what to buy

[trenny (John)]

I live on the east coast of Tasmania (Bicheno) with 180 deg ocean veiws with moutains behind me,almost zero background light at night.
We get whales and dolphins plus various ships to the east and have wedge tail and sea eagles in the hills behind ,plus we have crystal clear nights hence the need for a dual purpose telescope.
I have a budget of $400 +or-, but need to purchace a dual purpose telescope that is suitable for both terrestial and astronomy veiwing.
I have looked on the web and am enquiring about the CELESTRON ASTRO MASTER ER 130 MD from Oz Scopes.
Questons !
What is the availability of add-ons such as better lenses and digital camera attachment
Do I need a lens heater(inside air temp in winter is approx 22' outside air can be as low as 5'
Is dew point a concern?
Will it suit what I'am after or are there other options?

Cheers Trenny

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Is this the one you are looking at? http://www.ozscopes.com.au/reflector...tor-drive.html
If so, a couple of points. It has an equatorial mount which will make it next to useless for terrestrial viewing (it is designed to track objects as they move around the sky) also the image will be a mirror image (upside down and back to front again making terrestrial use difficult. My 130mm newt came with an erecting eyepiece for terrestrial use but it was next to useless, the Celestron may have one and may be better but I wouldn't count on it. I assume by better "lenses" you mean better "eyepieces". Yes you can upgrade to better quality eyepices as almost all scopes use standard barrell sizes (usually 1.25" or 2") in their scopes. Dew heaters for eyepieces are usually essential and the issue is not how cold it is, I use mine even in height of summer. If you go with a Newt scope you will not need one for the main mirror (usually). Having said you need one, I use a hair dryer for months before spending on a proper dew heater kit.

Hope this helps and welcom to IIS

Edit: just read the specs on the website and it mentions "erect image optics"which mens there is probably a barlow lense in the focuser. Not a big fan of this idea as it places more glass in the optical train, produces dimmer images and is something extra to get scratches and damage.
Malcolm

[trenny (John)]

Hi Malcolm the scope I'am looking at is not the motor drive model,same telescope minus the motor drive, perhapes a terestial scope would be a better option to start with?
What do think,plus thankyou for your reply
cherrs John

[The Mekon (John Briggs)]

John,

You need a refractor on an alt/az mount.

This type of scope can show craters on the moon, Jupiter's bands and moons, Saturns rings, + bright nebula, double stars, etc.

If you can stretch your price, there is lovely Willam Optics Megrez for sale on ebay right now. Buy this type of scope and you will not need to upgrade three months after purchase.

[thebreg (Greg)]

Hi there, Trenny!

Hope your week's been going well. Disclaimer - I work for OZScopes! I came across your forum post and thought I'd do what I could to help.

Sounds like you've got a great view of the ocean - first off, I'm envious. In terms of a dual-purpose telescope, you could possibly also consider the Celestron AstroMaster 90AZ Refractor Telescope. You can find it here: http://www.ozscopes.com.au/refractor...ster-90az.html

Malcolm and John B's probably right - using an EQ mount for terrestrial viewing will be troublesome. A refractor will also do away with the fussy erect image optics you'll find in the 130EQ. It'll be sturdier, more portable - and you won't have to re-collimate either, which will be useful if you're planning on bringing your telescope on trips with you.

Although the 130EQ has a larger aperture size than the 90AZ, it's AZ mount and longer focal length make it a winner. Although it's a refractor telescope, the 90AZ has a decent 1000mm focal length, compared tot he 130EQ's 650mm. This'll make it a better dual-purpose telescope within the price range that you're looking at.

In terms of possible accessories, you will be good to go with anything from Celestron's Omni series of eyepieces: http://www.ozscopes.com.au/celestron...eyepieces.html and they're pretty decent quality and should do you well.

If you're looking for something better, you can consider something from the Baader Hyperion or William Optics series of eyepieces, but they're probably not necessary. You'll find them here-
Baader : http://www.ozscopes.com.au/baader-pl...eyepieces.html
William Optics : http://www.ozscopes.com.au/catalogse...illiam&x=0&y=0

Re. digital camera attachments - what kind of a camera did you have? Our guide to Astrophotography (http://www.ozscopes.com.au/astrophot...ips-techniques) will explain the tools you'll need to attach your camera to your telescope, whether or not it's a dSLR or point-and-shoot digital camera.

Hope this helps, Trenny. If you had any additional questions, feel free to drop us an email at support@ozscopes.com.au or just give us a ring on 1800 SCOPES (1800 726 737) and we'll be more than happy to just chat with you. Have a great week ahead!

Best regards,
Greg