Beginner looking for advice on where to go next.

[jimmyh]

Hi, first off I have to say what an amazing forum, so much information and so many helpful people.

My name is James and I'm 31, I live in the UK, in the Sheffield area, I've been interested in what's up in the sky for quite some time now, but never really gone as far as to buy a telescope.

I currently own a pair of bins ImageShack - seen in these photo's. They are Russian made and I bought them in spain when I was on holiday about 7 years ago. They appear to be something X 50, I say 50 because the aperture is 5cm(50mm) across. Oh and im getting tired of holding them, so a tripod is probably going to be needed at some point.

I've been finding my self going out side lately to see what I can find, so far my best find is M31, it's getting clearer as the days go on and the moon comes up later in the evening. Pleiades is also another I've found.

I'd like some advice on where to take my new hobbie next, I'm not really that impressed with the magnification of the bins I have and I'm wondering if Celestron Skymaster 15x70 would be worth upgrading to.

It's my birthday soon and the wife let slip she was thinking of getting me a scope and she showed me one from ebay(£65ish) and I was like no!!! I showed her a Skywatcher 8" Dob and she couldnt understand what was different between the two and to be honest I dont much either, apart from what i've read here.

Throwing words at me like EP, EQ, Refractor and Reflector will confuse me even more

Regards.

James.

[steppenwolf]

Aaaaaaarrrrgghhhh - avoid the ebay(£65ish) for sure - you already know more than you thought you did!

The Skywatcher 8" Dobsonian would make an excellent step up as it has a large aperture (the hole at the front) so will collect lots of light, it has a reasonable focal length of 1200mm (this is a measure of how far from the mirror the light is focussed and thus has an important effect on the magnification - the greater the focal length the greater the magnification with a given eyepiece) and because it is on a Dobsonian mount it is intuitive to move around the sky to locate objects.

Magnification is not as important as light grasp and this telescope will grasp a lot of light!

Happy birthday (soon) .....

[geoff_k]

Steppenwolf is absolutely right that anything for £65 from E-bay or anywhere else is a no-no.

Do you have a local astro-club? Folks there should have a variety of scopes for you to look at and through. Also, aren't Rother Valley Optics somewhere nearby? I don't know if they have a showroom as such, but a no obligation chat would be helpful. Ian is a good bloke and like most good dealers, will not push you into buying something just for the sake of a sale. I just discovered that their site is down until the 8th, but there are other excellent dealers around but possibly not as easy to visit.

Happy upcoming birthday.

[Rocketron]

Hi James,

Good advice from Geoff_k, I bought an 8" Skywatcher off Ian a couple of years ago and found him very helpful.

Don't bother with big stores that sell telescopes alongside hundreds of other goods, and as steppenwolf says avoid bargains on ebay.

The Skywatcher 8" Dob would be an excellent first choice In my opinion but I would suggest that you go and have a look at one first.

This club could also be worth contacting, Sheffield Astronomical Society they are based in Sheffield.

Good luck and if you have any questions please ask.

Many Happy returns

Ron

[Scott Tilley]

A second vote for Rother Valley Optics. Showroom is between Rotherham and Worksop. I had narrowed the choice of scope down to two but came away with the cheaper one as it would be more suited to my needs (observe and image) than the more expensive one.

In my experience they won't try to sell you anything you don't need and give fair impartial advice.

Happy Birthday soon.

(PS- Might it be an idea to combine birthday and christmas presents!!)

Scott

[jimmyh]

Thank you all for your advice.

This is the scope she was looking at, http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330371955814&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

[Rocketron]

Thank you all for your advice.

This is the scope she was looking at, 900mm Seben Reflector Telescope plus 10 x ACCESSORIES on eBay (end time 06-Nov-09 21:15:14 GMT)

To be blunt Jimmy that is a childs toy in comparison to the 8" Skywatcher dob you are looking at.

As steppenwolf said " Magnification is not as important as light grasp" and the 8" Skywatcher dob will grasp a lot of light!

The Seben is only 76mm (3") diameter so everything will look very dark through it, you would be better sticking to your Binos

As for the magnification claims it's a joke, might be OK for looking at the moon at 45x but that's about it.

The eyepieces look a bit suspect and I don't suppose the mount is very stable either.

Good luck,

Ron

[Leegsi]

Might be worth saying what budget you think you will have as that will give an idea what you could get.

Also what you want to look at

[markystars]

I can only agree with whats already been said above, having had a few scopes now, your best bet would be the 8" Dob, or if not then a good 6" reflector as a minimum. I was dissapointed by a few scopes until i found a good one, thats the last thing you want as it could put you off rather than encourage you. Ive heard alot of bad reviews about seben although ive never owned one so cant comment myself

[Astro_Baby]

Run a mile from ebay scopes by Seben - seen too many disappointed people on here and other places.

Have a phone call with Steve at FLO or Rother Valley optics - both with give you a decent service, wont strong arm you into a bad decision etc.

[jimhaleysscomet]

As to the quesiton of new bino's or a scope..... The scope (in combination with your binos) gives you much more flexibility. Large bino's never worked that well for me. It is just too hard to get a stable view looking straight up.

For most folks, a "dobson mount" 6" f8 or 8" f6 makes about as perfect of a beginner scope as you can get for the least money (but no scope is perfect) .

If you want to stick to even less money, the Heritage 130P flex tube dob by Skywatcher is only £150. That is a great deal for a decent amount of aperture (light gathering) and focal length (ability to magnify).

[jimhaleysscomet]

One other thing. Visit skymaps.com and download a free monthly observing map and list. There will be at least 10 "bino" objects on the list that you can view this month.

[jimmyh]

If you want to stick to even less money, the Heritage 130P flex tube dob by Skywatcher is only £150. That is a great deal for a decent amount of aperture (light gathering) and focal length (ability to magnify).

I take it you mean this one? Heritage 130P flex tube dob by Skywatcherl

Looks like a very nice scope from what I've been reading and great value for the price. This would probably be a good starting point for me. Does any one have one of these that could give me an idea of views you can get?

I keep reading about people seeing mountains and craters and being able to map the moon, but my binos don't magnify that much and I'm yet to see the moon in all it's glory .

Might see if I can get the mrs to get me that scope and pop off down to RVO, I actually pass the shop twice a day on my way to work.

James.

[geoff_k]

Good choice as a first scope, especially given the price and should have a good re-sale value if heaven forbid, it all ends in tears.

Do bear in mind it is a manual scope, so you do need a reasonable knowledge of the night sky or a good map or planetarium program. The sky has this nasty habit of moving just when you are about to show someone that knockout view of Saturn or whatever. Be sure you are happy with that or much frustration and curses will ensue. The jury is out on Go-to systems and they have their supporters and detractors, but my view is that a motorised scope is a must although I know not everyone will agree with that either.

For that reason, the motorised Newtonian version is also worth a look New Explorer 130 EM With Free DVD & BinocularsTelescopes | Rother Valley Optics

Whatever you choose, best of luck!

[markystars]

The only advise I can add really, is to read up on collimating a newtonian if you dont already know how to. Its not as bad as some instructions would have you believe but it is definatley worht knowing what your doing