New to equipment

[dom088]

Hello,

I am completely new to astronomy but I am looking to learn a bit. 

I have a property out away from the city with very little light surrounding so the sky lights up with stars and planets. 

I have some young kids and I would like to get some equipment to view planets and such. 

 

I was looking at a sky watcher 8" dobsonian as people are selling them used and I can get them for a fair price. 

 

 

 

Is this any good? I'm not looking to spend alot of money, maybe  around that price point for the sky watcher unit. 

Would we be able to see Saturn's rings and such? Or can we buy additional lenses to be able to see them?  Any recommendations?

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @dom088 and welcome to SGL. 

A big ‘Yes!’ from me, (even though I do not use one).

Eyepieces…https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces.html are highly recommended by SGL’ers and budget friendly, as are these: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/vixen-eyepieces/vixen-npl-eyepieces.html once you have got used to using the ‘scope. Don’t be tempted to buy a complete e/p set, as they tend to be poor value. You could consider an 8-24mm zoom to start with, ie https://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-planetarium/baader-hyperion-zoom-eyepiece.html then progress to fixed focal length e/p’s as you gain experience.

Filters…
I would recommend a variable polarising/lunar filter and a Baader neodymium filter to start with. Then UHC and/or Olll for teasing out detail in DSO’s and galaxies.
Colour filters for lunar and planetary viewing are a marmite thing. Either you love them or hate them.

Accessories…
Being a reflector it will need collimating from time to time. It is not to difficult once you have done it a few times. You can either use a traditional collimating eyepiece or a laser collimator. Cheap laser collimators may/will need to be collimated too!

Edited September 16 by RT65CB-SWL

[RT65CB-SWL]

Forgot to mention that Saturn’s rings are ‘edge on’ at the time of writing/posting so don’t worry if the view is not what you were expecting. This happens every few years and will begin to re-open, until the next cycle. All good fun!

If you have an iPhone and/or iPad, then I would recommend apps: Saturn’s Moons and Jupiter’s Moons. They are also available on the Sky & Telescope website for PC/Mac users.

[ANTARES1_1]

3 hours ago, dom088 said:

Hello,

I am completely new to astronomy but I am looking to learn a bit. 

I have a property out away from the city with very little light surrounding so the sky lights up with stars and planets. 

I have some young kids and I would like to get some equipment to view planets and such. 

 

I was looking at a sky watcher 8" dobsonian as people are selling them used and I can get them for a fair price. 

 

 

 

Is this any good? I'm not looking to spend alot of money, maybe  around that price point for the sky watcher unit. 

Would we be able to see Saturn's rings and such? Or can we buy additional lenses to be able to see them?  Any recommendations?

Yes, dosonians are great for beginners, but only if you'd like to observe bright celestial bodies. It requires proper collimation(alignment of primary and secondary mirror) if you want to see fainter galaxies, or nebulae. 

I would recommend a schmidt cassegrain telescope if your able to find any as they are great for any magnitude(brightness), and generally do not require much colimation

But dob will be enough to bring your children into the hobby

All the best👍👍👍

[NGC 1502]

An 8” Dobsonian is quite simply the best value for money telescope you can get.
A brilliant all purpose scope for beginners and experienced alike, it could easily sustain a life time of observing the night skies.

Some are put off by collimation, but if everything is set up correctly you don’t need to do that often. With a basic Dob you do have to learn the sky especially for the fainter objects.

But don’t start with the more difficult stuff, the bright planets and moon are obvious in the night sky, so start with those.

Eyepieces- the stock eyepieces commonly supplied will get you going, use them for a while, don’t rush to upgrade. But having said that, better eyepieces are significantly nicer to use.

All the best for your introduction to years of enjoyment.

Welcome to StargazersLounge 😊

Ed.

 

 

[dom088]

Wow... This is very in-depth! 

 

is it best to just go with a refractor or catadioptric style telescope??  

 

 

Much more different than the $80 amazon special we have! Haha.  We actually got a nice view of the moon with it. 

Definitely alot to learn. I guess it's something we try and can change from time to time. 

What do the eye pieces offer? Clear'er images? Zoom I can see, do the filters brighten or dim the images in the telescope? 

From the pictures I see online with them, Saturns rings are not clear... You scan see but it's very blurry, would this be the case or would eye pieces allow for clear images?

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry guys, completely new to this. 

 

 

Edited September 10 by dom088

[ANTARES1_1]

Catadioptric scopes are generally not begginer friendly, but will show you more detail than the refractors you get on amazon. I wouldn't recommend buying refractors from Amazon for below 250, as their quality is generally not great. If you can bump up your budget a little bit then I would recommend a 6inch dob or a 4.5-6 inch newtonian, if you really want to get into the hobby

And please don't buy those cheap scopes you find on Amazon as they are hobby killer and wouldnt be of much use

Edited September 10 by ANTARES1_1

[ANTARES1_1]

What budget are you on?

[dom088]

I'm looking to be in the 500-800 mark Canadian dollar. I'm located in British Columbia, Canada

 

That would be around 400-600 USD, roughly 

[ANTARES1_1]

I believe  you should try to find a 6 inch newtonian telescope, as they are probably the best for begginer astronomy. I started with an 4.5 inch newt and was able to see the planets, m43 and m 45 with it 

Edited September 10 by ANTARES1_1

[ANTARES1_1]

A dob should also do, but it's a bit to bulky to carry around if you intend togo on trips with it

Something like the black one,

Edited September 10 by ANTARES1_1

[ANTARES1_1]

19 minutes ago, dom088 said:

I'm looking to be in the 500-800 mark Canadian dollar. I'm located in British Columbia, Canada

 

That would be around 400-600 USD, roughly 

Hey Dom here is my recomendation:-

Celestron – StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ Smartphone App-Enabled Telescope – Works with StarSense App to Help You Find Stars, Planets & More – 130mm Newtonian Reflector – iPhone/Android Compatible https://amzn.in/d/g9bE2Zy

It is a 5 inch newt which is compatible with starsense app that helps to navigate to any celestial body you want to observer.it the best for begginers.

The prices may be in INR as I am from India,, so you may wanna check your places' amazon retailer

Enjoy

[GrumpiusMaximus]

5 hours ago, ANTARES1_1 said:

Yes, dosonians are great for beginners, but only if you'd like to observe bright celestial bodies. It requires proper collimation(alignment of primary and secondary mirror) if you want to see fainter galaxies, or nebulae. 

I would recommend a schmidt cassegrain telescope if your able to find any as they are great for any magnitude(brightness), and generally do not require much colimation

But dob will be enough to bring your children into the hobby

All the best👍👍👍

This is really poor advice.

If we take the example of a Celestron C5, you're getting a 5-inch aperture at 1250mm.  There is also a significant central obstruction that affects contrast on marginal nights.  It's a very capable scope but the combination of relatively small aperture, central obstruction and long-ish focal length can make it a bit tricky.  It's quite sensitive to good mounting and when you add in the fact that they are pushing the 1,000GBP mark when bought with the Nexstar mount, represent marginal value for money.  You can increase that price if you go any bigger, e.g. a C8.  A new C8 on a Nexstar mount is around 1,500GBP new.  Three times the cost of an 8-inch Dobsonian new.

An 8" Dobsonian from FLO, e.g. the in-house Stella Lyra costs around 450GBP new and an equivalent can be purchased very inexpensively used.  I've seen them as low as 200GBP on eBay within the last month.  This includes a perfectly adequate mount.  The central obstruction is equivalently smaller.  The focal length is still 1200mm and there is no GOTO (unlike the Nexstar5se) but you get a much easier to use scope that you can just put on the lawn and scan with.  Collimation isn't really an issue (and something you have to do with a C5 anyway, albeit less frequently).  For the price, you will not do better than an 8" Dobsonian and it will be good on planets and DSOs.

I own a C5 and whilst it's a good scope and I like it a lot, an 8-inch Dobsonian for half the money will eat it for breakfast on DSOs.  There are reasons why you might prefer an SCT over a Newtonian but as a beginning visual observer it's difficult to think of anything particularly compelling unless storage space is a massive concern.

Edited September 10 by GrumpiusMaximus

[Cosmic Geoff]

2 hours ago, dom088 said:

is it best to just go with a refractor or catadioptric style telescope??  

Nothing wrong with these if they are of adequate quality, properly mounted, and are what you want. But you should go with the advice from the experienced contributors here. 

[Nyctimene]

Hello, dom088, and welcome to this friendly and helpful forum from a German stargazer!

Congrats to your dark rural British Columbia skies, that are calling for larger aperture (= bigger scopes), most of us would be envious of such views.

Instinctively you have, IME, chosen the most promising way for decent views - the ubiquitous 8" f/6 Skywatcher Dobsonian. As pointed out by Ed above, it's a lifetime scope, and will give you many nights of pleasing views. Btw., don't be misled by the photo by Antares1_1 above, that shows the black scope in the foreground mounted on a German Equatorial Mount (GEM). Newtonian telescopes can be mounted on such a GEM, but are mostly awkward to use in this configuration due to the ever changing eyepiece and finder positions. A Dobsonian mount is way easier to handle, and tracking becomes routine. Take yourself time, read a lot on here, and enjoy the journey!

Stephan

[GrumpiusMaximus]

I do not consider @ANTARES1_1 an experienced observer.  Frankly, he hasn't got a clue.

I do not consider myself a particularly experienced observer either compared to many on here but I certainly wouldn't be recommending an SCT as a first telescope for an absolute beginner unless there were a number of mitigating factors.

[ANTARES1_1]

1 hour ago, GrumpiusMaximus said:

I do not consider @ANTARES1_1 an experienced observer.  Frankly, he hasn't got a clue.

I do not consider myself a particularly experienced observer either compared to many on here but I certainly wouldn't be recommending an SCT as a first telescope for an absolute beginner unless there were a number of mitigating factors.

Well yes , I am considerably new to this hobby but not so new I the field of physics. I have been studying this since the past 7 to 8 years and was making a general assumption based on the facts I know. I thought that easier mobility and effectiveness of the sct( can be used as for both large and small fov) and was providing a long term solution, which can be used as both a begginer and ameuter device.

Edited September 10 by ANTARES1_1

[Nyctimene]

13 minutes ago, ANTARES1_1 said:

effectiveness of the sct( can be used as for both large and small fov)

I don't agree with this conclusion. An 8" f/10 SCT (e.g. the Celestron 8") will give a maximum True Field of View (TFoV) of 1.28° with 2" barrel eyepieces, whereas the Skywatcher 8" f/6 is listed with 2.2° for 2" eyepieces - almost one degree more; and the maximum magnification will be around 400x for both scopes. ( - And my 8" f/4 Hofheim traveldob is able to show 2.89° TFoV with the 30 mmf/82° Wild Heerbrugg eyepiece!).

Stephan

[ANTARES1_1]

But you can achieve a wider fov by attaching your camera on the other side of the scope, which reduces the fl to 850mm

Edited September 10 by ANTARES1_1

[Mr Spock]

I would say, as an experienced observer, an 8" Dobsonian is an excellent choice.

It's light enough to move around (I move a 12" with a bad back), has enough light grasp in dark skies to see some impressive deep sky targets, can also show fine detail on planets; magnifications can go from wide field to planetary very easily with just a few eyepieces and a Barlow. With no mechanics or electronics it's relatively fiddle free. What's not to like?

The only negative is at some stage you have to master collimation. Though it isn't difficult once you get over the thoughts of doing it.

[ANTARES1_1]

This spot ca  be used in order to place your camera and greatly increase the fov( by removing the lid and attaching a camera)@Nyctimene

Edited September 10 by ANTARES1_1

[Nyctimene]

3 minutes ago, ANTARES1_1 said:

This spot ca  be used in order to place your camera and greatly increase the fov( by removing the lid and attaching a camera

The OP is interested in visual astronomy only at the moment, as can be read in his first post.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

44 minutes ago, ANTARES1_1 said:

Well yes , I am considerably new to this hobby but not so new I the field of physics. I have been studying this since the past 7 to 8 years and was making a general assumption based on the facts I know. I thought that easier mobility and effectiveness of the sct( can be used as for both large and small fov) and was providing a long term solution, which can be used as both a begginer and ameuter device.

This is the difference between actual time observing and reading things on paper.  The best advice is given with practical experience of the subject.

An 8-inch Dobsonian is often a 'scope for life'.  Many people have multiple telescopes, but hang onto the Dobsonian because of its simplicity, ruggedness, forgiving nature and inexpensive nature.  Want a telescope to use with your kids?  8-inch Dobsonian.  Want a telescope to take to a star party?  Take an 8-inch Dobsonian (and whatever else you want).  You can set one up in less than 30 seconds and have great views of the most popular objects and they are very capable of faint DSOs.

SCTs are a valid choice but not something I would recommend to a beginner for the reasons I've outlined in previous posts.

The original poster has not expressed an interest in astrophotography.  If they had, then I still probably wouldn't be recommending an SCT as their first scope unless they have expressed a particular interest in planetary photography...

Edited September 10 by GrumpiusMaximus

[ANTARES1_1]

3 minutes ago, GrumpiusMaximus said:

This is the difference between actual time observing and reading things on paper.  The best advice is given with practical experience of the subject.

An 8-inch Dobsonian is often a 'scope for life'.  Many people have multiple telescopes, but hang onto the Dobsonian because of its simplicity, ruggedness, forgiving nature and inexpensive nature.  Want a telescope to use with your kids?  8-inch Dobsonian.  Want a telescope to take to a star party?  Take an 8-inch Dobsonian (and whatever else you want).  You can set one up in less than 30 seconds and have great views of the most popular objects and they are very capable of faint DSOs.

SCTs are a valid choice but not something I would recommend to a beginner for the reasons I've outlined above.

Yes, you are correct I should have been more considerable whilst replying

Edited September 10 by ANTARES1_1

[Elp]

OP being in Canada also has the benefit of being in a prime position to access and use the Astro Buy Sell CA website. Lots of potential options there.