New Telescope Suggestion

[hypersonics]

Hi All,

I new to iceinspace and I was suggested by one of the whrilpool forum's members to get myself involved in this amateur astronomy group.

I live in Canberra and I am keen to step into amateur astronomy, to begin with viewing moon, planets and other faint objects in the night sky. As such I'm looking into getting a Dobsonian telescope, however, I need some advice on what would be the best choice for beginners and any particular model/brand to look for?

I have been reading a bit about Dobsonian telescope, which I understand works great for faint objects in the sky with little to no light pollution. Correct me if I'm wrong. Can I use the Dobsonian to view the moon and some of the planets as far as the Jupiter and Saturn? Additionally, down the line, I may start doing some photography as well.

I did attend the Canberra Astronomical Society meeting held yesterday (18-July) and it was great to see some of the astronomy veterans, however, I couldn't get a chance to talk about amateur gears for starters.

Would be helpful if I can be put into the right track.

Thank you.

[Wavytone]

Be patient and take your time to learn who’s who in CAS, I am a former committee member (many decades ago). It’s a good club with unique access to professional guest speakers so hang in there and learn.

Dobsonians are basically light-buckets for DSOs, not optimal for moon or planets. As a resident of Sydney where DSOs are impossible .. I use a big premium mak which delivers magnification, lots of it.

[GUS.K]

Hi Deepak, welcome to the forum. A dobsonian is a great all around scope, great for lunar and the planets and especially so for deepsky. A well collimated dob and some good quality eyepieces will show you some amazing views, biggest bang for your buck out of all scope options.

[m11]

Hi Deepak,

I think the dobsonian is an ideal beginner scope. If you can, grab an 8 inch and ensure its collimated as Gus has mentioned.

The planets,moon and deep sky stuff are all viewable with the dob.

The question is also whether you want goto or manual to begin with as well.

All the best, :lol:

M11

[Ukastronomer]

1. Join a club FIRST

2. Read about it, all you can.

3. One of the only scopes you will buy and NOT regret getting is a DOB, personally I don't know an astronomer who hasn't had or doesn't have one.

Don't get too large a DOB that means too heavy to move about or needs a ladder to use, for me 8-10"

Get one that takes 2" eyepieces as well as 1.25"

http://skywatcher.com/product/bk-dob-10-synscan/



.

[Wavytone]

Pretty sure CAS would have a scope you could borrow to try, before buying.

[RyanJones]

Hi Deepak,

I’ve never owned a dob but I’ve head plenty of good stories about them from a lot of people and it seems like bang for buck that’s the way to go. I’ve got Maks , SCTs, Newts and a refractor and they’re all good at what they do but none are good at everything. As far as moon and planets go I’d suggest an SCT. The draw back is also their pitfall. Long focal lengths require decent alignment to stop things drifting quickly out of view but that focal length is great magnification with a shorter OTA. I love my Newts for imaging although I have and do image with the SCTs too. Shorter focal lengths and faster F ratios capture light quicker and give you a big field of view and they’re considerably cheaper per apature, but fast scopes create field curvature which means objects outside the center of the field of view can lose focus unless you’re using something else in the optic train to compensate for this. Last bit not least is the refractor. Not cheap for larger apatures and they can suffer from chromatic aberration ( certainly on the less than premium ones ). They are quite compact though and give you ease of use with no collimation. For all of these there are pros and cons. Choose a scope that works well for you primarily want to use it for and get something easy to use so that you use it more.

Hope this helps

[xelasnave]

Welcome to Iceinspace.
For your first scope a 6 or 8 inch dob would be a great choice.
They are great all round scopes.
You can do very limited photography with a dob (which is really the mount part of the set up) and for photography you will need an equatorial mount...and you can take the scope in your dob and add a bracket so it will ride on an eq (equatorial mount) and use an ordinary DSLR fitted with an adaptor (t ring) that enables attaching it to the scope.
But dont rush into the photography just enjoy the visual side for starters.
And dont get carried away with buying accessories. .its a trap☺. If you buy new you will also get a couple of eye pieces ...be happy with those for a long while...good luck and let us know what you buy...Two good vendors are Bintel and Andrews Communications...chech out each.
Alex

[hypersonics]

Hi All,

Thank you all for your responses and taking time to discuss. Well, in that case, I will get a Dobsonian 8" telescope. How do I find that is collimated?

I'm currently reading this article to understand what collimatation is and how to collimate a Dobsonian telescope.

https://garyseronik.com/a-beginners-guide-to-collimation/

Two scopes that I have in mind,

1. https://www.bintel.com.au/product/skywatcher-8-inch-dobsonian/?v=6cc98ba2045f

2. https://www.bintel.com.au/product/skywatcher-dobsonian-8-inch-collapsible/?v=6cc98ba2045f

3. https://www.bintel.com.au/product/bintel-bt252-b-10-inch-dobsonian/?v=6cc98ba2045f


The first two are Skywatcher brand and the third Bintel and I'm not sure which of these is bang for the buck.

The 1. comes with 2" Crayford Style Focuser with 1.25" adapter and Super 25 and 10 eyepieces. While the latter comes with 2" Focuser with 1.25" adapter and 1.25" Super 25mm and 10mm eyepieces. As suggested by Jeremy, the 3. is a 10" scope that seems to come with 2" and 1.25" eyepieces. I don't have a fair understanding of eyepiece specifications and the differences among the three here.

Thanks again.

[hypersonics]

Thank you.

I will be joining soon, in a day or two!! The only 10" scope in my budget is this one from Bintel.

https://www.bintel.com.au/product/bintel-bt252-b-10-inch-dobsonian/?v=6cc98ba2045f

Let me know your views.

[m11]

The scope should have a cheshire eyepiece, I use a laser collimator to check the alignment.

If you have the space, the bintel solid tube are pretty good. They have the dual focuser as well.

The standard plossls as Alex has said will serve you well.:thumbsup:

All the best.

M11

[hypersonics]

Hi Alex,

Thank you. Any particular brand between Skywatchers and Bintel?

[hypersonics]

Where did you find the dual focuser info for Bintel. I'm struggling to find :)

[m11]

I have a few bintel scopes and they have the coarse and fine focuser.

The link you have listed for the bintel.scope: :)

BINTEL Dobsonians are equipped with a*CNC machined 2″ Crayford focuser allowing extra smooth 10:1 fine focus control without backlash.*

[m11]

I have a few bintel scopes and they have the coarse and fine focuser.

The link you have listed for the bintel.scope: :)

BINTEL Dobsonians are equipped with a*CNC machined 2″ Crayford focuser allowing extra smooth 10:1 fine focus control without backlash.*

[Startrek]

I’ve used both Bintel 8” and 10” dobs and both are excellent value and great beginner scopes for star hopping and finding your objects. Ideal for backyard observing
I also have a Skywatcher 12” Goto dob which is more of an intermediate level scope
To be honest I prefer the Bintel GSO dual speed focuser in lieu of the Skywatcher focuser but that’s just personal preference
You can’t go wrong with either brand in 8” or 10” manual operated dob to get you started in the hobby
Welcome and Good luck !!

[Rainmaker]

Deepak,
There is an Observatory Night scheduled for Saturday 27th at Mt Stromlo, the guys there will be able to answer some of your questions. CAS does have some 8" Dobs that are available for use by new members.

An 8" Dob will be a great way to start into the pastime. A red dot finder and a couple of eyepieces as well as an app like Stellarium on your phone and you're all set. As for collimation, the solid tube Dobs seem to hold collimation well. You will get lots of help and advice from guys like Ed, Bill and Andrew who are regulars at the club events.

If you have any problems with getting the initial setup/collimation done feel free to send me a PM, I am in Canberra also and happy to help.

[Ukastronomer]

Can I say that if you believe that you can only do limited astrophotography with a dob then you need to visit the link below, people would like you to believe you need EQ setups and guide scopes in the £thousands

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1940588322919476/?multi_permalinks=2222373018074337&notif_id=1563465287131920&notif_t=group_highlights

[TwistedRider]

Just adding my 2c worth

Love my dob.

I started astronomy about this time last year, so still learning, but happy to help with beginners info.

I have the SkyWatcher 10" Collapsible Goto.
Love it to bits and have had some basic photography images turn out ok. Only using a mobile phone so photos are a lot worse that what is seen through the eyepiece.

Have had very clear and amazing sights of the moon, Jupiter and Saturn. Also a few nebula and clusters

No reason the smaller sizes would give less enjoyment.

Dual speed focuser would be great, and likely to be the 1st major scope upgrade part. Otherwise it's very hard to fault. Collimation is simple and takes all of 5-10 minutes once you are familiar with it.

Happy to answer any questions you may have.

[hypersonics]

Thank you @Rainmaker.

I will get in touch once I make my purchase, which might happen within about a weeks time. Yes, I will be there on the 27th for the Observotary Night.

[hypersonics]

Thanks. I will look into both 8" and the 10" Bintel Dobsonian scopes and see which is reasonable in terms of space consumption and then make a decision.

[hypersonics]

I will probably head to their store and find out more about the two Bintel scopes. If I can manage to accommodate the 10", I will possibly go with it.

[Startrek]

In addition to your 8” or 10” Bintel Dob telescope you will need to collimate ( align ) the optics or mirrors from time to time depending on how much the scope is moved around or bumped etc...
Attached are two accessories I have used over the past couple of years that do the task really well

Orion Cheshire eye piece

Orion laser collimating tool

Both available from Bintel

Cheers

[hypersonics]

Hi All,

Apologies for responding to an old thread.

Finally, I got my 8" Dobsonian from Bintel. Unfortunately due to bushfires around couldn't make a visit to the store and hence got it delivered.

On Friday night I was able to assemble it and took it out in the backyard. It took a while knowing how to focus the eyepieces. However, wasn't lucky to observe anything due to overcast here in Canberra.

Please feel free to advise anything that I need to follow for some good observations.

Thanks

[Startrek]

I’d recommend you download the latest version of Stellarium on your laptop or desktop. It’s a free planetarium and will enable you to learn the motion of the night sky and it’s objects hour by hour , night by night , year by year
After I purchased my 10” Bintel dob nearly 4 years ago , IIS members back then recommended to me to down load Stellarium to get to know the night sky and within a few nights observing over a month , I had a reasonable understanding of the motion and objects in the night sky including notable stars, clusters and Nebula and of course the planets
I initially looked at the cardboard Star charts and constellation wheels etc.. so confusing , Stellarium was like my “live” window into the universe, so intuitive and so many features. You can fast forward time to see what’s up there hours , days and weeks later.
I still use it for observing to identify locations of objects. Previously I use to plan a nights observations with the laptop next to me on a small fold out table and select objects noting there locations via notable stars ( star hopping ) Now I have a 12” Goto dob and don’t need to star hop anymore , but it taught me a valuable lesson in knowing the night sky all year round
For my imaging I use Stellarium to navigate to my objects using a program called EQMOD
Stellarium is a valuable tool for any amateur astronomer, beginner or intermediate to experienced
Cheers

[JeniSkunk]

I only have a 5" manual Dob, and I rely on Stellarium for figuring out what I'm looking at, or what I want to try to find. Stellarium can simulate the impact of light pollution on how few stars you can see, so it more accurately matches what you can see.

If you have a tablet (Apple or Android) having both Stellarium and Sky Safari on the tablet is well worth it. The larger screens of tablets makes the apps easier to use.

The other app that's also worth having is Clear Outside. That lets you see what the cloud cover is likely to be, in advance of an evening.

[Premordial]

Hi Deepak,

If your Dob does not have Goto, consider getting a red dot finder or Telrad. Helps finding targets by letting you aim at a general area before getting closer with your finderscope.

A comfy chair at the right height is also highly recommended. It means sitting outside all night with minimal swearing... :-)

Enjoy this great hobby!

--M

[JeniSkunk]

Max, the Bintel GSO 8 inch Dobsonian which Deepak has, includes a RACI finder.

[Premordial]

Cool, the RACI finder does the job it is designed for. My suggestion refers to RDF or Telrad. Your point?

[JeniSkunk]

Max I was working from the viewpoint of you thinking Deepak's scope not having any finderscope. I didn't realise you were looking at adding a different finderscope to the telescope.

[Premordial]

Been using a RACI finder for years. It came with my 10" Dob. I also use a Telrad, and it works for me. But as for most things, YMMV.

[JeniSkunk]

I wouldn't mind seeing if I could replace the red dot finder on my Sky-Watcher Heritage P130, with a Telerad.