First telescope

Trido (Justin) · #1 19-12-2008, 07:59 PM

Yep, you guessed it. Another first telescope thread.

I've been a big fan of astronomy since I was pretty young but never knew anyone with a telescope nor are there any local clubs. I have wanted to buy a telescope for the past year, but what stopped me was that I know there is a good chance that I will be disappointed by what I see since you my main focus is on Galaxies, and you just don't seem to get a lot of detail in galaxies.

I was originally going to buy a 10" or 12" Dob, but see this as a huge investment that could sit in the corner gathering dust which leads me to this thread. I have thought of scaling down and purchasing a set of Binos and a smaller telescope. Maybe have a budget of say $400 on the Telescope just to see if I do want to become more involved in visual astronomy.

Could anyone recommend a decent quality/priced Telescope and/or Binos? Not sure what to spend on the Binos so not sure what sort of price limit to put on it!

Thanks in advance.

wavelandscott (Scott) · #2 19-12-2008, 08:20 PM

Welcome to the forum and into the hobby...

Based on your post, I suspect that you are a good candidate for binoculars. I'd avoid the smaller telescope completely for now particularly if galaxies are your thing of interest.

I've not had much binocular experience so I won't offer any "insightful" comments (I don't have any).

You will be able to see a lot of interesting things through binoculars. Do know that big pairs of binoculars can be difficult if not impossible to hold steady by hand so you should also consider a way to mount the binoculars.

I hope that you get some good advice and again, welcome to the forum and the wide open world of astronomy!

Clear Dark Skies to you!

NewToStars (Jase) · #3 19-12-2008, 08:23 PM

i saw on one of the australian internet shops 8" dobs going for $399. i use to own one of these and honestly for the $$ you won't get much better. i have compared this scope to a 12" and there is a remarkable difference in visual quality, but this increased size does come with a cost AND a definate weight factor.

i'm like the amature of amature when it comes to this thing, but i have dabbled in it a little myself in the past... you will hear everyone say "the best scope for you is the one you use the most"... i can't stress that enough.

you could also look at a 80mm refractor, there are different price points on the market for these and hopefully someone else here can suggest a good one closer to your budget... alternatively if you've waited a year already you prob won't mind waiting another 3 months for a good scope to come onto the 2nd hand market and you will have saved some more $$$.

stay away from marketing. eg. 675X Magnification - printed on the box. this is utter BS. i think the best i got with my 8" dob was 400x and that was a once off and ontop of that the image only lasts in the field of view for about 3 secs. most of your imaging is one at generally no more than 120x depending on scope.

do extensive research yourself and on the net. ice in space has a great resource for newbee's such as your self in thier Projects & Articles and Equiptment Reviews section of this site. spend the couple of hours reading this to get a better insight to what goes on.

hope this helps.

Trido (Justin) · #4 19-12-2008, 09:34 PM

What would a mount cost for a set of Binos?

And has anyone used the Celestron SkyMaster 15x70s? Slightly more then I ideally wanted to pay, but I've read some pretty good reviews on them.

erick (Eric) · #5 19-12-2008, 09:47 PM

Hi Justin

Spend some time at this site.

www.aoe.com.au

There articles and explanations on binoculars are quite useful. They sell in a reasonable price bracket - eg. hundreds and less. Good binoculars quickly go into the thousands!

I'll post some further comments in a while.

Eric

erick (Eric) · #6 19-12-2008, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trido

What would a mount cost for a set of Binos?

And has anyone used the Celestron SkyMaster 15x70s? Slightly more then I ideally wanted to pay, but I've read some pretty good reviews on them.

Up to about 15 mag, you probably need one of the solid tripods the specialists sell - for $150-250.

Once you are at 20 mag and above, you really need something bigger. It's not too hard to knock something up yourself:-

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=16090

erick (Eric) · #7 19-12-2008, 10:04 PM

Now, viewing galaxies. Unless it is the Milky Way, the Large and Small Magellanic clouds that you want to see in widefield and low magnification, you will do better with a telescope. Yes, you can see galaxies in a pair of binoculars, but you will always get more light, more resolution and more magnification with a 6" or more reflector than you will with any affordable binoculars.

You can get down to 30 magnification in a small reflector which is fine to see a galaxy in perspective, or a grouping of galaxies. It is seldom that you would want less magnification when galaxy hunting.

And if you want to observe galaxies, you need a reflector with the greatest diameter mirror that you can afford, transport and handle.

My two cents' worth

mellotron · #8 19-12-2008, 10:37 PM

I have the Orion GiantView 20x80 binoculars. You will definitely need a mount for them as they are a handful and at 20x mag it is hard to keep them steady. I am using a good camera tripod for now, but I really ought to get a proper parallelogram mount.

http://www.telescope.com/control/pro...oduct_id=09324

I paid $400 at bintel in Sydney: https://www.bintelshop.com.au/Product.aspx?ID=8024

I am in a similar position to you - I don't want to spend the money on a good telescope until I know I can spend the time to make it worthwhile (little nipper to look after), but these binoculars are a very good start and I have had some lovely views.

Dog Star (Phil) · #9 19-12-2008, 10:46 PM

G'day Justin and welcome.
Eric pretty well covered the topic in his couple of posts.
My only suggestion would be to forget a scope for the moment and buy some decent nokkies and a good tripod.
Whilst getting used to the skies you can continue to research and think more about the type of scope that you might eventually want.
I don't think that anyone ever regrets investing in good nokkies.
I have a pair of the AOE 20x80's and they're bloody great.
Even though I've got a 12" dob, the nokkies are ALWAYS set up beside the scope whenever I'm out viewing.
Take your time and enjoy yourself.
Cheers.

NewToStars (Jase) · #10 19-12-2008, 11:50 PM

stay away from the binoculars that BCF sell as their top of the line. they are fine for the moon (barely) and prob great for terrestial viewing, but try looking any further and you get a double image. you'll know the ones as they have the mirror coating on the lens...

i did however get a single vision of the planets with their location in the binoculars at the edge of the lens.

PCH (Paul) · #11 20-12-2008, 02:15 PM

I agree, a pair of big 20x90 or 20x100 plus sturdy tripod would be a great start - and you'll see plenty !

Cheers

Ian Robinson · #12 20-12-2008, 03:52 PM

I use my trusty old 20x80 Unitron binos much more frequently than my telescopes , and I don't use anything but my hands and arms to support them .... not just for stargazing

, they're great for spying on people (fishing way up the beach , of in boats or up the walls too).

My older 20x65s come out sometimes too but they've seen better days (been knocked about a bit) , can't bring myself to give them away or sell them or turf them. Had them since about 1970.

Trido (Justin) · #13 21-12-2008, 09:16 PM

There are no Astronomy stores where I live and I would love to be able to hold them (Binos) before buying them. What sort of shops should I look for as a possible place to buy them?

NewToStars (Jase) · #14 21-12-2008, 11:34 PM

where in queensland are you. maybe another member who lives nearby might be able to help out.

Trido (Justin) · #15 22-12-2008, 08:52 AM

I'm in Toowoomba.