Help with a Birthday present

[Kagemusha]

Hi,

I've very recently joined the forum to get a little help with a problem. My g/f recently caught 'Wonders of the Solar System' on TV and became instantly interested in the stars and planets, that coupled with her getting hold of my phone and using 'google sky maps' to find the planets and constallations on an evening when were out in the garden.

She has mentioned that when she was younger her Dad had a telescope and she enjoyed looking at the stars with him, her Dad sadly passed away a few years ago and for her birthday I thought it would be a great idea to get her a telescope.

We have not so long since moved into our first house and are fortunate to have a house that backs onto a field with a large garden, very low light pollution in the area and a large conservatory (we noticed that when the previous residents lived here they had a telescope setup in a corner of the conservatory). We are also 5-10mins drive away from zero light pollution.

I'm guessing she would really like to look at the planets, moons and constalations/Nebula - hopefully see some real wow factor stuff! Neither of us have any previous experience beyond the usual kids telescope/binoculars.

I've been reading the other threads in the beginners forums and have seen 2 telescopes that would probably do the job - I have £100-200 to spend, £200 is absolute max

Skywatcher Skyliner 150P Dobsonian £179

Skywatcher Explorer 130P SupaTrak AUTO £189

Once she gets into something and really enjoys it she will sit and read, persevere and try until she gets it right or the results match her expectations.

Based on the above could anyone offer up some advice/alternatives?

Thanks in Advance!

[pvaz]

For nebulas and other faint objects the dobsonian haves a clear advantage due to it's larger aperture. It's also faster to setup but you track the objects manually.

The 130p would only have some advantage if you buy it with the GOTO mount as it will make your life easier and find things for you. But then you'll also need a powerpack for another 60£ or so. This will take the total close to 300£. (The supatrack version also requires a powerpack.)

Anyway, under low light pollution it's easy to find stuff after you get used to star hoping. If you buy the dobsonian, I would suggest a telrad finder, it makes finding things so much easier, and the book "Turn Left at Orion" which walks you through the basics and haves detailed instructions to find many objects.

[shaula]

The 130 is a very good choice of starter scope, def worth the money, it's light to handle too. Perfect for lunar obs, planets are good. For nebula you'll probably need to invest in a couple of eyepieces/ filters - If you're ordering through FLO they're very helpful with advice.

All the best

Claire

[Kagemusha]

Thanks for the replies, both of you.

But then you'll also need a powerpack for another 60£ or so. This will take the total close to 300£. (The supatrack version also requires a powerpack.)

£60 for a supply? Surely a cheap -/+ polarity reverse PS from Maplin would do the trick?

Now that you mention the AZ GOTO I've seen

Skywatcher Skyhawk 1145P SynScan AZ GOTO

Its £1 under my budget and would enable her to get started straight away.

[BazMark]

Hi, You won't need to buy a power pack straight away. I've had my Skymax GoTo for a while now and I've had no trouble with rechargeable batteries. I use uniross hybrios. I've had over two hours of use without a problem. Of course if you are constantly slewing the scope back and forth they will go flat sooner, but once you start observing you tend to stay in one place for a while.

However, judging by your final comment I think your girl friend may prefer the challenge of the Dobsonian. Having a much larger aperture and longer focal length than either the 130 or the 1145p you will get much better magnification on the planets and moon and at lower magnification you will see more of the deep sky objects. She may also prefer the challenge of finding them for herself. She could download a free program like Stellarium to help with this.

[pvaz]

Probably maplin haves cheaper solutions. I was quoting the celestron 7AH powerpack price (from memory, it's actually 49£ on FLO).

The 1145P will allow to see planets and clusters, on deep sky objects (DSOs) you'll be limited to the brightest ones, probably half+ of the 110 objects in the Messier catalog. Still it's a decent 1st scope and will be a good introduction to the hobby. However I suspect, with the good conditions on your backyard, your interest will grow quickly and you'll soon want a large dobsonian to be able to detect more nebula and galaxies.

Personally I live with pretty much the same condition as you do (big yard and nice dark sky), I bought an 8" dob with GOTO in September (1st scope no previous experience) and I rarelly use the goto cause finding things adds a lot of fun. Still the goto is great on excellent nights when I don't want to waste any time looking for stuff. However aperture fever didn't took much to set in and I'm already considering a bigger scope for later this year (12" or 14").

It's a hard choice you have to make....

[Chris H]

IMO The Skywatcher 150p would be the way to go. 6" aperture is bigger than the 130p so would show you more, no power required and the scope will be particularly good on planets and the moon whilst being more than capable of showing loads of deep sky objects nebulas, galaxys and star clusters. She can then learn the sky which is quite easy. With the money you have left over get a red dot finder, it will make finding things a lot easier, like this one Finders - Baader 30mm Sky Surfer III

[Brendan of Borg]

Hello and welcome. Afraid that I cannot comment or advise on those scopes but, go for it as a present idea. It really will open up a universe of opportunities for you both!!

[Kagemusha]

Yet again thank you for the help, advice and replies! Her birthday is still a few weeks away, hopefully by then I'll have decided on one of the three.....

I think the Dob is now the front runner, mainly because I now realise the eye piece is on the top/side and not the bottom of the tube, I was busy trying to think of some kind of box to mount it on - please forgive my ignorance:D

[pvaz]

It's about 5 feet tall when pointing up so you won't need to mount it on anything, just put it on the ground and observe.

I use an old office chair to observe comfortably.

[Chris H]

IMO Dobs are brilliant. They may not look like what you think a telescope should look like but they are sturdy, very easy to set up and pretty cheap.

[dweller25]

The Skywatcher 150mm dobsonian is a really easy to use, lightweight, cheap and easy to keep in collimation.

It's a very capable planetary scope and has enough aperture for deep sky work - a classic.

The dobsonian has a very simple mount but you can always buy a motorised mount for the telescope and then you have auto tracking.

You cannot go wrong - well recommended.

[astrokat]

get the dob chap my brother has just got that same scope he is already found 40 m objects hes only had three weeks very easyer to use and great crisp views

[LukeSkywatcher]

Another Dob fan here. I've had mine since just before Christmas and have never been happier. They are so quick to setup and easy to use that i dont give a second thought to just grabbing mine and getting outside whenever the skies are clear.