first telescope help needed asap

[oakwell]

ok been to look at my first telescope today at a local shop and went to look at this one.

Visionary astroscope 1400mm/150mm

Price: £299.99

Visionary astroscope 1400mm/150mm complete with

Tripod and equatorial mount

side spotter scope

2 plossl eyepieces 6.5mm,25mm (56x,112x,215x and 430x magnification with included eyepieces)

complete instructions

i was offered it with a 2x barlow lense for £325

first of all how does the scope sqaure up is it a good deal?

secondly compared to the following 2 which i have looked at online

Skywatcher Explorer 150PL EQ3-2

Skywatcher Explorer 130P

opinions please as i am so confused which telescope will give me the best views and also based on the first one having the figure of 1400 (which if i am right i devide the eyepiece strengh by it i get the magnification) which is the best scope?

thanks sorry for the daft questions but i am new to all this and need to get it right first time spending this money

[Mr Spock]

Looks like a rebranded Chinese jobby similar to a Seben. It's a short tube Newtonian with a built in lens to increase the focal length to 1400mm. Bad news I'm afraid.

The Explorer 150P is a far better scope in every way. It's less money too.

The 150PL has a longer focal length, but will be more unstable on an EQ-3 type mount than a 150P.

[Mr Spock]

I've just noticed you are in Barnsley. Go take a look at Rother Valley Optics. They are very helpful and full of good advice.

[barkis]

Do yourself a favour and give this a miss.

These are not good designs in my opinion, and you would get better for your money, and no headaches.

Good advice from Mr Spock.

Ron.

[pvaz]

For that price you have good reputation brands available. I would recommend a safe choice, you should buy from one of this brands Skywatcher, Celestron, Meade, Orion US or Orion Optics (UK).

All those will guarantee quality.

Regarding suppliers our forum sponsor (link at the top) works very well but you can check the suppliers review section for other options.

I would recommend this scope instead of the PL, cause it comes with the 2" focuser:

Reflectors - Skywatcher Explorer 150P EQ3-2

Another option is to buy a reflector on a dobson mount. This are cheaper and easier to use/setup, but you have to do the tracking manually. With one of this you can buy a 200mm scope that will allow to see more while staying within your budget:

Dobsonians - Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian

[robhal9000]

Hi,

I wouldn't worry about the mag too much under UK skies you are limited to around 250x max most of the time. The long focal length will be more forgiving of cheap EPs.

I have never heard of the Visionary. You would probably be better off with one of the Skywatchers as more people own them and any issues you have are likely to be answered more specifically.

In my opinion, I think the first timer benefits from things like tracking or GOTO. Tracking in particular allow you to hunt down the stuff yourself and then observe it while the scope tracks it without having to constantly nudge the scope to keep the object in the field of view. For the first timer I would look at the skymax 127 with tracking (£279 from FLO).

Don't rush into a first scope. Lurk around here, do some searches and if you have a budget, plan on allowing for extras that may be needed don't spend it all on the scope.

In general you are not going to get super close ups of the planets in any sized scope from planet Earth. What you get is a tiny and, if the seeing is good and your optics are good, sharp, contrasty view with details like Mars polar cap and darker areas visible. Often a light pollution, contrast or coloured filter is used to bring out the detail. Jupiter and Saturn are both unforgettable and details will be visible, Venus and Mercury will show phases, Uranus and Neptune distant dots of bluey green/grey. The Moon is great with a small scope and you can get some nice close up views. A moon filter is very handy because you can be dazzled by the moon in even a small scope.

Deep sky objects like nebula appear in black and white to the eye, but are breathtaking none the less. M42 is stunning in a small scope and the group of 4 stars at the heart called the Trapezium are easily visible. Star clusters like M44 split into a field of stars, fainter distant galaxies appear as faint smudges. Often special filters are used to bring out the detail on the brighter ones.

Many Double stars come into the range of a small scope.

When viewing faint objects you tend to use the lowest mag possible, because the higher the mag the fainter the image. Low mag for faint objects, high mag for bright objects.

In astro 'the Aperture is King' meaning that the bigger the mirror on your scope the brighter the image, everything else remaining equal. But the amateur has to think in terms of the whole experience. You may need to store or transport your scope to a decent dark site, you may not be able to leave your scope unattended so the time it takes the mirror to cool down to the outside temperature can be over an hour and should be factored in. There are a lot of additional considerations if you are spending a load of cash. If there weren't everybody would have 20 inch tracking dobsonian.

So don't rush in. The best scope is the scope you use.

[oceanheadted]

Bear in mind Summer's at hand and we don't get much proper night time for the next 3 months so don't be in too much of a hurry to shell out your cash.

[Bizibilder]

I agree - go with the 150P EQ3-2 or the Dobsonian.

[robhal9000]

Hi

Here's a quick list of others items you may need to factor in

Red torch (preserve eye dark adaptation)

decent astro book (Nightwatch, Turn Left at Orion both available at Amazon)

Powertank (if using a tracking mount , rechargables don't work and they eat normal batteries)

Moon filter

collimator (if using a newtonian reflector)

eyepatch

chair (sitting is like a EP upgrade)

Dewshield (Stop dew forming on the corrector plate or lens of a mak or Sct type scope, can be homemade cheaply)

warm clothing

If you get into astronomy you will probably find you spend more on accessories and eyepieces than you did on the original scope.

BTW All the manuals for the Skywatcher scopes are online at their website, on the scopes product page under 'download'.

[oakwell]

New Explorer 130M Telescope With Free DVD & Binos | Telescopes | Rother Valley Optics

is this one better than the first one i put on the first post iyo?

[pvaz]

It haves less aperture so it gathers less light, but the quality is almost certainly better as the Visionary scope haves a real 700mm FL with a built in barlow lens (with unknown quality) that makes it behave as a 1400mm FL scope.

Lots of people using Seben scopes with the same design say the image quality is poor, so I guess anything that doesn't use this bad design will show improvements.

You'd have to go with the skywatcher 150p for the same light gathering capabilities. If your target is deep sky objects then aperture is the most important parameter. If your main interest is planets and the moon then even a good quality 80 to 100mm scope will be enough.

[oakwell]

can ulink me to the exact 150p that u mention to make sure i am on the same scope?

[John]

can ulink me to the exact 150p that u mention to make sure i am on the same scope?

I think this is the scope that is being referred to:

Reflectors - Skywatcher Explorer 150P EQ3-2

An excellent scope and less expensive than than the one you were orginally looking at.

[insomnia]

Heres the link to the 150

Reflectors - Skywatcher Explorer 150P EQ3-2

[oakwell]

another shop near me are doing this telescope for 220 with free dvd and binos!

right decision made this is the one i am going to get and will go for it before the weekend or get it delivered.

thanks all glad i did'nt impulse buy!

[hemihaggis]

ok oakwell , go to the rother valley optics shop,,have a chat ,,some of the best service /advice in the uk available there .