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Pointers for a newbie...

Asteroid

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Asteroid

Asteroid

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I'm looking to buy my first telescope and am hoping for some pointers in what to buy.

I am a complete beginner (beginner in the sense that I've never even looked through a telescope before)

I have no idea what to buy to get started with.

I'm looking to spend in the region of 200-300 for a complete setup.

As for what i want to get out of it, i don't really know, i think as a first scope, something to learn the basics (and of course an upgrade from my current "naked eye setup").

Also, are there any books to point me in the right direction. Most of the stuff i have read on these boards means little if anything to me. So I'm pretty much at the bottom of the learning curve.

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JamesM

JamesM

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All the theory and brochures in world can not replace actually looking through a scope to see if it will meet your expectations. I have read many new people say, "..so is that it?" because they haven't looked through a scope before buying and where their only visual clues were drawn from bright, shiny and colourful astro images. Look online to see if you can find a local astro club or observation group (not always the same thing) to participate in one of their free evening observation sessions that are run during this time of year. It will give you a chance to see the gear 'in the flesh' and to ask questions like, what about set up times, how long for the scope to cool down, is it easy to transport? One last thing, when you look through a scope that you may like and is within your budget, don't forget to ask about the eyepiece being used because it is unlikely that you will be looking through the one that came with the scope. Eyepieces can make a lot of difference to the viewing experience.

Clear skies

James

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brantuk

brantuk

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All good advice above Asteroid. I would add that you should never be in a hurry buying a scope. Some scopes are good at one aspect of the hobby and others a different aspect.

I spent 3 months reading and asking questions when I first started. Astronomy Now and Sky at Night are two great magazines to get you understanding stuff and often carry scope advice columns. A good book is Turn Left at Orion.

Grab a pair of binocs and pop outside at night and explore - see if you can find some stuff. Stellarium is a great software download that'll show where everything is at your location - and it's free. Also get CCDCalc to look at the kind of views you get in different scopes (also free).

Join a local group and go along for a peek on observing nights, and you'll soon get to know the kind of instrument you want.

Hope that helps :)

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bcfcciderhead

bcfcciderhead

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Hi and welcome, i have the 130p goto and yes, it is a very good starter scope, and not to hard to use, i also have the 200p dob.

As you said your a newbie and never looked in a telescope i would go a dob, which what i use all the time now, it is so simple to use and your get so much more for your money which in turn will stop you upgrading so soon.

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starstalker

starstalker

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bare in mind tho,with the dob unless u buy a goto dob which is probably about 7-800 quid u will have to use you own star hopping skills to view stuff and u will have to keep nudging it to keep anything in the eyepiece,if u are ok with that then i would deffo say get the dob, also dobs are not ideal for photography(if u ever wanted to go down that route) im not sure about the skywatcher 130p's alt/az mount for photography but at least it will track,so its probably a bit better than the dob for that(thats if u want to get in to photography that is)

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Asteroid

Asteroid

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Ok.......so after much thought and complete feeling of overwhelming with what's on the market. I may be swaying slightly towards the more compact scopes.

Could anyone shed any light on these three scopes, or would there be a good alternative in a similar price range?

Skywatcher Skymax 127 SynScan AZ GOTO

Celestron Nexstar 127 SLT

Celestron NexStar 4SE

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