remaining cash in my budget on two good quality eyepieces (in the £50-£100 range).

Of course what I really did was what everyone does - I went straight out and spent lots of money on lots of extras that I didn't really need.

Andrew

[johninderby]

I'd recommend the SkyWatcher 200P dob for a beginner as well. Great scope with excellent optics that will surprise you with just how much you can see with it. The solid tube is fine as it's not a big scope and will retain collimation better than the Flex Tube version

Polar alignment and the C6N-GT

Just a correction to some of the earlier posts in regards to the Celestron C6N-GT. With Celestron's new "All Star Polar Alignment" you don't need to be able to see Polaris to polar align the mount or to use a polar alignment scope either. Just a two star alignment and then choose any other star to complete the polar alignment.

John

[Ant]

Welcome to SGL.

If your not interesting in taking pictures, then my vote would go to the 8" Dob as well. SkyWatcher 200P.

Cheers

Ant

[Vega]

I'd agree with the 200P choice too. A dob is a great starter scope as you get to learn the sky (There's nothing bettter than the thrill of hunting down objects for yourself). Also Aperture is indeed king in this game and dobs are the cheapest option £/aperture. "So what's the downside?" I here you ask... well a dob does not track an object as the sky moves so you do have to continually 'nudge' the scope to keep things in view (especially at high magnification).

The solid tube gives you the option of mounting it on an EQ mount later if you start to get real serious . (and in this setup an 8" is perfect IMO.. Although I love the scope to bits, my 10" when mounted is a bit of a beast to handle sometimes).

Welcome to SGL!

Cheers

Matt

[acey]

The solid tube gives you the option of mounting it on an EQ mount later if you start to get real serious .

Appreciate the irony!

But let's not forget - William Herschel discovered the whole of his deep-sky catalogue (2,500 objects) and plotted their celestial co-ordinates using - you guessed it - an alt-az mounted large aperture scope! Not to mention discovering Uranus, cataloguing double stars (measuring their position angles and separations) etc etc.

So three cheers for dobsonians!

It's eighteenth-century technology, but if it was good enough for WH then it's good enough for me.

You're right, though, it's not for imagers - except of the pencil and paper kind.

Andrew

[RobH]

I'd vote for the dob too.

William Herschel had one big advantage over us though Acey....zero light pollution....it must have been fantastic

Cheers

Rob