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Old 12-09-2011, 07:25 PM
Viekie (Matt)
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Equipment Recommendation pt 2

Greetings all. Brand new to the site. Started a new thread (in case I accidently derailed Rebecca's thread if I posted there).
I bought a Startracker 50 telescope from DSE last month and was more than a little bit disappointed with it. Couldnt see much more than the moon with it (was hoping for Mars or Jupiter at least) and was starting to wonder if I was doing anything wrong. Went for a looksie on Google and found this site. Had a peruse thru each of the different threads and apparently yes the Startracker cant see much more than the moon.
Last night the dog accidently knocked the scope over while I was inside getting a coffee and now it wont focus properly. I mean i can still see the moon but not in as much detail than before, so now I'm looking for a another (and hopefully better) telescope.
It seems everyone is recommending the Dobsonian 6" as an excellent 1st (in my case 2nd) telescope for those on a limited budget. Was wondering what Ill be able to see with it. (The Startracker says that I SHOULD be able to see out to Saturn, but couldnt even see Mars in greater detail than a red dot in the sky). Any chance of seeing Nebulas or the Andromeda Galaxy with it (im currently living in Brisbane so not if its only seen in the Northern Hemisphere?)
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Old 13-09-2011, 07:22 AM
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Saturn%5 (Graeme)
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Hi Matt.
First Welcome to this great Community, I am not an expert on any scope there are others here that are far more experienced, But let me say a dob is a great start, I started with a 12" dob and well i so miss it now after moving from Queensland to Tasmania and have a 6" now yes things are smaller i looked at saturn the other night and my first thought was i need a bigger scope but in saying that they will keep you busy at night for years, Have a look at Bintel and Andrews for a scope they are all very helpful but if you can go for an 8" go for it, Just one last thing have a good look around these forums so much information for learning and the links some good free software out there plus the people here will always help you just ask away.

cheers

Graeme
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Old 13-09-2011, 06:29 PM
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ZeroID (Brent)
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Hi Matt and to the mad house.
Graeme is on the money there, the bigger the aperture the more you see. Not sure what your budget is or what the sky is like in Brisbane but I started with a cheap 4.5 " and was surprised with what I could see but moved quickly to a 10" to be seriously surprised with nebula views, dust clouds to be found and globs to drool over.

I'd also suggest an 8" or 10" to get properly started. With luck you can spot one going second hand on here in the For Sale section and when and if you get aperture fever it will always sell on to the next newbie with little loss.

Andromeda is northern hemisphere object, pretty low in the sky for us southern people but we have the best skies for many other objects. Better than northern astronomers.

Get Stellarium on your computer and set it up for your location and that will let you see just what you can see at our end of the world. Heaps !!

Keep us posted on what you do and ask questions. Any body here will have some useful advice. Get yourself along to your local Astro Club open night or club night. They should happily let you have a look through various scopes so you can see what is possible. They may even have scopes to rent for a month or so and you can try one or two out.

Good luck and have fun.

Cheers
Brent
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Old 13-09-2011, 09:00 PM
Viekie (Matt)
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Got Stellarium on my PC already. Been using it to try and match what I can see in Brisbane night skies. Seems like ill be waiting a few months before I can get a decent telescope. I had a look on this site and ozscopes.com (also recommended by people here ) and it seems either a 6 or 8" Dobsonian is the way to go.
Budget is $500.

And thankies for your welcome Brent and Graeme. Oh and due to my working hours (during the weekdays and SAT NIGHTS) I wont be joining any local astronomy clubs. Bit of a bummer, but not much I can do there (short of getting another job).
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Old 14-09-2011, 04:13 AM
Alchemy (Clive)
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Looks like the dog did you a favor, yes larger is better for visual, 50 mm is pretty much just a viewfinder.

You may need some kind of filter if you are in a heavily light polluted area...which is all of the major cities, down here in Melbourne it's hopeless.
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Old 14-09-2011, 07:22 AM
Sardukar (Tim)
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Just remember that there are things you will need to buy ontop of the telescope price aswell. So you will need stuff like a red light torch, maybe some books or planishpere, collimator etc. And then you will want extra eyepiecs and filters....
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Old 14-09-2011, 07:42 PM
Viekie (Matt)
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oh God does that mean I would have created a monster? heh no doubt, but like all beginners the very basics that come with the scope will no doubt do me for now. ill be looking for different filters and whatnot in the future....
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