My Apologies First.....(telescope advice)

[wagstaf]

....for asking this question which has probably been asked countless times before

Advice please for a £300 price limit for a good intermediate - beginner telescope. I am at the stage now of having so much information that am getting confused.

Grateful for anybody's preferences which I can research further.

Up until now I have been using 10 x 50 binoculars for about 18 months working my way through the skies. Mostly interest lies with planets and nebulae (I would love to see Jupiter in some detail) and would love to do deep sky stuff but realise the limiting factor may be the equipment and how much I am prepared to pay for it.

Thanks for your help.

W.

[Cornelius Varley]

The best telescope for £300 is the Skywatcher Skyliner 200P.

Peter

[rowan46]

this is probably the best budget all rounder available, the mount could be better and its cheaper on a dob mount, but the mount is steady enough for visually looking at planets and there is enough apparture (just) to see most dso's. the optics are great for the price. Reflectors - Skywatcher Explorer 150P EQ3-2

[rowan46]

I agree its the better scope, not sure about a dob for planets but lots of people claim that dobs are fine on planets I prefer slow mo for planets but thats just opinion

[wagstaf]

Thanks for those and your opinions.

The 150P is actually on the my list that I'm considering at the moment....I am told the 200P is much much better if I could afford the extra £100.

I was recommended the Celestron Nexstar 114SLT which has a Goto system. Any thoughts on this particular model please.

Thanks

W.

[John]

I was recommended the Celestron Nexstar 114SLT which has a Goto system. Any thoughts on this particular model please.

The 6" and 8" scopes will show you a lot more. The Nexstar 114 GOTO will point to a lot of things but you won't see them anywhere near as well with only 4.5" of aperture.

[jamespels]

As a fellow newbie, the best possible advice I can give is get yourself down to an astronomy group, try things out and see what second hand kit is available. Don't buy anything without getting a second opinion from somebody who knows what they are talking about but second hand (many OTAs will be nearly new / unused) can get you something far beyond what you thought your budget was.

Places I have find good for starters are:

- Gumtree

- Preloved

- UK Astro Buy / Sell

Good luck!