jake1*2011 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Hello Im looking at getting a new astronomy telescope as the one i have is a maplins special. Ive found a couple but would like some advice on whats what and which is the best I can get within my budget. My budget would be around the Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johninderby Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Best advice is to go to Stargazers Lounge, best astronomy forum in the UK. http://stargazerslounge.com Lots of friendly people used to helping beginners get started. Scopes'n'Skies is OK but there are far better dealers. I'd recommend First Light Optics, great advice and service. There are others such as Opticstar, Rother Valley Optics, etc. Scopes'n'Skies has a bit of a reputation for poor service, when their website says in stock it often isn't. http://www.firstlightoptics.com The scope that you've linked to is a good beginners one. Mount is a bit wobbly but the OTA has great optics. I have the Celestron version of this OTA. BTW yes I am a member of Stargazerslounge, member name johninderby. John 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mugen mark Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 look a round for your scope,with all the phone apps,you can save a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamiyacowboy Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 (edited) OK buddy. the first telescope show was a skywatcher MAK. this means the telescope has a corrector plate lens. then the main mirror lens ( with hole in it ) and a reflerting mirror ( reflects image through main mirror) The telescope mount is what we call a GOTO mount. It has some small motors inside with a little brain. it remember where the scope is pointing and has a star map inside its brain. we tell the scope via a handset look at MARS !!. the telescope moves around to where IT THINKS where mars is. the use may need to tweek to get object in view. The very best low entry tripod for a telescope is a EQ3-2 pro, heavy and well made will keep most scopes steady. NOW lets get to Optical Tubes, namely the telescope. Newton telescopes, are the most easy to use. they have a long tube with a mirror on either end and a focusing hole at the top of the tube. Simple design means less cost, BUT still very good quality images. A skywatcher 150 - 200 is nice. Mak and Shmitt telescopes like i mentioned above have a corrector plate, they look a bit like a newton telescope, BUT the have the focuser and the bottom of the tube ( like the one in sciopeand skys you linked ) these telescopes have LONG seeing. they have around 1000+mm focal length, and they also are used more in astronomy imaging. as above FIRSTLIGHT OPTICS are the guys to talk with http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-150p-eq3-2.html EQ3-2 deluxe 150P @ 750mm and an F5 , now this is a quick and nice telescope for a newcommer, webcam the planets and with a camera its possible to grab some deeper objects. THIS MOUNT is NOT goto but the telescope is bigger than your first choice and the mount is a very good entry level for sturdyness, it can be fitted with a goto system if user required later. http://www.firstlightoptics.com/maksutov/skywatcher-skymax-127-eq3-2.html Now this one above is the same telescope as your first choice, BUT here it is added to the EQ3-2 , you can see how beefy the telescope mounts are, this setup costs nearly the same as the GOTO version you first chose, the telescope is smaller than the 150p but has a longer focal length. Focal length , hard to explain, so a 500mm focal length we can fit the whole moon in our eyepiece. we have a nice wide/ish angle of view. lets take another telescope one with 1000mm. now we can only fit 1/4 of the moon in our eyepiece but our image now shows the surface at a bigger resolution ( closer view) so our 500mm can take a picture and show all the moon and our 1000mm can only fit 1/4 of the moon in an eyepiece the above means the longer the focal length the deeper you can see into space, BUT the angle of view is much shallower. SO is there a website where i can go and select a telescope i like, and see what type of view i should be getting a wide view angle or a shallow view angle ? YUP there sure is. http://www.12dstring.me.uk/fov.htm now this site is one of my most visited sites i use, the left pannel is telescopes, so scroll down to skywatcher select skywatcher Explorer 150P, now thats done the right hand side you can select a camera ( nikon/canon and specalist) in the camera section they have added the microsoft webcams ( most used now in astronomy). below the camera part in red text is the View by eye, click this and select Skywatcher Super 25. Now click the objects , run mouse over to solarsystem and choose the MOON first. center between the telescope selection and camera/eyepiece slection is SUBMIT, so HIT IT the image produced is what you should see using that telescope and a 25mm eyepiece. cool right, now hit objects again go right to the left hand side Messeir. now select M31, this is the galaxy in andromedea. a simple way to see what different telescopes and view you will have to choose over. the shorter the focal length the wider the view angle/ more of the sky fits in the eyepiece Also a Stargazers lounge member Mr tamiyacowboy you can find me under Edited February 13, 2014 by Tamiyacowboy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mugen mark Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 skywatcher Explorer 150P,that the one i got,the mount solid,i replaced the lenses with better quality ones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake1*2011 Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 Thanks for the replys guys and thank you tami for explaining focal length and the links. A few people are saying go for the 8" dobson, I like it but wwould I be able to fit it to a tripod as im not too keen on the mount that comes with it? If I can is there a tripod sturdy enough to support the dobson whilst staying within my budget (in all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mugen mark Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 transporting them is a issue,the further away from street lights the better,so a remote field great viewing point,my tripod weighs about 15kg,the telescope weights about 2kg,so you really need a car or a excellent carry bag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake1*2011 Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-200p-eq5.html I think I found the one I want to get, its a little out of my price range but its got a decent tripod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johninderby Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-200p-eq5.html I think I found the one I want to get, its a little out of my price range but its got a decent tripod A good scope but this is the version on the basic EQ5 manual mount. It's not motorised but has hand knobs on both axis that are turned to move the mount. Simple motors can be added for under a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake1*2011 Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 Yeah I have and they suggested the 8" dobson, its in my price range but im not too keen on the mount, ill have another look for the forum just incase I come across something different Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mugen mark Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 (edited) bought mine off ebay, Edited February 13, 2014 by mugen mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johninderby Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Yea that's the big problem getting started in the hobby. It always seems to cost a couple of hundred quid more than you have to spend to get what you really want. Keep an eye on this dealers website clearance and ex-demo section to see what comes in. Very reputable dealer. I've had a couple of scopes off them and they give a full 12 months warrantee. http://telescopeoutlet.co.uk/index.php/telescopes.html John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maesterio Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Sorry I just have a nooby question: With a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johninderby Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 I see questions like this all the time and rather than go into too much detail here as there are forums like Star Gazers Lounge that allready have plenty of info for the beginner here are a few basics. Even with a fancy expensive telescope you won't really see any further than with a small beginners scope. However you will see more detail. In it's simplest form the larger the aperture (diameter of the lens or mirror) the more detail you will see. There are many different types of telescope such as Refractors (the long thin tube type that you look through one end of), Reflectors (shorter and fatter and you usually find the eyepiece at the top end of the telescope), Catadioptric types such as SCT or MAK (short and fat relectors that you look through the back of). Magnification isn't an important factor for most objects you might look at (requires a long answer why) and a dead giveaway that a telescope is rubbish is when they go on about high magnification. Good telescope makers know there are more important factors. Mars is actually very disapointing to look at through most telescopes, just a tiny red dot with hardly any detail. However Saturn is a real "WOW" thing to look at even through a small cheap telescope. It actually looks more impressive than most beginners expect. Planetary observing is popular in light polluted urban areas and doesn't require a big telescope. DSO observing which means Deep Sky Objects, Is better away from light poluted areas. DSOs are things like Nebulas, Galaxies, Star Clusters and is bettter with a bigger telescope. Actualy you can get a decent beginners telescope for about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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