Still Reseaching

[r.t.swing]

So far the Sky-Watcher Skyliner 250px is top of my short list. I'm looking for the best scope I can get for under £400 for viewing, I'm not going to be imaging. I like this dob as I have to boys aged 4 and 6 who dearly want to see as much of space as possible, by which they mean the planets, and moon and perhaps aliens.

They are both tall for their age so I assume looking through the eyepiece wont be a problem on this scope.

Is the a good choice for the budget?

[r.t.swing]

As for myself I would also be interested in DSO.

[russ]

Excellent choice for the budget, can't really do better. It will excel on all objects, still portable enough to move around the garden in one piece and will go in the car no worries should you wish to visit darker skies. 10" is a great aperture for DSO, so you won't be disappointed on the whole (just remember light pollution seriously degrades the view of most deepsky objects).

The eyepiece will be approx 1.3m above ground when looking overhead. Just so you can gauge the height for the kids. I used a milk crate for my youngest to use the 12" dob. But most of the time, especially for the planets, the eyepiece will be a lot closer to the ground.

You may want to buy one extra eyepiece with it as the supplied 10mm is pretty poor, and you'll want something slightly higher powered for a better look at the planets. Something around the 8mm mark will give 150x and perfectly usable most nights of the year. A wider field design eyepiece is also desirable with this type of telescope as it means less nudging and more time for the kids to see the planet.

Although i realise the telescope is at the top end of the budget already, so the extras may have to wait.

[r.t.swing]

Need to reach that magic 50 posts, so one last question for now. I f I was to get the 250px could someone recommend any additional eyepieces that I should consider.

Thanks.

[russ]

What sort of budget do you think you would have for the eyepieces?

Only ask as the 250PX is a 'fast' newtonian at f4.7 and quite demanding on the eyepieces. Widefield eyepieces, good ones, don't come cheap but they are very desirable with dobsonian because you nudge the scope far less than with a cheap Plossl or nice Ortho.

[r.t.swing]

Would rather wait till I can afford get good one, so fire away.

[russ]

Quite a few to choose from

The Baader Hyperion is not too bad (not brilliant either) at F4.7 but very usable. It's roughly £94 per eyepiece.

There are still some Meade 5000 SWA about. They are a better eyepiece than the Hyperion but have been discontinued, so those left are the last. The close out prices are excellent though. The 16mm is currently available for £70 from Germany.

Skywatcher Nirvana are excellent. A cheaper option to the Televue Nagler but still very good indeed. Nice 82deg apparent field of view, perfect for a dob. They are £138 each. Or approx £90 secondhand.

TV Nagler are the business but come with a hefty price tag too. Even the secondhand prices are still £150+.

[themos]

A second hand 12mm Nagler (Type 2) would be about £110 or so. A 5mm orthoscopic would be more like £30. I use those two a lot.

[russ]

I use my Orthos a lot in the dob but they are hopeless for the kids to use. Sam, youngest, can never see anything with the Ortho. Yet with the Meade UWA he's straight onto what ever we are looking at.

[reddoss]

Don't forget that you will also need a laser collimator to align the mirrors every now and again.

[John]

When budgeting, I feel you need to allow at least 50% of the cost of the scope for accessories. I know that sounds a lot but you can easily spend that without even trying.

[r.t.swing]

I can see 50% thing, I will start with the scope and go from there. thanks for the suggestions on eyepieces.