Hi everyone :)

[cyroflame]

Hi everyone! My name is mike and have recently joined this forum, and this is my first post! errrr i'm not exactly sure where to begin. I have always been interested in astronomy and astrophotography but have never actually you know.....done it! so i have decided that i am going to!

I would really appreciate some advice on what my first telescope should be! I was looking to spend around £100- £150 no more. And would like one that gives me clear crisp images, whilst giving me a good magnification so i am able to see lets say, good images of the moon, planets, clusters maybe more?

what do people suggest would be good starting point many many thanks, mike.

[John]

Hi Mike - welcome to SGL !.

Funnily enough we had another newcomer ask virtually the same question a short while ago (same budget as well). You may find the reponses to that post of interest:

http://stargazerslounge.com/beginners-help-advice/100500-help-needed-what-scope-buy.html

Feel free to keep asking questions though

[cyroflame]

Hi john thankyou very much for your post, that has really helped actually as i was looking at getting a skywatcher, i think they look good value for money and obviously will save what i can so i can get best one i can afford!

i guesss the thing i really want to know is, what kind of imagery can i expect to see with this kind of range of telescope? is there some photos that show what kind of detail i will see? also what kind of objects and wonders would i be ale to spot?

i know i am asking a lot of questions, but i am just very excited about getting into this hobby!!!!!!!! thanks

[nicnac]

have you figured out which scope you want?

£150 budget you could get a skywatcher explorer 130 (reflector) a skywatcher evostar 90 on EQ2 (refractor) or a startravel 80

im not sure the mounts are the best for imaging but you can always upgrade when the "bug has bit" and be warned it bites hard

check first light optics (click tab on top of page)

[cyroflame]

Hi Nicnac, thanks for the advice! i have been looking at that range, and found this one, the magnification is a bit higher and says i will be able to see gas nebula's and galaxies outside our solar system, does this one look good?

http://www.scopesnskies.com/prod/Sky-Watcher/starter-scope/1145pskyhawk.html

[Bizibilder]

Hi cyroflame and welcome to SGL.

You will find exellent advice here!! May I make a couple of general points to guide you? Don't fall into the trap of buying "magnification" with astronomical equipment - it doesn't work like that.

The SW 1145P has a focal length of 500mm and eyepieces of 9mm and 25mm. These will give magnifications of 500/25=20x and 500/9=55x These will be your "low" and "medium" magnifications. The barlow lens supplied will double both of these - to 40x and 110x respectively. This will give another "medium" and a new "high" magnification.

For this size of scope the the maximum magnification you could possibly use (maybe once a year when the atmosphere is perfectly clear and still!!) would be 200x. but to be honest it would be rare for this to be successful. It is the atmosphere, not the telescope, that determines the highest useable magnification and the ability to see fine detail on objects like the Moon (resolution).

Secondly aparture (the diameter of the main mirror (or lens) of the telescope) determines how much light you collect and therefore how well you can see faint objects. Generally you should go for the greatest aparture you can reasonable afford, all else being equal.

Have you considered the SW Heritage 130P FlexTube™ Dobsonian? You get a much bigger mirror, a simple to use (dobsonian) mount all for around £130. Or the SW 130P on an EQ2 (equatorial)mount for the same price? again with the larger mirror.

Hope this helps (It'll probably confuse you even more!! - keep asking the questions before you part with your cash!)

[cyroflame]

Hi Bizibilder, that really does help! i have found the sw 130 and looks good plus won award from sky at night which has to mean something! plus the specs look alot better.

Sky Watcher EXPLORER-130 130mm (5.1") f/900 Newtonian Reflector

is this the one? plus comes with barlo lens, tripod and eq mount.

and what magnification will this lens give me?

Sky-Watcher 3.6mm Super MA Eyepiece (805) - Warehouse Express

[Bizibilder]

That's the scope. The eyepiece would give a magnification of the telescope focal length divided by the eyepiece focal length. For the SW Explorer 130 that would be:

900/3.6=250x. BUT that is a very "cheap and cheerful" (thats the polite version!) eyepiece and I would not recommend it - eyepieces with very short focal lengths need to be of good quality and are (very) expensive. it is also really too much magnification for that size of telescope.

As a beginner I would recommend that you stay with the eyepieces supplied with the telescope and they will serve you well as you learn your way around the sky. They are, as it were, matched to the scope to give views within the capability of the rest of the optical system and the mounting supplied.

I did not mention, in my last post, the importance of a really rigid mounting and tripod. It is entirely hopeless trying to observe through a telescope where the image is wobbling all over the place!!!! the supplied mounts and tripods of the telescopes that you are looking at are adequate.

Hope this helps.

[cyroflame]

ok thankyou very much! i will stick with the skywatcher explorer 130 for now

so one last question for a very eager enthusiast! what kind of things can i expect to see? planets and star clusters etc? what will appear in good detail?

[brantuk]

Hi Cyro and welcome to the group

Additional to the good advice above (I'd find it hard to better those suggestions for a starter scope) you'd be well advised to join a local astro society. If you need info on different lenses and magnifications you'll find plenty of help and guidance and people will let you try their stuff out.

Also be a good idea to get a book - "Turn Left at Orion" is my recommendation. And "Stellarium" which you can google is a great planetarium software (downloadable for free) to help you get to know the sky.

Good luck picking a scope and enjoying the hobby.

[Bizibilder]

You will see the craters on the Moon easily as well as lots of other detail - it will amaze you!!

Planets - Mars is tiny and is getting further away from us at the moment so is getting smaller still! You will see a small orangey yellow disc. Saturn is getting well placed in the south east and will show the rings - even so these are almost edge on to us at the moment but you will see them. Venus is low in the east in the evening.

BY THE WAY NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN THROUGH A TELESCOPE YOU WILL DO IRREPRABLE DAMAGE TO YOUR EYES. YOU WILL BE BLIND. EVEN WITH A SO CALLED FILTER. SIMPLY DO NOT DO IT!!!

Sorry about that but it must be said in bold letters to all beginners (and yes there are safe ways to observe the Sun but at the moment leave well alone!). Lecture over!

As for stars, clusters nebulae etc - you can see hundreds of them - so you will need a decent map. Most galaxies and clusters will only appear as "grey fuzzies" through amateur sized telescopes - you wont see the same as in those photo's you get in magazines!! Many clusters are easy in small scope and are some of the most beautiful objects you can observe.

For a good map download "Stellarium" onto your computer. There are lots of printable maps available:

Try: Taki's Home Page

Or: JR's website on Deep Sky Astronomy - you only need the "A" atlas!! - the others are HUGE!!!!!

[cyroflame]

hi brantuk, thankyou very much for the advice, everyone has been very helpfull here and will definately been posting alot here! so can any one tell me what kind of things i will be able to see with this kind of telescope?

[brantuk]

Hi Again Cyro.

You'll be able to see most of the planets though the outer ones being smaller and further away pose a little challenge. Also beware of the sun when looking at the inner planets - best after sunset. Jupiter and Saturn will be no problem (bigger and nearer) and you will see colour in them.

Out of the solar system everything is black, white and grey though there are tinges of colour in some doubles. Shapes of nebulae will be what you're looking at, interspersed with bright pinpoint stars - clusters like diamonds in the sky - and you should be able to resolve more stars in a cluster than with binocs or naked eye.

You'll have to take into account - cooling the tube to reduce air currents, atmospheric conditions, how high or low an object is and angle of view through the earths atmoshere, and many other factors.

The kind of full colour glossy stuff on tv and in mags/internet pages won't be available in most scopes. These kind of pics are only acheiveable with highly accurate tracking and long exposure photography. The human eye can only get a limited amount of that detail, and then only in very large aperture scopes (12"+).

Hope that helps

[John]

hi brantuk, thankyou very much for the advice, everyone has been very helpfull here and will definately been posting alot here! so can any one tell me what kind of things i will be able to see with this kind of telescope?

To be honest it is not easy to describe what you will be able to see and we can't give you a comprehensive list because it's really up to you how much time you are prepared to put into observing. It's not like the photos so it's probably best to look for drawings of what people see to get a guide.

The moon is fabulous though any scope. Jupiter and Saturn are the best planets. Then there are nebulae, star clusters and galaxies. You can see many things but how well you see them will depend on the amount of time you spend - often the details don't just "jump out at you" and the initial impression is a bit dissapointing (apart from the moon) but if you keep at it and learn to observe, rather than just look, you can see lots with a 5" scope, in the right conditions.

That last bit is important - observing conditions in the UK vary a lot and it's most often those that dictate what you can and can't see rather than shortcomings with the scope.

Also don't get carried away with lots of magnification - many objects need low power rather than high powers, to be seen properly.

[brantuk]

Woops - I forgot the moon d'ohh lol

[Casus belli]

When looking at "faint fuzzies" (galaxies and nebulae) the amount of light pollution at you observing site will make a huge differance. If you have a fairly dark sky and out of direct light (This will allow your eyes to become dark adapted) you will be able to see quite a lot if you know where to look.

Fuzzy hunting from the middle of a city is, Im afraid, nearly hopless even with the best of scopes. If you do live in a built up area try and get a scope that is easily transportable by car. IE not too big.

BTW the best time to observe the moon is not when its full as it will seem rather two dimensional. When the moon is less than full all the craters, mountains, canyons etc will show shadows giving you a "I can almost touch it" view

[glowjet]

Hi Mark,

A very warm welcome to SGL, a wealth of advice already, stick with the SW 130 it is a tried and tested scope, what can you see? everything that Scopenskies describe in their last para for the 114 SW Skyhawk, however, this is advertising and a bit OTT

unless you have perfect skies, in this country we are limited with excellent seeing on just a few occasions each year, never the less what you can see is rewarding enough, considering the vast distances involved, if there is no urgency study the night sky with bino`s then invest in a 150 mm scope, 2nd hand they can be had at quite reasonable prices.

John.

[cyroflame]

Wow!! thanks guys, a lot of really good comments and helpful tips there! i really cannot wait to get going! i will be getting my scope at the beginning of may when i get paid!

Luckily for me i live in Shoreham beach (West Sussex) which has hardly any light pollution at all, and the beach is like a 2 minute walk from my house! although my back garden has pitch black sky all around! plus the moon is always exactly outside my bedroom window so will hopefully get some good views!

can some one please tell me what the brightest kind of nebula, cluster or galaxy i am most likely to see and with the most detail?

also if possible a link to a picture of what it would look like through the SW 130mm?

[brantuk]

The best thing to do at this stage - rather than give you a load of numbers that will mean nothing to you yet - is to download stellarium. Put in the coordinates of your position on earth (ask here again if you need to know how to find them) and you'll see the sky as it appears right now in real time (switch off the atmosphere). You can then click on anything and it will give you info about magnitudes, co-ords, distance and loads of other stuff. You can zoom in and out (eg zoom right into saturn) and move the sky around at will.

There are lists of objects to view on other sections of SGL - plus if you get a copy of Sky at Night tomorrow from Smiths - it will list all the interesting and popular things to look at this month in the center pages (along with a guide to scope size). I'd list them all for you but there's about 500 million trillion gazillion of 'em lol If you have a pair of old binocs you can use them till you get your scope for some fun in the meantime

[stev74]

Hi Mike welcome to SGL,

You've had lots of great advice already and the 130p is a great starter scope. As to views, I thought a link to Talitha's sketches would be helpful, she is a member of SGL. Also she does a 'how to sketch' section in The Sky at Night magazine and she draws exactly how the eye's 'see' objects through a scope.

I think most of her sketches are done through an 8 inch scope so some objects might not be as bright through the 130p (5inch). Although dark skies are key to being able to see faint galaxies etc so it sounds like your location will help the 130p preform at it's best. They will still give you a lot more accurate idea of what things look like rather than photo's.

Stargazers Lounge - Talitha's Album: Deep Sky Sketches

Enjoy they are stunning sketches.

Cheers

[brantuk]

Yup - Stev74's idea is terrific. Talitha's sketches are superb and her work is published regularly in Sky at Night magazine.

[cyroflame]

wow again guys! thanks for those great comments, i will download stellarium asap! can't wait! and for no i have some old binoculars:) not great but will be good for scoping out some stars! i will also pick up the magazine you mentioned!

thank you guys for your help, very much appreciated! i ill definitely be posting here again soon, if i have any questions or whatever! mike.

[glowjet]

One of our senior club Astronomers introduced me to a 170 page paperback, Observing the Deep Sky by Darren Bushnall, a wealth of info on all basic aspects of astronomy including sketches of a lot of the popular DSO you can see with modest equipment, all for the princely sum of 10P, postage is £2.75 from Amazon, should go a long way to answering a lot of your questions and less than the cost of a current mag.

HTH

John.

[BazMark]

Hi mike,

Firstly, I would recommend the 130P over the 130 as it has a better (parabolic) mirror. This will bring all light from your target that enters the tube to focus at the same point and give a clearer image.

Second, whichever model you finally choose I would make your purchase from somewhere like 'First Light Optics.' My experience of the store you've posted a couple of links to was downright terrible and is reflected in the 'Supplier Reviews' section of this forum.

Mark

[cyroflame]

ok then, where is the cheapest place to find this 130p?