Advise on new scope

[Abernus]

Hi, this is my first post as I am totally lost. I have a Meade 4505 (I think thats the model number) I bought the it second hand for £50 off a friend. It has done me well, but now I feel it's time to upgrade.

As I currently live in a City light polution is a big problem, but we are moving to a more countyr location will less light.

With my new telescope I would like to carry on observing planets and possibly look at nebula's etc. My current scope has no motor's so tracking is done manually and can be a pain. I would look for a budget of about £300 - £400. Can anyone point me in the right direction.

I have read various sights on what they say are good, but I am still not sure. I like the build quality of the Meade one I have and am not sure if the Meade ETX 105PE would be good for me.

Looking forward to your suggestions.

[philsail1]

Hello "Abernus,"

My suggestion:- Go for a Skywatcher 200mm Explorer Newtonian Reflector on an HEQ5 (motorised) mount. Excellent quality mirror. Good size scope, and at f5 is good for both planetary and deep sky views.

Best wishes,

philsail1

[Whippy]

Firstly welcome to SGL .

That kind of budget does give you a few good options. Dobsonians are the best 'bang for the buck' because they have a newtonian scope on a basic mount. What this means is you can buy a big scope for not a great deal of money, like these ones: Dobsonians .

You have mentioned that tracking can be a pain and as you're aware, you can buy motorised mounts, so a driven alternative could be this: Reflectors - Skywatcher Explorer 150P EQ3-2 (the add on motor: Skywatcher - Single-Axis D.C. Motor Drive for EQ3-2 )

And then you have your GOTO mounts, but then you're paying more for the mount and the electrponics in return for a smaller scope: Reflectors - Skywatcher Explorer 130P SynScan AZ GOTO.

HTH

Tony..

[Abernus]

Thanks for the help. I never even knew about the First Light optics sight. I like the look of the Skywatcher Explorer 150P EQ3-2I might see if my budget can stretch and get an GOTO mount for it (if possible) Should be able to get some good photos with this