Question about telescope

[k0walsky]

Ok, i am new in astronomy, and i need a telescope for a start, so i search for telescopes an found Orion StarBlast 4.5 Equatorial Reflector Telescope. What do you think about it?

[mdstuart]

The larger the mirror the better for visual astronomy. Whatever you buy you will wish you had bought a bigger mirror (in most cases)..

Then the mount..if you want to take any photos other than with a web cam then an equatorial mount with a drive is essential. If just visual then a lot of folks would suggest a dob mount is more intuitive..

So the scope you mention would make a perfectly reasonable first scope if the price is right..but if you could get a 6 inch dob for the same price then perhaps that might be a better bet if you are going to concentrate on visual use.

Just one of many opinions..

Mark

[barkis]

Hello, and welcome to SGL.

Finding a first scope can be a daunting task if you have not done some homework.However, I have read a review on this telescope from a guy in the US. His was on a Dobsonian mount though, which is a very different type to an equatorial, which is what yours is on.

He was pleased with the performance, but did stress that the collimation needed attention before it would deliver decent views.

Collimation is very important in all Newtonian scopes, and in particular, scopes with short focal lengths, which is what yours is of course. A Dobsonian is a mount that moves in two axiis. Up Down and Left and Right. The mount is usually made of wood, and they are a simple and effective way to point a scope at a target, if you know where it is that is.

An equatorial mount when properly aligned with the North Celestial Pole, needs only to be moved in one direction when tracking a star.

The moving can be facilitated by the use of an electric drive motor.

Beeing a smallish mirror, and such a short focal length, objects like the planets and the moon will be quite small in your eyepiece, and too much magnification will not be a good idea really.

I hope this gives an insight into your potential purchase.

By the way, collimation if you don't know, is a lining up of the primary and secondary mirrors in relation to each other, and your focuser. It is very important that this is quite accurately done on a f4 telescope. It must be checked regularly to maintain the scopes efficient delivery of good image.

Ron.

[k0walsky]

OK thanx for answers, i am quite new in astronomy. so can i ask you witch scope you recommended me for beginning, but that is not to much expensive?

[Mouse on the Moon]

I'm a newbie (but learning alll the time!) and you could do a lot worse than one of these: SkyWatcher Heritage 130P FlexTube Dobsonian Telescope

Easy to set up and use and the view is great! You will need to buy better eyepieces though to get the best out of the scope. (this is true for pretty much all 'starter' scopes)

I got mine second hand for £70 from Ebay.

Hope this helps.

[k0walsky]

is it have a good view mouse?

[Mouse on the Moon]

It gives a view that I am very happy with

It all depends on what your expectations are. I'm very pleased with what my scope shows given it's only a 5" aperture. After I'd colllimated it (aligned the mirrors) and cleaned the grubby optics (do NOT do this without getting much advice) I'm satisfied I'm getting pretty much as good a view as can be reasonably expected for a 5" aperture newtonian of this type.

You need to be aware of what to expect when you look through a telescope of this size and realise that you are not going to see things like the glossy pictures in magazines and on the web. Even with a 12" mirror nearly everything will still be in black and white!

you might want to check out the "beginners help and advice" and "primers and Tutorials" sections of this site. There are a wealth of people who have forgotten more than I know about astro who will be glad to help!

[ncjunk]

The best thing would be to try some scopes at a local society or someone near by.

You can then know what to expect and pick one you like. There is nothing worse than being misled by those lovely colour images.

Also, you may find one type of scope easier to use, newtonians can leave you ballancing in strange positions!

[barkis]

OK thanx for answers, i am quite new in astronomy. so can i ask you witch scope you recommended me for beginning, but that is not to much expensive?

Some good advice from Mouse there k0walsky, and I would urge you not to be in too much of a hurry, and risk getting something that you may not be all that happy with.

Why not wait a while, and add to your budget by saving a for a bit longer.

Some great bargains turn up on the For Sale board quite frequently, and you could get a very good deal.

Plenty of time before the darker skies are here.

[Mouse on the Moon]

k0walsky,

You need 50 posts to access (or see) the "For Sale" section so don't worry if you can't see it yet!