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Is it worth ?

Kevdan

By Kevdan
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Kevdan

Kevdan

Posted
Posted

Hi All,

Thank you for all the welcome messages from everyone and for the info on scopes, I have decided to wait a little longer for a decent scope due to a couple of reasons,

1 - Only just getting into this so dont want to spend lots of money on something I dont know how to use.

2 - If I take my time and save up the pennies and I'm still as interested in 6 months time I can get a much better scope than I originally wanted.

What I would like to know is, being as I havent got any scope at all is it worth me buying something like a celestron 76 firstscope and accesory kit which I can get for less than £50 just so I can "learn how to use stuff" like spotter scopes and get the feel for this hobby. Also if it is a good idea to do this what can I expect to see with this scope?

One thing that I am getting confused by is mounts or tripods, being totally new to this I alway spresumed a telescope would come with a tripod but no they come seperate which will now eat into my budget. As I was interested in the skywatcher skyliner 200p and at around £270 how much is a decent tripod going to cost on top and what other extras will I be rushing ou tto buy such as filters etc..

Sorry if the questions appear to be stupid but as a newbie with, like most other people, bills mortgages etc to pay the idea of spending a lot of money to fill the loft with another "gadget" isnt appealing at all.

Thanks in advance,

Kev.

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oldfruit

oldfruit

Posted
Posted

Hi Kev, your questions are not stupid at all. The skywatcher skyliner 200 i believe is a dobsonian scope. it is mounted on a dobsonian mount so does not require a tripod. It swivels around on the base and you just point it to what you want to look at.

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markophoto

markophoto

Posted
Posted

Hi

I'm pretty new here too, and I've also decided to wait before I buy a scope.

My decision is so I can save up more money as I know if I get a scope with a 8" aperture I'll wish I'd got a 10". I figure on saving up for a 300P (12" dobsonian) now.

I've got a good few months saving ahead of me :D

Regarding your question about a skyliner 200P, for your £270 you'll be getting it on a dobsonian mount, which will do the business nicely for you.

I'll let others answer the bit about filters etc....

Marko

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kniclander

kniclander

Posted
Posted

the celestron 76 is a lovely little piece of kit but it's basically for a child (or a child's dad...). to be honest, using a dobsonian, there ain't too much to learn about how to use it. you'll need to learn to collimate if you get a newtonian scope but the 76 isn't user collimatable.

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Tac

Tac

Posted
Posted

What about getting some binoculars first? You can see a lot of things with them and you will learn the night sky well with them too. Also cost you less that £50 for them plus maybe £80 for a decent tripod for them. They would also have the added benefit of being able to use them for 'terrestrial' stuff too.

Revelation - Revelation 15x70 Binocular

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JamesM

JamesM

Posted
Posted

If you are going to buy kit whilst saving for the scope, then the above suggestions are great.

I think that waiting to buy kit is a good idea and also in the meantime why don't you contact your local astro society/club or observing group (they aren't always the same thing) to find out when their public observations sessions are taking place. Actually looking through kit is so important yet so often forgotten. It also provides you with the opportunity to see how big some of the kit is, to ask their owners how easy it is to set up, move about (travelling to dark sites) and how long it takes to cool down. Only small refractors are ready to go out of the box.

The tripod usually means the legs section. The mount is the mechanical 'gearbox' be it manual or motorised that sits on top of the tripod legs and connects to the scope to help it point in the sky. Generally, the term 'mount' refers to the tripod and the mechanism together. Dobsonians are sold with their base/mount attached, Cassegrains are sold within a forked mount or single armed mount. The reason for mentioning this is because often people prefer to buy an equatorial mount because it can be purchased separately from a particular scope (unlike those mentioned above) and allows greater flexibility as to which scope you choose to put on it. Some people have more than one scope so this way you only need one mount.

Clear skies

James

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todd8137

todd8137

Posted
Posted

hi kev and welcome ,the skyliner 200p would ba great scope to start with ,but do not exspect to see these glossy hubble type pics .you caachiv pics like that with cameras and long exposure times and some software to tweak it give FLO a call for advice on this matter binos would be a great start cos if you get bored you will not have spent to much and binos can be used for all sorts of things

pat

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Altair40

Altair40

Posted
Posted

Hi KevDan,

Welcome!

I'm three months down the line from buying a Skywatcher 130, manual everything from FLO. I'm amazed at what it can do for the mirror size and the cost.

We also have a 76mm newt 'Heritage' from Celestron. This was incredibly kindly pointed out to me by a board member who has posted on this thread. I had this out of the box and pointed at Jupiter in less than a minute. We found the Andromeda Galaxy in ten minutes!

I'm sure a lot of dissapointment in this hobby is due to high expectations of what equipment can do for you. In some ways I wish I'd waited to get a 10 or 12" Dobsonian mounted Newtonian Reflector. Or a TEC 140 - but these are 5,000 USD!

I just wanted to get into the hobby again with something that cost 130 UKP and a pair of binoculars. That was something my family could cope with to see how strong my interest was...

I've been out looking at this and that maybe three or four evenings a week for the past couple of weeks at least.

I'm still learning!

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BAZ Senior

BAZ Senior

Posted
Posted

Hi Kev, welcome to SGL.

I would also suggest Bino's, as even when you have a scope, they will be useful to you. They are a completely different tool to a scope, and offer a view that a scope cannot show, they are very affordable as well, so shouldn't eat too much into the scope fund.

10x50's can be hand held and are comfortable in a sun-lounger.

15x70's need a tripod, you can hand hold them, but not for too long as your arms go wobbly.

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Nexus 6

Nexus 6

Posted
Posted

Hi Kev, as others have already said, go for some binoculars, they will help you to get started in learning the night sky. plus you won't have to spend to much money. Once you are wanting to see more you can always go for a scope then.

Here's some really handy free software, apologies if you already have it.

stellarium

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