First Scope!

[Monstar]

I'm totally new to both astronomy and this forum. After searching the web for a couple of days I've decided to buy a 6" Dob as my first scope. The only real options I've found are the Skywatcher and Saxon. Both have similar accessories and price and just wondered if you guys rated one more than the other or any other options.

Also as my main criteria were weight, portability and ease of set, so i was also considering the Skywater 130P collapsible Dob, would there be that much of a difference between this and a 6" Dob for a total noob?

Also what accessories would you suggest, I've already thought of maybe a moon filter and some sort of Barlow.

Also congratulations all on a great site, it's very informative but also has that touch of humour that I love,

Cheers!

[The Mekon]

Great choice the 6" Dob - probably better than the 8" for a beginner and likely to give superior views. As for accessories - forget the moon filter and barlow. The moon is best viewed in twilight conditions, most observers avoid looking at the full moon. If you do you can use an off aperture mask that will make you scope perform even better. What I recommend is a collimation tool of some sort, a laser type is real easy to use, but there are other types that cost less money. Save any money you have to buy a really good eyepiece such as a 13mm nagler or similar.

[SurferSmyth]

:gday:
As far a i know Skywatcher and Saxon are the same just re-branded. i went with skywatcher.

Im sure you know all about Aperture at this point, the more Aperture the better, so if i was you id forget about the Accessories for now and put your money on Aperture and get 8'' provided you can afford it. either way you'll get some great seeing with a 6'' as a beginner.

Accessories wise it depends on what you want to view, im pretty new here aswell, but i made my first ''accessory'' an eye piece for planetary viewing i dont own any fillters or even a barlow at this point.
+1 one for saving and getting a high-end ep (eye piece) take your time and find out what you want to view, like Planets or DSO (Deep Sky Observing) and then go from there.

Also just about everyone on here will tell you to try before you buy, check out a star gazing party ect, because some eps preform differently in different telescopes and at the end of the day it comes down to personal preference.

In regards to the barlow
(same as the ep!)

:thumbsup:

[barx1963]

Johnny
Well done on some good research. I would go the 6" every day of the week unless there were really compelling reasons to go the smaller 130P. While it may seem that 5.12" and 6" is not that different it actually makes a significant difference to what can be seen.
With accessories, a moon filter is not a bad choice, but certainly not essential, and wouldn't bother with a barlow. More important are a set of decent charts and a red headlamp so you can start to find objects.

Malcolm

[Monstar]

First of thanks for all the advise and info, and looking and some of the posts on the site there are some members with some very serious kit. I get paid tomorrow but won't be able to afford to buy til next pay another 2 weeks gggrrrr.

If anyone's from Brissie could you tell me if there are any other shops apart from AstroPetes (who I've only heard good stuff about about and will probably go with) and -Australian Geographic, just cos I like looking at stuff.

I'm going with the 6" inch, a moon filter and a collimation tool for now, is laser the best option? Collimation sounds fun, some articles I've read make it sound easy and some ridiculously hard, guess there's only one way to find out!

[MichaelSW]

Johnny,

On a previous Collimation thread, Malcolm gave the link to a very useful article on collimating a Newtonian reflector at http://www.astro-baby.com/collimation/astro%20babys%20collimation%20guide .htm


I hope you have had a look at it in all your research.

If you want a 35mm film canister, go into your local Chemist shop and ask if they have any empty ones spare from the days when lots of people got films developed. And when you do get one, paint the inside of the cap white. This will make the reflection of the centre hole stand out more.

And re Moon Filters - some give the moon a green tinge. I have and prefer a Neutral Density filter. It cuts down the glare without changing the colour.