G'day gang, let me first say hi and it's great to begin life here on this forum
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Lately I've bought a few space books and have found myself getting more into astronomy. Facinating stuff indeed! On my mind lately has been the question of what sort of telescope I'd need to see all the wonders of the southern sky. I'm hoping to get some advice and ideas of what would suit me best if I were to go down the road of buying one
. It's a big purchase and I'd like to get it right.
I live in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. There's lots of dark sky up here to see some cool stuff. I've been doing a little research and have visited a telescope store in Sydney to get an idea of how telescopes work and to get a feel of the sizes of them and ofcourse the price tag too! Gee there's so much to absorb and so many variations on what to buy!
I guess that what it comes down to is what I personally want to do with the telescope. So here's my requirements...
First thing is that I've got a budget to work under. Is $500 enough to get hold of something decent? I'm an absolute beginner, but I don't want to get something that I'l grow out of quickly. I want to keep it as I gain more knowledge and experience and use it too as an intermediate.
So what do I want to see? I want to see the polar caps on Mars, detail on the moon, distant planets like Saturn and Jupiter. Basically I want something that won't dissapoint me. I understand that you see more with a bigger telescope diameter. Perhaps an 8 inch diameter would be suitable? As I see it, a 4 1/2 inch just won't deliver the goods.
I've looked at refractors, Newtonians reflectors, Newtonian dobsonians, and those shorter cassegrains. Very interesting stuff. It seems Newtonians get the best value for money. The problem I see though is that an 8 inch newtonian telescope is bloody huge! What I want is a telescope that I can transport around easily to the neighbourhood oval. Newtonians just seem too bulky. How heavy are they? Do people lug these things around easily? Do they have carry cases (like a guitar case) that aid in transportation?
The other thing I noticed is that a dobsonian mounting is a lot cheaper than an equatorial mounting. Perhaps I could cut some costs and go for a dobsonian? However, how important is it to have an equatorial mounting? Is it really a necessity or is it easy to get around the issue? What would be some circumstances where an equatorial mounting would be really important to have?
The cassegrain telescopes seem to tick all the boxes - i.e. they are less bulky, yet have the same diameter as newtonians. However, the main drawback is ofcourse the price which is astronomical (pardon the pun).
So, I'm a little stuck and need a bit of advice if possible
. I guess it has all come down to price verses ease of use. A super bulky telescope is not ideal, but may have to do considering the cost of getting something better. Not sure if a smaller diameter (and therefore smaller price) might achieve similar results? Also, do certain brands raise their prices compared to "lesser" brands? Also, perhaps someone could suggest some places to buy telescopes for cheaper prices?
Anyway, that's enough talking from me. Perhaps you guys have some cool advice?
Cheers and hope to hear from ya.