First purchase

[Sierra Golf Mike]

I'm sure this has been asked a million times but I am about to buy a telescope and thought I had settled on a Skywatcher Explorer 130P Supatrak until I thought about what happens if the motor packs in! I take it you can't use it manually? My thoughts then went to a Skywatcher Explorer 150P (this is pushing my budget though), with the option of buying a motor later. I also searched the internet looking for photos of what I would be able to see with either scope but to no avail. Am I kidding myself that I will get great views of galaxies and nebulae? This is a big purchase for me and I want it to be worthwhile.

Any words of wisdom would be much appreciated.

Thanking you in anticipation

Steve

[John]

Hi Steve,

For good views of galaxies and nebulae you really need aperture, ie: as large as possible main lens or mirror. Smaller scopes will show some but, in my opinion, you really need to think about 8" aperture or more if that is your main interest.

The dobsonian design scopes give you the most aperture for your £ eg: an 8" is £265 new. OK you have to learn where things are in the sky and push the scope to them but they are the best way to start to discover these deep sky objects I think.

[KevG]

Steve, I have no experience of the Two scopes you mention although I do use equipment of similar aperture. Most Galaxies, Nebula appear as feint smudges of light, unlike the enhanced images you will find on the Internet. Have a look if there are any astro clubs in your vicinity & try it out at the eyepiece first, this way you will have a true understanding of what can be seen, removing any disappointment when you part with your hard earned. Many factors come to play when viewing at the eyepiece which will limit what you see e.g. equipment/atmospherics/knowledge/experience.

The trick is knowing that feint smudge of light is actually a galaxy consisting of billions of stars, thousands of light years distant.

Alternatively could always try a pair of binoculars, download a free copy of stelarium and start building a knowledge of the night sky, should give you more insight prior to spending a significant amount of money only to find it does not meet your expectation.

Kev

[nicnac]

hello Steve,

i have a 150p and the views i have had with it are great, my first view of the orion neb literaly made me pause for breath and i have had similar effects with both the Moon and Mars.

Granted, 200mm would give better views as one expects having more light gathering capabilities but you cant go wrong with a 150p.

Enjoy.

[stev74]

The best way to 'see' what you'll see through a telescope is from sketches. The camera's used in astro photography capture light differently than the eye does and produce wonderful colourful images. So it's best to not set your expectations too high, as has already been said you'll see mostly grey smudges. Still viewing two grey smudges in the same field of view like M81 and M82 and realising your looking at two galaxies and billions of stars is just mind blowing.

Here is a link to Talitha's sketches she is an SGL member and also does a sketching section in The Sky at Night magazine and has produced some amazing work - Stargazers Lounge - Talitha's Album: Deep Sky Sketches

As for your choice of scope I'd go for the 150p, get as much aperture as you can afford. Then add the motors when you have more funds, that is the way I went with my 200p.

Cheers

[Bizibilder]

I would certainly go for the 150 on a non-motorised EQ3 as a starter (and add the motor later) or save a few more pennies and go for the 200mm Dobsonian, simply for the greatest aparture for your money - which you will need for DSO's.

[SteveP]

The 150P is a very good scope to start with and certainly a better bet than the 130 for DSOs. The larger aperture of the 150 will collect about a third more light than the 130P which is what you will need.

Having said that, if you're expecting to see nebulae and galaxies as you might in the magazines or on this forum, you will be disappointed. This isn't just a comment on the 130 or even the 150. It is the case with most 'normal' sized scopes. Unfortunately, the human eye just isn't designed to be sensitive to colour at night and most DSOs will therefore appear greyish.

Steve

[johnkirkpatrick]

Agreeing with all posts above, I have a 130mm and DSO's are very faint and small, I have had brill views of the moon and Mars and Saturn are ok but only having the supplied Ep's 10mm 20mm even the planets were small but still a wonder to view with my own eyes.

I have been viewing for only 3months now and already saving for a bigger scope to get better views of DSO's and am looking for 10" (250mm) aperture and above. So my advice would be go as big as you can or even allow more time to save extra money as it will save you £££'s in the long run

A Dob is always a good buy as you don't have to spend a load o cash on a Mount.

[andyr]

Hi Steve

I have the 150P and love it, it's a great first scope and I've seen quite a few DSO's so far in really good clarity, as well as Mars and Saturn.... Looking forward to seeing Jupiter when it comes round...

Andy

[LukeSkywatcher]

Apeture apeture apeture. Go for the 150P. A non-motorised mount is good cuz less parts to break down. If you want to add motor drives in the future you can.

If you are confident with the night sky and like to find objects on your own you could go for the 150P on a Dob mount.

With regards to images of DSO,planets etc...........................FORGET THEM. Put them out of your mind. Those images are hours and hours of work in post processing on the computer having firstly been taken either with DSLR cameras or web cams hooked up to telescopes. Visual observing (looking through a telescope) simply does not even start to come close to that (astrophotography)...................but is still amazingly rewarding.

[brantuk]

I started with an S/W 150 manual - never regretted it - you'll see plenty of stuff and learn your way round the sky in a way that sticks in the mind (useful when you come to upgrade to bigger scopes later).

I remember when I first got it polar aligned properly and only had to track in one plane - it was like a eureka moment cos I'd been using it like coco the clown for 6 months lol.

Aperture is best - you can add an azimuth tracking motor quite cheaply later on. Bear in mind though you'll only see colour within the solar system (Jupiter especially easy). Everything else deep sky will be b/w - fuzzy nebs, white pinpoint stars, and maybe a little colour differential on some doubles - but nothing like the magazine pics. And it all depends on the seeing anyway.

Good luck and hope I've helped.

Cheers

[Sierra Golf Mike]

Thank you all for the advice, I'll be going for the 150P. When I get it up and running I will be on again asking for help and advice. Can't wait

Cheers

Steve