another new starter

[Craigx]

Both my wife and I would like to take up looking at the night sky - not too serious yet. I am not sure which instrument to go for with a £250 budget. Do we go for a Skywatcher explorer 130p syn scan az goto at £245

or a Skywatcher skyliner 150p Dobson at £183

or a Skywatcher explorer 130p at £162.

The first one would enable me to find things quickly - which is a good thing when its cold.

The Dobson may give better views.

I like the idea of using a webcam, but perhaps not at the moment.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Craig:icon_scratch:

[nightfisher]

i would be inclined to suggest the dobsonian and welcome to sgl

[brantuk]

I would go for a 150P on an EQ mount with either goto or RA tracking motor at least. But if budget is an issue then the 130P will give you a great start.

For imaging planets a webcam is ideal but you will want to track which is why I suggest EQ is best. Sooner or later you'll want to hook up a dslr or a ccd for deep sky objects and you'd have to go EQ by then cos it ain't feasible on an alt/az or dob.

Check out the second hand market though - there are bargains to be had and you'll get a lot more for your money.

Hope that helps

[rowan46]

welcome to sgl the problem the goto scopes is that they have the same database whichever size telescope you have. Unfortunately a 5inch scope can't see the same as a 10inch scope and conequently many of the targets will not be useful in a small scope. Don't get me wrong there will be plenty to see with a small scope's goto but its not as essential as you think. wearas apparture makes a big difference in performance. I've never used a dob but I've seen plenty at star parties and am always amazed at how quickly they can be set up for stargazing. whilst I am assembling , levelling and aligning my mount they are usually set up and going if extreme portability is not an issue I would get the 150p