Newbie Help required

[TinmanSAC]

Hi everyone - first post.

Thinking of getting into Astronomy (seeing Jupiter recently peaked my interest) as something I will be able into enjoy with my son before he hits his teens, then a hobby I can continue if I get into it. I live in London, so would primarily looking for a telescope that we can take away camping/holiday/weekends to get better seeing opportunities (so transportable).

I have been reading as much as possible so are now totally unsure and confused - although it seems that a 8" SCT would be a good all rounder - although pricey jump from Binoculars.

My question is :-

Can someone recommend a path of telescopes that I could buy and be good sellers - aiming to end up with a 8" SCT (either new or 2nd hand) + gather the extras that will be necessary.

I could buy new straight away but feel we would of missed out on the discovery/journey. DOB's interested me initially as DSO/Cost appealed - but not sure for London's poor light conditions.

Interest : Galaxies, some planets mostly - photography much later.

Thanks for your responses in advance.

Also, any clubs in the SW London area.

Steve

[resonator77]

8" SCT is a good choice as it is suitable for astrophotography if you later choose to take the plunge. Dob gives the most for your buck, the only issue with it is unsuitable for astrophotography.

I would go for 8" SCT on HEQ5 pro or CG-5 GT

Hope this helps

[Freff]

Hi Steve,

Sorry I'm unable to give you any direct help, (newbie myself) just to say welcome and enjoy your stay.

Tony

[brantuk]

Hi Steve and welcome to SGL

Best way I can describe it is with my own history. Started with bino's - wondered out and looked at the moon one night. Decided to get a scope and then found it all confusing (like yourself). After 3months of research decided on a basic 6" Newtonian on an eq mount/tripod (manual control).

Learned the sky a bit and a year later upgraded to an 8" SCT seeking bigger better views. Electronic alt/az with gps and goto.Promptly forgot everything manual lol!

Aperture fever led to a 12" dob (auto tracking) another year on. Seeking bigger and better views yet again.

Decided to have a crack at photography - got a dslr and all the bits and a short tube wide field scope on a driven eq mount. Took my first shots a few weeks ago and now battling through the software and processing.

That leaves me where I am today - all the gear and still no idea lol But having a lot of fun and made a lot of friends on the way.

Somewhere along the way we also wound up with a caravan and towcar to get out to dark skies (essential accessories). So not cheap but 3yrs of xmas every day ain't bad.

Enjoy watching your hard earned dosh drain away like there's no tomorrow

[ollypenrice]

Hi there,

First clubs; the West of London Astronomical Society is one I know quite well since I gave a talk there a few years ago and have since had members visit me in France. The club is large, active and welcoming. I am sure others on SGL will recommend alternatives but getting to a club is always a great first move.

I think your idea of a 'path' is a good way of looking at it. Light polluted observing really means moon and planets for which something of moderate aperture can do well.

You have lots of possibilities, 4 inch refractor, 6 inch reflector, catadioptric of around 5 inches (in all cases more is good!) will do the job. All these apertures are just 'rule of thumb, by the way. A motorized mount is nice for the planets because at high magnifications your first observation will be of the spin of the Earth! Objects will pass quickly across the view on an undriven mount.

Once out in the country more aperture is what you want and, counter intuitively perhaps, less magnification, in the main, for nebulae and galaxies. For this a Dob gives the best view per pound.

The question is, which option to go for - though both options will do both jobs, they just won't do them both to the same standard.

For the photography that you envisage much later then I would simply think again entirely when the time comes. There is very widespread agreement that the most painless and productive way to start deep sky imaging is with a small, short focus refractor on a German Equatorial mount.

These are not great for visual use, being small.

If you went for an 8 inch SCT, however, you would be well equipped to start using planetary webcam imaging devices and these are inexpensive.

Olly

[Capricorn]

Sounds as if you want a smaller scope before commiting to an 8" SCT, makes sense.

Would suggest the 150PL on an EQ mount with a set of motors. Prefer to PL over the P as they are easier on eyepieces. The EQ mount would have to be an EQ3-2 the 2 and 1 are simply too small.

After that a couple of eyepieces, say 15mm and 7mm or 8mm.

For clubs check fedastro.org.uk, you say London but London is a big place. If you are on the South side no use giving clubs on the North side.

I am assuming that you are not considering a goto, although they have their uses in somewhere like London as they can point at an object that you find difficult to identify/locate owing to light pollution.

[Ags]

One of the reasons I got a telescope was to share the views with the younger members of my family. I wasn't too keen on a dob as I was pretty sure that a 7 year old wouldn't manage to track the objects, especially planets at high mags. Some people say this is not a problem with their children, but I wanted to keep things simple. I also avoided a newtonian as the eyepiece would end up in awkward positions for either me or the younger observers.

In the end I went for a mak - the eyepiece stays in a comfortable location all the time for all observers, and it the mount I got tracks the objects so no problems with things drifting out of view when changing observers or eyepieces. I should have gone for a 5 inch mak and not a 4 inch one, but that is another story!

Another advantage of the small mak is that it should be useful in the future as a compact portable scope to take on holidays or camping, even once I have a larger scope.

Down my path, I think I might get an affordable 200mm dob, or I might save and save and get a 200mm SCT. Save? I need to stop buying eyepieces first though!

[TinmanSAC]

Thanks for the advice...more to think about.