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I hope this is the right forum to put this in.

Nitris

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John

John

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Posted
Hello everyone, beginner here, I am looking for an inexpensive scope to view mars as close as possible. Any advice and links to scope would be appreciated.

It's the right forum :eek:

We are going to need some more details though - such as what your budget is, what sort of things you like looking at, does the scope need to be portable, where do you indend to observe from - that will all help produce some recommendations - there are loads of options out there you see :)

Welcome to SGL by the way !

Ooops - you have said Mars of course !

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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I am not sure but i THINK Mars is all but out of view right now.

From experience......Mars is just about the trickiest planet to observe. You need really good seeing conditions to observe it and a scope of maybe 8" apeture.

It is well past opposition (closest position to Earth) by now and is really not a target for astronomers right now.

On the other hand Jupiter is really coming into play and is getting better all the time as the weeks go on.

I am open to being corrected.

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Nitris

Nitris

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Oh ok, well I might be out of luck with Mars. How about the Moon, a telescope with the ability to see at least craters. Budget is small up to 200.00 only, just starting not sure this is something my kids would be interested in yet. Looking out my back yard and needs to be portable.

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Doc

Doc

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Most scopes will show craters on the moon. Your best bet would be a seconhand 6" dob, which might be had for £120 if you lucky.

Also within this range would be a Skywatcher 130P, but personally I would go for the aperture.

A 6" should show you details on most planets even Mars.

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andrew63

andrew63

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Mars in quite a small object at the best of time, and you will need a reasonable size telescope to see any features. I used to have a 6" reflecting telescope and could see the white polar caps and some of the darker features on the disk. You will not see much with anything smaller and with your budget it will be difficult to find such a scope.

regards, andrew

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astroimpulse

astroimpulse

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Doc, you will have to accept my apology I have no idea what 6” dob is do you have a link to the telescope you are referring to?

Dob = Dobsonians

Basically a reflector newtonian scope on a very simply alt-azi (left-right/up-down) base.

These are excellent value for large aperture (size of mirror) scopes and great for visual viewing.

Best go for a popular brand from a proper scope retailer.

Dobsonians

I reckon you'll easily get a 6"-8" in your budget.

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John

John

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I like the Skywatcher Explorer 130M, I tried to find a deal in the US. It seems that everyone that has them is in the UK. Anyone know of a dealer in the USA?

I don't think the full Skywatcher range is sold in the USA. Orion (USA) though carry a vast range of similar scopes (many the same optically as Skywatcher) and will have something similar - for example:

Build-A-Scope 6 Classic Dobsonian Telescope | Orion Telescopes & Binoculars

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brantuk

brantuk

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I agree with what's mostly suggested above, especially if budget is an issue. $200 may only be £130 (ish) in the UK but you get a lot more for your money over there so I'd estimate it's roughly equivalent to 200 sterling in buying terms.

An Orion 150mm or 200mm aperture may well be within your grasp new - certainly second hand. A dobsonian mount will be fine if you don't mind manual searching and tracking objects. An EQ mount is only essential if you plan on photography - but you'll want to be further down the line before deciding on that.

With Dobsinians you literally swing the scope round in azimuth and tilt up and down to find objects and nudge to track them. Quick and easy to set up, both sizes are very portable and easy to lift, and will show a lot more than a 130mm scope.

Hope that helps - feel free to ask more :eek:

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