Hi and another first Scope question

[Spides (Chris)]

Hi everyone. I've always loved astronomy and photography and want to combine both. I've never had a telescope of my own but have looked through some pretty impressive ones of friends and cant wait to get a decent one myself. I've been looking at the Meade ones, in particular the 90 series as it sounds good and is around the price range (1500 to 2000). I havn't looked into the Dobsonians much at all, maybe someone can point me at the ones to look at. I do want motor driven and goto would obviously be handy. Thanks for reading.

Chris

[Kunama]

I think conventional wisdom will come to the fore and most of the advice will be to start with a visual instrument such as a Newtonian Reflector in a Dobson mount. Learn the sky, judge your degree of commitment to astronomy and then if you still want to get into astrophotography (and your wallet is too heavy to carry) look for your second scope to provide the means to AP.

If you get a small refractor for a first scope you may be disappointed with the visual experience it provides. For AP you need an equatorial mount which in itself can be a source of much frustration.

Good luck.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Cant add anything to what Matt just said , good advice .
(I only wish the scope market was like it is today ,,, way back when I started! , the choice between a 6-8 or 10 inch dob , heaven ! )
Go the Dobsonion 6-8 inch Spides and dont stop learning , thats amateur astronomy , a hobby for a life time . .
Brian.

[Spides (Chris)]

Thanks for the advice. So you're saying lean towards the Dobs 6-10 to gauge my commitment.

[Kunama]

I would go to an 8" dob, 3 eyepieces, a good star chart, a red torch and as much time under the stars as possible.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Please dont win TaT's Lotto and buy a Takahashi hand made Refractor , none better .
Enjoy the learning curve , learning our place in the Universe , with 152mm x Pie x r/squared x diameter , in Millimeters a 6 inch lense or mirror has 144444 Sq mm serface area , our eyes have 49 Sq mm surface area .
See you in the dark . . oh yea .
Sq means 'Square Millimeters'
Brian.

Originally Posted by Spides

Thanks for the advice. So you're saying lean towards the Dobs 6-10 to gauge my commitment.

[Spides (Chris)]

Something like this. http://www.ozscopes.com.au/skywatche...telescope.html

Chris

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

, sorry alll , 144444 Sq mm is the area of by combined 100mm binos , thats why I sold my sweet 150mm f/5 refractor at 160000 Sq mm , the differance was seen .
But the 144444 Sq mm of the 100mm binos was far better using both eyes , straight into the brain , via both eyes is a lot ..
Love the science of scope's .
Brian.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

I could only dreamed of one of these 10 years ago , good machine ! . not a bad price .
Brian.

Originally Posted by Spides

Something like this. http://www.ozscopes.com.au/skywatche...telescope.html

Chris

[Spides (Chris)]

Just another noob question, what's the theory behind the enclosed tube design and the open in the middle design.

[multiweb (Marc)]

Originally Posted by Spides

Just another noob question, what's the theory behind the enclosed tube design and the open in the middle design.

Weight, temperature/tube currents etc...

[Andy Walters (Andy)]

Portability

[StarVoyager]

Hi Chris,

There are benefits and drawbacks to the "open tube" design. I think as Andy mentioned portability is the main benefit, but you may need a light shroud to stop stray light coming into the light path. If you don’t think that you require the tube to be shorter for transport you can always consider the solid tube version of this telescope by Orion: http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/...0/p/102019.uts. It sells in Australia through Sirius optics http://www.sirius-optics.com.au/orion%20dobs.htm, and others, and it doesn’t cost that much more.

Cheers.

[Spides (Chris)]

Thanks for the replies. The more I read the more its just doing my head in. I can understand the comments to buy say an 8" Dob and see how it goes. Could that be a waste of money. Is there certain types that are more upgradeable than others if/when I want to get more into AP. To EQ mount or not to. I've read and read, and its just confusing.

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Chris
I will attempt to clarify a few things. Firstly the main thing to remember is that scopes that are ideal for visual use will not be usually suitable for imaging. So the first decision is which way to go. Imaging has a very steep learning curve and also requires deep pockets. I know some people that have been at AP for quite a few years and are only just starting to get results.
Dobs are favoured these days for visual for a number of reasons. Main one is aperure for cost. An 8" go to SCT (eg a Meade LX90 8") costs about $2700 and still requires power to operate. An 8" dob with solid tube should cost about $500 and requires no power and (in my opinion) gives view at least as equal t the LX90. In addition the GOTO scopes require aligning and setup, while a dob simply needs cooling down.
Truss tube dobs are more portable and the SW ones are very simple to setup, but they cost a bit more and youhave to be a litte nore careful with collimation, but all round they cool quicker and take up less room.
EQ mounts are the prefered option for imaging. Avoid lightweight EQ mounts is my advice. Anything less than an HEQ5 is just about useless for imaging and will only lead to frutration if used for visual (i know this from bitter experience!) The reason is that they do not move in a simple up/down and left/right action but rather in circles around the polar axis. One resut of thsi can be eyepieces pointing to the ground!
Anyway, that is my thoughts. On the 8" go to scope, they are a very good scope. If looking for a Go To 8" the Orion one available from Bintel is a bit cheaper, but it is aolid tube http://www.bintel.com.au/Telescopes/...6/catmenu.aspx

Malcolm

[Spides (Chris)]

That's very helpful, thankyou Malcolm. One more thing, and I don't want this to come across the wrong way, I've been on other forums with other hobbies where noobs just want BIG. But, if the budget allows for say 10" is it worth the xtra 3 or 4 hundred over the 8".

Chris

[elfinke (Trev)]

If you can handle the extra weight and size of the 10" and budget is of no concern than I can't imagine you'd ever regret the choice.

I recently bought an 8" Dob and it's bloody brilliant. Just small enough that I can manhandle it in and out of the house, the W.A.F. (Wife Acceptance Factor) when it is inside the house under a sheet (dust cover) is high as well and above all else it is a magnificent bit of gear to use.

In saying that, I looked at 10" and 12" when I was buying and if I had the budget I probably would have gone those extra few inches.

[RobinClayton]

I recently had to decide which Dob I wanted. I had already ruled out the other options because Dob is nice and cheap for the amount of aperture.

I had looked through a 12 inch and it was very impressive, but I found it would not fit into my car, so I chose a 10 inch, because I wanted to take it away from the light pollution in the city.

I didnt want a collapsible scope because I thought they might be hard to collimate, but I have since found that is not the case. However even a 12 inch collapsable tube scope is still quite heavy to get into and out of my car. Depends on your car and your strength, you might want to go for either 10 inch or 12 inch.

If you can get to any of the Astronomy Society viewing nights (see http://www.assa.org.au ) then you might be able to compare weights and viewing. I have since had side-by-side comparisons of my 10 inch and another members 12 inch and they are both good, but the 12 inch is noticeably clearer on the faint objects.

With the Dob mounts, any brand is pretty much the same. I have a sky-watcher, but I think the Meade equivalent is comparable. ( I may get flamed for this - but it is my opinion). The other styles of mounts do have more difference in quality between different brands.

If you really want to start with Photography in mind, then you are talking about a very different mount and a Dob is less suitable. The astronomy society has some very good astro photographers who can give you a very good idea of what might suit you.

The Go-To feature is good for locating objects, but takes a little more time to set up each time. Sometimes I wish I had one and sometimes I am glad that I dont - since I am slowly learing where things are. I preferred to save the money on the Go-To and spend it on the bigger scope.

The astronomy society is quite friendly and you will find members who can assist with almost any question you have and get you a lot of information before you spend all your cash. You can also get some second-hand scopes which are pre-loved but may give you better value.

This site is also full of friendly people with even more information, but actually seeing different scopes side-by-side is valuable.

Hope this all helps - it is a big and interesting hobby and lots of different people and different opinions - You got to work out the best balance for what you want from the hobby.