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Trevtwoeagles

By Trevtwoeagles
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Trevtwoeagles

Trevtwoeagles

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Hi, I'm Trev and my wife is Jac. This is a completely new hobby for us and it is something we will do together. I've always had a passing interest in the night sky but Jac has more interest going back to when she was a young girl living in Cyprus and gazing in awe at the clear night skys they had there over fifty years ago.

As yet we have no telliscope and we would appreciate some beginers guidance on what would best.

Also we live in Northampton and would like to know if there are any good vantage points within 30-40 miles of us.

thanks for any help

Trev & Jac

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CaptPaul

CaptPaul

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hi welcome to the forum its really friendly here and everyone is very helpful.

look through some of the old posts theres loads about first telescopes.

Good luck in your new hobby.

Paul :D

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JamesM

JamesM

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Hi Trev & Jac :D

A big welcome to the forum and like yourself I too don't have any equipment of my own at the moment, although my cousin has allowed me temporary use of his small reflector and my local astro club has a 12" I can look through. It has been interesting trying to research the right kit for my needs given my limited experience with the above scopes that differ greatly in what they can do.

This Forum is very good and whether its searching through old posts or asking ANY question, there are plenty of whizz kids on here who know the answer and can give you good honest advice. Do as much homework as you can and try and contact your local astro club to see if they do an observation night so you can actually look through some of this gear as it will also help you plan your budget.

Wishing the both of you clear skies (...and no fighting over the eyepieces) :):D

James

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Specman

Specman

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Hi Trev & Jac, :D

Welcome to the forum, I'm a newbie here myself and everybody has been great! They are a friendly bunch!

Hi James, how 's it going?

Is it as cloudy for you as it is for me tonight? :D

Clear skies guy's :)

Mark

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JamesM

JamesM

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Hi Trev & Jac,

Sorry it's me again. In your location there is a group who call themselves the 'Northamptonshire Natural History Society' which base themselves in the 'Humfrey Rooms' and importantly, they have a section devoted to astronomy. They have a website and having had a quick look through they do indeed do some observational evenings! (good to get your eye in :))

They have a number of society members who have domes and what looks like decent kit, so clearly they have people there with experience (....one or two might even be active on this Forum!)

Apologies if you have already spotted this resource but just thought I would let you know.

Clear skies :D

James

p.s Mark I'm behaving myself at the moment (...but only just! :D)

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Llamanaut

Llamanaut

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hello trev and jac, welcome, i hope you enjoy the forum... dont feel afraid to ask any question you may have, no matter how silly you think it may be...theyre a friendly bunch on here. remember the only silly question is the one you didnt ask! Clear skies :D

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Trevtwoeagles

Trevtwoeagles

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Thats a really warm welcome, thankyou all. James thanks for the local info, most certainly will follow that up. Brantuk I guess our budget would be around £3-£400 and looking for something with easy mobility, is that a realistic budget?

thanks

Trev and Jac

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brantuk

brantuk

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Hi Trev and Jac - yup £300-£400 will get you a very decent starter scope. There are a large number of different types and sizes of scope and mounts to choose from.

Some types perform better than others depending on area of use. E.g. Newtonian, Dobsonian, SCT, Maksutov Cassegrain, Doublet, Triplet, etc - but broadly either "reflectors" or "refractors".

Mobility you already mentioned (which is good). To narrow it down a bit more you also need to consider aperture size (bigger is generally better) type of mount (EQ or Alt/Az), ease of setup, observing/photography, tracking method (push to, auto/manual tracking, goto), preferred use, make, and supplier to name but a few.

I will post some typical examples in your budget a little later - for now I would suggest you research any of these terms you aren't familiar with - ask questions in the "Help" sections (someone will allways answer) - read through the "Primers" section and perhaps get some of the monthly mags (e.g. Sky at Night, Astronomy Now, etc) and purchase "Turn Left at Orion" (v.good book).

Also - download "Stellarium" planetarium software. It's free and very useful for finding out "what's up" in your location. I'll get back to you soon with some examples.

Cheers :D

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Trevtwoeagles

Trevtwoeagles

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Hi Trev and Jac - yup £300-£400 will get you a very decent starter scope. There are a large number of different types and sizes of scope and mounts to choose from.

Some types perform better than others depending on area of use. E.g. Newtonian, Dobsonian, SCT, Maksutov Cassegrain, Doublet, Triplet, etc - but broadly either "reflectors" or "refractors".

Mobility you already mentioned (which is good). To narrow it down a bit more you also need to consider aperture size (bigger is generally better) type of mount (EQ or Alt/Az), ease of setup, observing/photography, tracking method (push to, auto/manual tracking, goto), preferred use, make, and supplier to name but a few.

I will post some typical examples in your budget a little later - for now I would suggest you research any of these terms you aren't familiar with - ask questions in the "Help" sections (someone will allways answer) - read through the "Primers" section and perhaps get some of the monthly mags (e.g. Sky at Night, Astronomy Now, etc) and purchase "Turn Left at Orion" (v.good book).

Also - download "Stellarium" planetarium software. It's free and very useful for finding out "what's up" in your location. I'll get back to you soon with some examples.

Cheers :D

thanks brantuk, thats a little for us to be getting on with:)

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brantuk

brantuk

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Hi again. Here's a first example of an equatorial mounted newtoninan reflector:

Homepage - Skywatcher Explorer 200P EQ5

The aperture is is 8", it's parabolic and a great price. Got a good sturdy mount, quite easy to set up (once you know what you're doing), breaks down into 3 main bits for transport (tripod, mount, ota), and has a nice crayford style focuser. Fairly future proof it's got a camera attachment if you go that route, and a RA motor can be added for auto tracking at modest cost.

My first scope was very similar but smaller (6"). It'll look big when setup but the individual bits are easilly transported. EQ mounts seem difficult at first but a doddle once mastered. The benefit (over alt/az mounts) is you only need to track in one plane - a must for astro pics and very useful for initial manual tracking. It'll show most everything and you'll enjoy it for several yrs.

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