New Here - Buying First Telescope.

Danielk · #1 11-02-2007, 01:01 PM

Hi all

I am planning on buying a new telescope in the near future, as this hobby really fascinates me.

I can spend around 600-650$, I had a look at the SkyWatcher SW500 Newtonian EQ3 (150mm (6-inch) f/6.7 Newtonian on EQ3) at MyAstroShop which is 615$.

Is this a good telescope? I have looked at the Dobsonian Telescopes but they look awkward to mount and look through? Arent refractors easier to use?

I'm not really into Astrophotography at the moment, just want to locate some deep sky objects like nebulae,planets etc.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Daniel

acropolite (Phil) · #2 11-02-2007, 01:17 PM

Size does matter.... Refractors are more suited to Astrophotography and are affordable only in small apertures, so for value for money you can't go past a Newt. Far from being awkward and difficult to use Dobs are very effective and easy to use. Buy the largest aperture you can afford, for the $600-$650 target you have quoted you can get a 10 inch dob which will show much more than a 6 inch. A 10 inch mirror has close to 3 times the light collecting area of the 6 inch. The Eq3 equatorial mount would be more of a hinderance than help and is basically useless for Astrophotography work.

Miaplacidus (Brian) · #3 11-02-2007, 01:40 PM

Hi Daniel,

The reason everyone recommends a dobsonian telescope is basically because they are the easiest to mount. They are also the most cost effective type of mount (the stability per dollar spent ratio).

As a beginner you are unlikely to spend the $$$ required to get a sufficiently stable tripod for a refractor, and the eyepiece in a refractor can easily end up uncomfortably low for looking through.

And acropolite is right. You might be disappointed by the limited aperture in a refractor.

Anyway, the easiest way to find out what suits you is to go along to a club and try out everyone else's.

Cheers & Welcome,

Brian.

PS Don't forget to read the superb articles (ahem

) written about buying a first telescope in the Projects and Articles section.

janoskiss (Steve H) · #4 11-02-2007, 02:04 PM

Welcome aboard Daniel! You got the awkwardness bit back to front.

Dobs are the easiest to use of all. And you get the most capable optics for your dollar.

Danielk · #5 11-02-2007, 06:49 PM

Hey

Thanks for the advice guys, the reason i thought the dobs might be awkward was because they look really small compared to the reflector/refractor types, what do you mount the dobs on?

Thanks

acropolite (Phil) · #6 11-02-2007, 07:22 PM

Dobs aren't mounted on anything, the term dob (Dobsonian) encompasses the OTA and base, the OTA sits on a simple wooden ALT (Altitude) Az (Azimuth) platform, hence the simplicity . The term comes from the platform's developer John Dobson a famous US sidewalk astronomer.

Miaplacidus (Brian) · #7 11-02-2007, 07:49 PM

Yeah, the "dob" part really refers to the base, which swivels round and round like a lazy-susan, and allows you to tilt the telescope tube (OTA) up and down at any angle so you can look at anything between the horizon and the zenith.

The telescope itself is just a Newtonian telescope, like most other reflectors.

Florin Ciuciu · #8 11-02-2007, 08:17 PM

Hi Daniel,

I'm new myself here, and I can tell you that after reading a lot on the subject (choosing a telescope) I decided that I would go for a Dobsonian as well. I read favourable reviews about Meade's new Lightbridge telescope - but apparently the Deluxe versions are better - I forgot why they said that the standard versions are almost useless due to a flaw in the construction. For instance, you can buy them from Bintel (www.bintelshop.com.au) with $900 for the 20cm and $1100 for the 25cm - the Deluxe versions.

But I will first start with a pair of binoculars 25x100, as I understand the views are great through big binoculars.

Hope it helps.

Florin

Danielk · #9 11-02-2007, 10:08 PM

Hey

I guess Dobs it is, Are 30x100 bino's good for looking at nebulae,planets or arent they powerfull enougth? So Dobs dont require tripods?

Thanks..Sorry for the questions as im new to this hobby.

g__day (Matthew) · #10 11-02-2007, 10:21 PM

Daniel - welcome aboard.

In your price budget I'd say get a DOB too. Think of a Dob as a Newtonian in a base that is very stable and easy to move. It's a extension of the old Chinese military mortar really (John Dobson's words exactly). Picture it as a see-saw design where the scope can also readily pivot on its horizontal axis a full 360 degrees.

The only things DOBs don't do is track well - unless you option up and get Argo Narvis or an equivalent drive system. So at high power your planets will move abit - so you must continually push the scope to keep things centred.

I use 80 * 20 binoculars (Triplet lens from Andrews Communications). Visually they are great but heavy - you really need to make a special (parallelogram) mount for them - which you can for around $50 in materials.

Great eyepieces and a good, very smooth focuser is a premium asset for a DOB (or any other scope). My most used eyepiece is a Vixen LVW (wide angle) 22mm == low magnification and wide field of view, followed by a Meade 8mm <-> 24mm zoom lens.

Welcome aboard!

PS

Download the freeware Cartes Du Ciel - 15 MB from here and learn the night sky better! http://www.ap-i.net/skychart/cdc276/cdcin276.zip

monoxide · #11 11-02-2007, 10:32 PM

i borrowed this image from another thread to show a large dobsonian 'in use'
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/a...4&d=1167703528
by the way thats a terrific pic lol, wheres houghy

skies2clear · #12 12-02-2007, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danielk

Hey

I guess Dobs it is, Are 30x100 bino's good for looking at nebulae,planets or arent they powerfull enougth? So Dobs dont require tripods?

Hi Daniel, The big binos will be fun for scanning around at various objects, particularly, star clusters and nebulous patches, and especially if they have reasonably wide field of views. You can look at the planets, but they are not really that good for this. You will see the disk of Jupiter and 4 of its moons for example, but not really any details much beyond that. This is where a Dob will serve you well.

Clear skies

rmcpb (Rob) · #13 12-02-2007, 12:42 PM

Welcome to IIS Daniel

I would back the push for a dob on your budget. They will give you the best bang for your buck and I would only say to get one with a Crayford focuser and not a rack and pinion focuser. My upgrade to the Crayford was the best single upgrade I did to mine so get one straight up.

BTW, get to your local astro society's viewing night and have a look at some of the options in action, they should have nights over the next couple of weekends with the new moon coming.

Cheers

astro_nutt · #14 12-02-2007, 05:50 PM

And another welcome to you Daniel!!..never mind the nature of the question..just ask away!!..Hey!!..we're all here to help!!
Cheers!

netwolf · #15 12-02-2007, 10:05 PM

Daniel before buying anything go to a Amateur society around your area and have a look at the various types of telescopes. Then decide what you want to save up for. The biggest struggle is to be patient an save for the telescope you feel comfortable using. The comfort will come from seeing others telescopes at a club night etc. Also be sure to watch them setup and packup. Ask yourself can you be happy with a scope that need significant labour to move around and/or setup.

Start with a good pair of binos 10x50, if you go bigger you will need a tripod. And get some good star charts, either free software as mentioned before or printouts available on the net. Ther is monthly one that you can print off at
http://www.sydneyobservatory.com.au/blog/?cat=10
Learn the sky, constellations, planets etc and the way move over time.

Don't rush into a purchase, some clubs will lend you a telescope thats your best bet.

Regards