Getting my first telescope

[Nemesis6]

Hey everyone, I recently got somewhat interested in stargazing, seeing as I've spent a fair amount of looking at the night sky. So I decided I might as well try getting a closer look, because space does fascinate me endlessly. With my limited experience, the first telescope that caught my eye was the Celestron 127-EQ and 130-EQ. They're cheap, and people say they're good for beginners. I am only however looking to get one that's at least motorized, but neither of those seem to be so by default. I've read that I can just add one since they use "EQ2" mounts(?). I've also taken a look at the NexStar series, but they appear to be damn expensive.

But I might be totally off with those ideas, so I need some help.

[Whippy]

Firstly, welcome to SGL .

Hate to answer a question with another question but what kind of budget do you have?

Tony..

[Nemesis6]

About 200 dollars. Also a little reminder: If I buy from outside the EU, Tax and VAT can see any price possible doubled or tripled.

[The Warthog]

If your budget is $200, and you are serious about this hobby, I suggest you save a bit more and get a telescope that is at least 5" in aperture and on a decent tripod (EQ3-2, CG4) that won't shake like Gipsy Rose Lee's [removed word] everytime you touch it. Having the RA motorized is a good idea, but you can live without motorization if you are going to be a visual astronomer. If you want to be an astrophotographer, you are going to invest a lot of moolah in kit.

You might want to check the used market. I got both my scopes used, and they are fineand much less expensive than new.

[Nemesis6]

The 130EQ is listed as 5.12 inches. From what I've seen, the complaints about this particular one are that the eye-pieces are mediocre in quality, but surely I could find some better ones? To be totally honest, I'm not sure if I'm dead serious yet, that's why I'm aiming low for my first purchase, which probably is a bad idea within the astronomy community, but if it makes a difference, I'm not gonna be dissuaded just because I'm using a less-than-optimal telescope.

Thus far, I've been using a 2.5 inch refractor telescope on a wobbly wooden mount. What I did was find my position using Google Maps, and feed the info to Your Sky

So the goal here isn't to get a very good telescope that will amaze me; What I basically need is something that will start me off; give me just at the very least a preview of what it's like. Nebulae and star clusters especially interest me if that enters into the equation.

Other than the ones I've mentioned, I'd really like to hear what you guys would recommend that I aim for(no pun intended ).

[iamjulian]

If you are at the unsure how seriously you are going to take it stage, it could be worth thinking about some binoculars before a scope. I got a cheap pair of 8x40 for about $30 and was able to spot Ceres through them, not to mention all the stars and brighter planets - they show a lot more than you'd imagine. They allowed me to know that I wanted to take it further and get a proper scope so I took my time, saved up and spent the time researching what to buy. I'd recommend that process to anyone.

[jgs001]

Hi, and welcome. I would second the vote for a pair of Bino's. A pair of 10x50's can be had for a reasonable sum of money, and they are far easier to setup, far more portable, provide wonderful wide field views, and you'll be stunned at what can be seen through them. Allowing you to get started, learn the sky and save more for kit.

[sxinias]

You may want to consider a DOB such as the 6 inch (150mm) Skywatcher skyliner. However, if you can spring for a little more money, a SkyWatcher Skyhawk-1145P 114mm (4.5") or a Skywatcher Explorer 130P make great starter scopes and both have the SynScan AZ GOTO mount which can easily carry heavier and bigger scopes (150mm, 5 kg).

I have a Meade DS2090AT (90mm refractor scope on a DS2000 AZ GOTO mount). While the scope is on the small size it does show a lot of DSOs and the GOTO mount makes finding stuff a snap. I found it on eBay for less than 150 pounds. If you go to eBay, stick with only new, unopened, scopes from internationally known brands (Celestron, Meade, SkyWatcher, Orion, iOtron, etc.)

Joe

sxinias greece

[acharris77]

Hi, I would 2nd sxinias post about looking at the skywatcher scopes. I have the Skywatcher explorer 130p with the syncscan AZ goto and it is a very nice scope, it shows nice views and the goto (which takes about 5 - 10 mins depending on experience of the using scope a couple times) once setup makes finding objects easy if u are on a short session like the summer nights.

I have also heard the 114p is a very nice scope and can get some great details of objects.