Dangerous path

[Robthevegetable]

Afternoon,

I'm in a conundrum... I haven't even taken delivery of my first 'scope yet (though I am informed it is in the post as I write) and I am already thinking of taking it back and getting something else.

I have decided to up my budget a little, and while the 'scope currently in the post is a Celestron NexStar 130 SLT (which I am sure is good for a first)... I seem to find myself continually staring all dreamy-eyed at the NexStar 8SE which has led me to this pickle.

The website I ordered it from say that they will offer the full price refund or full price trade against another 'scope provided I haven't opened the box (which seems fair to me)... I really don't know what to do now, I don't want to open it only to be regretful in a month or two (or six) that I didn't go for something else.

Any advice would be most welcome,

Rob

[John]

You could get more aperture than the 130 without spending as much as the Nexstar 8SE costs, if you are prepared to forgo GOTO, that is. If the bug really bites even 8" won't make you immune from aperture fever I'm afraid !.

[Robthevegetable]

I think the GoTo is important for me... I don't have a huge knowledge about the nights sky (I can pick out The Plough, Polaris ad Orion, but not a lot else) and I think the SkyAlign feature on some of the Celestron scopes (including this one) is one of the best I've read about.

[Carbon Brush]

Hi Rob.

Until you start looking through a scope, you don't know what you want. Not a comment on you specifically. A comment on astronomy in general. This why the best advice is to look at and through other people's scopes before buying. No I don't know anybody (me included) who did this.

Now, for what its worth, my biassed opinions on scopes.

When you hand over the money, you pay for 3 things.

1/ Optics.

2/ Mount.

3/ Electronics/goto.

The manufacturer has to decide how to share these costs to make a saleable product.

No amount of electronics spend is going to allow good performance from a lump of grotty glass with a loose focusser stuck on top of a wobbly overloaded tripod.

Simlarly, a super quality £1000 scope on a wobbly tripod won't make anyone happy.

Every scope is a compromise of all of the component parts to ensure the weakest link is not too weak. Then there are personal preferences. No easy answers.

In your shoes I would be looking at an RA driven equatorial mount rather than goto. You have the (minor) hassle of levelling and pointing the mount. But once you have an object in the eyepiece, the drive will follow it. So no chasing after changing eyepiece, or filter, or fetching a cuppa.

To find anything in the first place is not difficult. You will be looking for brightish visual objects. A simple Philips planisphere is enough. Or you can go for starchart software. Having located the bright object, you may be happy. But you might want to go for a nearby dim object. You can use the mount setting circles for this.

This method allows you to enjoy the night sky while learning where things are. For a given spend you can buy better optics & mount. Or keep the 'goto' money in your pocket for when you want a different type of scope.

Just my biassed views, ready to be contradicted by others!

Hope this helps rather an confuses.

David.

[Robthevegetable]

Well, that is helpful, I never quite understood how the EQ mounts worked, I never actually realised they naturally stay pointing in one direction as the Earth rotates (excuse the idiocy, but does this require power?). How much longer do they take to set up, and how much heavier to haul about are they than an alt-az?

I'm pretty much back at square one now... Thought I had it all worked out last week, but I'm as clueless now as I was when I started.

Back to the drawing board me thinks...

[NGC 1502]

Some good advice above, and its a tough call to decide whats best for you.

You really need to take a deep breath and decide if you want goto or not.

Only you can make that decision as its your cash, not ours. Think about it,

sleep on it, and don't open the box when it arrives to make return no hassle.

Good luck ! Ed.

Edit : just read your last post. Set up time for an EQ mount varies according

to whether you just want to observe ( quick set up ) or image ( needs much

more accurate set up which takes a lot longer. Any mount with motor drives

will need a power source. Regards, Ed.

[nightfisher]

EQ5 motor mounts use a battery box duracell recommended, but you can get a power tank that is rechargable, and some where else on here i suggested a 6v motor cycle battery

[rowan46]

An eq mount takes longer to set up than the 8se. but the se is not the best mount in the world, its designed to be portable, and it is (just about) as its quite a big beast . I can't think of an easier set up 8" scope but If I was dropping that much cash it wouldn't be on the se. I have a nexstar 5 which for me is about the best scope i can afford but I have to say that the se series is a compromise design. For me the compromise works well. But I would imagine for most people wanting an 8" scope there are better packages. The ota is great, the software is great, its portable (just) the mount is relatively accurate but its not the most stable. fine for visual work but you couldn't do much with photography if I was going to get the c8 tube (and I would like a shot ) I would get this package Advanced Series GOTO - Celestron C8-SGT XLT GOTO its a little cheaper and the mount is a little better, not as portable or easy set up though. same optics same software

[E621Keith]

Usually I can get at least 2 nights on 1 set of D cells for my RA driven EQ5. With practice, polar alignment can be very fast. I can set up my EQ5 and polar align it quicker than my C6 SE using 3 stars alignment. Furthermore, I can do that while waiting for the SCT to cool.

[rowan46]

and on my nexstar on 2 star alignment I can have it assembled and observing in 5 minutes, its just practice

[Robthevegetable]

I'd actually had a look at the C8-SGT... But thought it looked mighty complicated. I think the C6-SGT XLT might be a nice compromise and the price is slightly more agreeable (although it still looks slightly scary)!

[Nexus 6]

and on my nexstar on 2 star alignment I can have it assembled and observing in 5 minutes, its just practice

I found this to be the case rowan when I owned a 6se, its just a matter of getting used to the scope and how to set it up.

Alan

[E621Keith]

The C6 is a very nice scope. Good optics and lightweight. It will complement a CG5 class mount nicely.

[Robthevegetable]

So the C6 poses a nice alternative to the 8SE... Especially with the CG-5 mount (which is EQ, correct?). I assume I shouldn't be as apprehensive about the complicated looks as I am...

Does the C6 also pose as a happy medium between planetary (inc. lunar & solar) and DSO's (given the right EP's)

Rob

Also, I'm amazed at how quickly I'm picking up these acronyms...

[E621Keith]

The C6 do quite will on planets and DSO. The moon is very bright and you will need a moon filter.

There are full aperture solar filter for a C6, but I have never use mine for solar work. The filter must be front mounted, SCTs (or any other mirror scope) are not compatible with solar wedges and NEVER use a rear mounted filter. Make sure you read up on solar observation before doing it. It is the only area of amateur astronomy that is considered dangerous. Looking at the sun through a telescope without proper filter can blind you instantly.

[Robthevegetable]

I know the risks with solar observation, and I know the rear mounted filters are basically an accident waiting to happen. I'd already ordered a suitable solar filter for the 130 SLT I'm considering taking back (hopefully the company will cancel the order in time so I don't have to send it back myself). I figure I'm spending all this money a telescope (or will, eventually), I might as well look at much stuff as I can.

[Ian123]

Me personally would go for the SW Equinox 100 on the EQ5 Goto.

Not the biggest aperture but great optics and good if you want

to do some AP in the future.

Hopefully my next scope will be this setup.

Decisions, decisions

[Capricorn]

Suggst you stick with the 130. Simply because it is your first scope and you may not continue in the hobby or you may stay but not in the depth to which you think you will. You could easily maintain an interest but it may not be sufficent to warrent the money on a 8SE.

You could easily find that the 8SE is too big to set up quickly and easily whereas the 130 probably is easier.

Ease of use very much influence the amount of use.

[ollypenrice]

Give your first choice a good go. After that you might fancy going in a specialized direction, imaging, planetary etc. Then you need to think again seriously. There is no one scope fits all and compromises are largely useless. It is what is out there that matters most, not the stuff with which you view it.

Olly

[Vlad]

I have been into astronomy for 57 years. I have had literally many dozens of scopes.

No matter what you get, you will be happy and sad.

PORTABILITY is important: Can you pick it up and go in a short time? If so, and you think you have chosen a good telescope, as with your first choice, buy it, use it, learn with it, love it, then sell it, and for the rest of your life wish you hadn't.

Phil

[Carbon Brush]

EQ Setup. Not a problem.

Are you generally observing from the same place in the garden/patio?

If so put 3 marks on the ground to line up with the tripod legs and everything is done for you after the first time.

Otherwise...

Set the mount facing north (Polaris).

Set the mount level - couple of quid round bubble level.

Set the latitude screw to your postion, say 52/53 deg north.

Once done never touched again unless you take the scope on holiday.

Slacken the clamp screws and move to the object of interest.

Tighten the clamp screws.

Enjoy the view.

A cheap motor drive will be good enough to keep the object in view for visual.

Otherwise just move the RA to follow the object. No need to touch DEC.

A mount and drive for photo is something entirely different.

Hope this helps.

David.

[John]

....Set the mount facing north (Polaris).

Set the mount level - couple of quid round bubble level.

Set the latitude screw to your postion, say 52/53 deg north.

Once done never touched again unless you take the scope on holiday.

Slacken the clamp screws and move to the object of interest.

Tighten the clamp screws.

Enjoy the view.

A cheap motor drive will be good enough to keep the object in view for visual.

Otherwise just move the RA to follow the object. No need to touch DEC.....

You missed a few steps there David :

- find that eyepiece and finder have moved to inaccessible position.

- Loosen tube rings, while holding end of scope to make sure it does not slide down, damaging focusser and balance.

- Rotate tube so that finder and eyepiece are accessible to non-contortionists.

- Tighten tube rings.

- Look into eyepiece for object which has by now drifted out of view due to delay caused by previous 4 steps.

- Make note to self to think about a dobsonian mount next time

Not that I have anything against equatorial mounts .......

Seriously, EQ's are very useful for tracking but they do have their drawbacks as well and it's worth preparing for those.

[rowan46]

I said earlier that the 8se was the easiest scope around to set up but I should amend that. It takes me 5mins to put my scope together and start observing assuming I remembered to cool it but I saw dobs being put together at least as quickly at sgl5 mind you they did spend a couple of minutes collimating which I rarely have to do on my sct advantage of it being small I suppose as it doesn't come out of collimation that often despite the fact its stuck in a backpack

[Carbon Brush]

Hi John.

Sorry yes I missed the tube rotation steps. I have always done this in seconds while pointing into the region of sky that I am going to look at at. Hence the omission.

I have never really found tube position & eyepiece tube orientation to be a problem even with my bulky Europa 200.

So it becomes point to general area, rotate tube.

Then centre using finder & low power eyepiece.

Then enjoy the view. Maybe up the eyepiece.

But of course if you want to hop from the plough, to Orion, to M31, then back to the plough, then watch Jupiter set, an EQ mount newt can be a bit of a bind.

David.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I NEVER rotate the tube on my EQ mount! Remember we are talking SCTs (C6, C8) You just adjust your star diagonal and are ready to go!

I set up my GP C8 in 5 minutes for visual, 10 for precise photographic alignment (which holds position well enough for 15min tracking with a 85mm lens). A C6 or C8 on CG5 mount should be fine (though with the C8 deep-sky photography over-stretches the mount).

Having said that, the visual difference between a C6 and 130mm Newtonian will be very slight. Either go for an 8", or keep the current choice (perhaps wiser) and learn to use that. Remember, it captures between 345 and 675 times the light of the naked eye (depending on your age).