Need help choosing telescope

[Stargazer Jack]

Hi,

I am hopefully getting a telescope soon but i am unsure about which one to get. I believe the Skywatcher range are good so i looked at about 4 from there. I chosen all SkyHawk telescopes and these are the 114, the 114m, the 1145p and the 1145pm.

Thanks

[JohnDenim]

I very new, but I think if you stated your max budget it might help?

What objects would you like to view?

From my short time on here, I have learned there are loads of options, reading up on reflectors and refractors will be useful too.

Just in case you don't have it already, download the free Stellarium

It has helped me a lot!

[Stargazer Jack]

I have a budget of around £150 and planets, the moon, galaxies, nebulas and cluster maybe. I have read and downloaded the other things aswell. Thank you

[callisto]

In all honesty, for someone like yourself this would be a good all rounder : Dobsonians - Skywatcher Skyliner 150P Dobsonian

[Stargazer Jack]

It is a nice telescope that but it doesn't go on a mount. Do you just put it on a table or something like that ?

[John]

It is a nice telescope that but it doesn't go on a mount. Do you just put it on a table or something like that ?

It sits on the ground and works like a canon. Very simple and very effective but you do need to find where the objects you want to look at are in the sky so you can point it at them.

For each £ you spend these dobsonaians give you the most performance you can have.

[callisto]

Have a look at this it might help : Dobsonian telescope - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Stargazer Jack]

Ok thanks. Do people choose these instead of reflectors because they are not very good ?

[John]

Dobsonains are reflectors - just on a different type of mount. All the different types of telescope have strengths and weaknesses. One of the strengths of the newtonian reflector is that you get a large aperture for a relatively low price. More aperture means more detail, fainter objects, etc ,etc.

[Stargazer Jack]

Dobsonains are reflectors - just on a different type of mount. All the different types of telescope have strengths and weaknesses. One of the strengths of the newtonian reflector is that you get a large aperture for a relatively low price. More aperture means more detail, fainter objects, etc ,etc.

Ohh Ok, Thanks

[Stargazer Jack]

What would be the smallest scope size i would want if i wanted to see galaxies, nebulas and clusters ?

[themos]

The smallest decent scope is usually described as an 8-inch reflector or a 6-inch refractor. So, something like the Skywatcher 200P Dobsonian would tick the boxes and not cost too much.

[Stargazer Jack]

Ok thanks themos

[John]

You can see those things with a 4" scope or even smaller but you really need 8" of aperture to start to do them justice, as Themos says.

[Yeoman]

I am new to this have done loads of research from knowing next to nothing and I bought a Skywatcher Dobsonian in the end as you get a lot for your money, they are simple to use and fantastic value. I put mine together by myself today.

I wanted the 8" which you can get for about £277-£300+ including delivery but there is a shortage of them so you may have a wait for an 8"... anyway due to the better light gathering and extreme impatience to get started I bought a 10"

Just waiting for the moon to come over for my first viewing... I got the spotterscope set up during daylight so I am hoping I got it right...

Anyway thumbs up for the Skywatcher Dobsonian range...

[Rossco72]

I have owned or looked through 3"- 5" refractors, and 6" - 14" reflectors.

For planets, open and globular clusters 3" refractors 80mm or so do allow you to pick them out. For nebula and Galaxy hunting only my current 14" does them any justice in my experience to date.

[Stargazer Jack]

I have owned or looked through 3"- 5" refractors, and 6" - 14" reflectors.

For planets, open and globular clusters 3" refractors 80mm or so do allow you to pick them out. For nebula and Galaxy hunting only my current 14" does them any justice in my experience to date.

Would i be able to see galaxies and nebulas throught a 4.5" telescope. I know it won't be like the pictures you see but would i see a fuzzy thing in the sky ?

[JamesM]

Reflectors work by gathering light and then focusing it using an eyepiece. Planets, because they are already very bright objects don't need a big mirror to see them BUT as you magnify the image, the larger the mirror the more information it can collect, called 'resolution' so you can see more detail. With galaxies and nebula etc there is very little light to start with and so the bigger the mirror, the more light (information) you can collect and the more detail you can see.

Clear skies

James

[ollypenrice]

Would i be able to see galaxies and nebulas throught a 4.5" telescope. I know it won't be like the pictures you see but would i see a fuzzy thing in the sky ?

From a dark site a fairly small number of the brighter galaxies would appear as faint smudges. Honestly I would go for more aperture and a nice simple Dobsonian mount.

Olly

[Stargazer Jack]

Thanks for the advice When i look on a website, it doesn't say about how much aperture the telescope has :S

[JohnDenim]

I believe that would be the size or diameter of the main mirror.

[Stargazer Jack]

Ok thank you again

[Rossco72]

I believe that would be the size or diameter of the main mirror.

And as long as it doesn't stop you from being able to use it, bigger is always better!!!!

[bish]

For your budget the Skywatcher 130p would be a good starter scope, or 150 dob for a bit over. You don't need anything bigger to start with. If you have the money then great buy a bigger scope, but it's not essential. Plenty of people use the Skywatcher 114, 130 and 150 as starter scopes - I had my 150p for 3 years but changed it when my girlfriend bought me a bigger one for a present. True that bigger is better but if you have a limited budget one of the smaller scopes would be fine.