Can't decide which telescope I should buy

[Brynjolfr]

Hi! I'm a guy from northern Sweden interested in buying a telescope for deep-sky, lunar and planetary observations (no photographing). However, there is an indimidating amount of telescopes on the market so naturally it's pretty hard to decide. As of now, it stands between "Astromaster 130 EQ" and "Sky-Watcher Heritage 130P". What do you think? Are these good options, or do you perhaps recommend something else?

NOTE: I'm not particularily wealthy, so I'd like to keep it under 2000 kronor (roughly US$285).

[Demonperformer]

If you are sure you will not want to do any photography, your best bet would almost certainly be the biggest dobsonian you can afford - this gives maximum aperture per $.

[dweller25]

As DP says - a good dob (8" min) with wide angle eyepieces will do it all

[step_hen]

I'll third that. It may be out of your budget for now but a F6 8" Dob or larger will cover Deep Sky well with its decent sized aperture, and has a focal length long enough (1200mm) for planetary and lunar viewing too. Welcome to SGL by the way!

Stephen

[sixela]

NOTE: I'm not particularily wealthy, so I'd like to keep it under 2000 kronor (roughly US$285).

Send a mail to info@teleskop-service.se and ask how much a 150mm Skywatcher Dobsonian would cost.

[Brynjolfr]

Thanks everyone for your responses! I think I'll buy the Heritage 130P. It might not be the most exquisite Dobson telescope, but at least it's a good start

[Helen]

Welcome to SGL!

The Heritage is a cracking scope that I think is a great starter scope. Its easy to set and use, and not too big to store. It also gives very nice views (having used bigger scopes I must admit I was surprised at how much I could see with the scope).

You might want to read up a bit on collimation, as mine arrived needing some adjustment.

The most important thing though is to just go out and use it (don't worry about whether you should have bought something else) and enjoy the wonderful views!

Helen

[joner]

For your budget it would be good if you could get a 150mm dob,but the Heritage scope would also be a good buy.