What telescope should I get? Any advice appreciated!

[liljpo (Jessica)]

Hi there all, I used to have a 10" dob and I just recently sold it so that I could purchase a better one. I want to spend between $2000 - $2500. I mainly want to look at planets and I'm sure other stuff as I learn more. I want to have better viewing than with my old scope. I would appreciate any help.

[Wavytone]

Originally Posted by liljpo

a 10' dob

That's a VERY big one, sure it wasn't really 10" ?

[liljpo (Jessica)]

Originally Posted by Wavytone

That's a VERY big one, sure it wasn't really 10" ?

Typo sorry lol but yes I mean 10". Thanks

[Davros (Lauren)]

For a similar budget i bought a second hand HEQ5 goto and an ED80. I bought this as a start out imaging rig to compliment my 10 inch dob which i want for purely visual. You could go for something similar but it wont get you a better visual experience than the dob. Spending money on high quality eyepieces that suit whatever scope you buy is the key for observing. Even my somewhat limited range of 2 inch eyepieces exponentially heightens the visual experience through my dob.
If you are not interested in goto or photography then spend your dollars on aperture for the biggest newtonian you can lay your hands on with some quality eyepieces.

[Lismore Bloke (Paul)]

I agree with Mick - if the scope is for visual observing, nothing beats aperture. A 10" is a damn good instrument though. It also fits onto an EQ6 mount for astrophotography without straining the mount too much. It comes down to how big a scope you can carry and set up. The best telescope is one you will use most frequently. A visit to an astronomical club for a look through various scopes and eyepieces might be a good idea before committing $$$'s. Do you have to transport it to another site by car? If you can handle it then the GSO 16" is great value:

http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-section-10.htm

and it's in your price range.

For eyepieces, the Televue Naglers are hard to beat for quality and range, but equally good are the Pentax and Vixen LVW ranges also. If you get a couple to start with, you can always add more later. These can be a lifetime purchase.

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

If I had $2500 to spend I would go 16" dob as fast as I could get the order in! Aperture always wins!
Of course the question is, what do you mean by "better"?

[casstony]

We're all guessing about what you mean by 'better' Jessica; a 10" dob is an excellent visual instrument, but we all develop different preferences for a particular telescope design and type of mount - you have to figure out what suits you best.

A Celestron Nexstar 6SE might suit you - very portable, computerised pointing/tracking, not as wildly over priced as the 8SE. I was surprised at how decent DSO images are in my 6SE, but they're no match for a 10" dob of course. After you find your way around the sky with the go-to computer you will probably start thinking about a larger aperture if you're interest in DSO's grows.

There's no best telescope - it's what suits your needs best that matters.

[stephenb (Stephen)]

Hi Jessica,

There are two paths that one often takes with amateur astronomy. You can stick to pure visual observing and explore the night sky with your own eyes, or you can invest in imaging to produce some amazing astrophotos. There are plenty on this site who will give you endless assistance with imaging, but it does take some money and more importantly, patience.

As I am not involved in imaging enough to give you advice, I'll outline some suggestions for a scope for visual observing...

Like most observing, the bigger the aperture, the better. But like all things in life there is a trade-off. You could go two directions:

1. Buy the biggest aperture Dobsonian for your budget and as Malcom has suggested, a Meade Lightbridge 16" Dob will blow you away!

• Advantages:
  • BIG aperture

• Disadvantages:
  • Fully manual. No electronic aides such as GOTO, no computer control etc. etc.
  • Not very portable. Although they can be disassembled quite easily, they can be difficult to transport. You need a decent car.

2. As Tony has suggested, reduce your aperture to say a Celestron NexStar 6SE (or if you can stretch your budget to an 8SE).

• Advantages:
  • GOTO on-board computer, slews to objects from the database.
  • Easy to disassemble and transport.
• Disadvantages:
  • Smaller aperture
  • Reliant on power (battery, car battery or mains outlet)

Some scopes which fall into this second option (prices as an example from BinTel) are:

Celestron 6SE: $1999
Celestron 8SE: $3199 (a bit overpriced IMO)
Meade LX90 8" SCT $2895

I know these may be going a bit over your budget, but the are worth considering, that's all.

You said you have previously owned a 10" Dob? Wow that is generally considered a pretty good aperture for more people.

In the end, it's all about trade-offs. Large aperture with no electronics, or smaller aperture with GOTO, drives and other electronics features buit-in.

Remember one final, important word of advice: "Your best value-for-money telescope is the one you use the most". Often biggest is not necessarily the best.

[liljpo (Jessica)]

Hi all,

Thanks you all for replying, and even more for all your great advice.

The reason why i sold the 10" is because it was too big for me to lug around and because of this i didn't get much use out of it at all.
I dont have the best viewing from my house as i am pretty close to the city so i want something with easy transport.

I guess what i am saying is i would get the most use out of a smaller more portable telescope, and of course i am looking to get the most out of money.

I might be willing to stretch to $3000 if it is what i really want.

[Davros (Lauren)]

Hi Jessica
In that case the best scope for you is one that you can and will use. Are you happy with setting up an equatorial mount ie. polar aligning etc. If so they are fantastic and i would then recommend an ED80 on a HEQ5 goto. Are you in a position to attend astro gatherings such as club meetings or star parties to help get the most out of your time and equipment. Another potential is for a truss tube style dobsonian in a 12 + inch aperture. Easier to transport and requires minimal setup.

[liljpo (Jessica)]

Originally Posted by Davros

Hi Jessica
In that case the best scope for you is one that you can and will use. Are you happy with setting up an equatorial mount ie. polar aligning etc. If so they are fantastic and i would then recommend an ED80 on a HEQ5 goto. Are you in a position to attend astro gatherings such as club meetings or star parties to help get the most out of your time and equipment. Another potential is for a truss tube style dobsonian in a 12 + inch aperture. Easier to transport and requires minimal setup.

Hi Mick,

I dont mind setting it up at all... Once i learn how to lol.
Yes i will definitely be wanting to attend star parties once i get the new scope, because i am sure i will need all the help i can get.

Also i will be looking at the telescopes that you have recommended.

Thanks for you reply

[astro744]

If you want portability and quality may I suggest a Tele Vue 76 + Telepod which just pips $3k. This is a very nice 'scope and the difference between it and say an ED80 is noticeable to the discerning viewer.

For a bit more aperture and a different 'scope altogether then perhaps the Meade ETX-LS 6" ACF LightSwitch for less than $2.4k. This one has some nice innovative features compared with other SCT's; an inbuilt camera for example.

The TV-76 will give you nice wide field views and lovely planets (given the right eyepiece) but the Meade 6" will give you brighter views on all objects. The TV-76 would be a lot more portable and could be used for daytime observation very easily.

Whatever you choose, enjoy!

[taxman (Matt)]

Hello Jessica,

Take everything I say below with a grain of salt - they are my experiences and yours may be different.

After a year or two in the hobby, I found the hassle of dragging out an 8" dobsonian was keeping me away from the sky so I decided to sell a garage full of things I was not happy with to consolidate to either a Televue 76 or 85. I could not articulate this at the time, but now I can see that if I was going to downsize, I wanted to see everything I could at a smaller aperture and was willing to pay the extra 75% for the 15% increase in performance.

And even though there are those that will say my way is silly as William Optics or Skywatcher represent better value for money, there is something about just knowing you are looking through one of the best scopes that can be had without waiting for months or years.

Anyway, I got an unbelievable deal on a secondhand but mint TV102 which I loved for about a year until I got the TV85 with a tax related windfall. The 85 is just a fantastic mix of portability, optics and engineering.

I was using it exclusively of the 102 4-5 nights a week and this was partly the reason the 102 got sold - I also wanted to sell at it as I was getting a hankering to go back to big aperture to see if I was missing anything.

As far as dark sites and portability, a high quality short tube refractor at low power is hard to beat (m31 is amazing from the top of Mt Louisa) with the added bonus of razor sharp views of planets and doubles cleanly split at 75x per inch.

I had to sell it to pay for some bills, and I really wish I hadn't - I miss it a lot. As soon as I can, I will be getting another and that is coming from someone with a Nexstar 6SE.

Good luck with your decision

[hulloleeds]

I think dobs are pretty average when it comes to looking at planets.

[liljpo (Jessica)]

I have a real rookie question for all of you, when you talk about tv102 and ED80, Televue and all that, what is it? Like aperture wise and focal length?

Another thing, is focal length important?

Also, i was looking at the 'Saxon Maksutov 8 inch - Reflecting telescope system' and i wanted to know anyones thoughts on it and its capabilities???

I know that the 10" dob has a 1200mm focal length but the Maksutov 8" focal length is 2500mm and i just wanted to know if it is better, worse or doesnt make a difference.

Apologies if i am a bit of a pain!!!

[Wavytone]

Hi Jessica,

I'm a city dweller living in units with effectively no useful view of the night sky, so I have to stick to what I am happy to lug around.

I've had at various times:
- an 8" f/7 Newtonian with fixed OTA (ie not a truss) on a big heavy equatorial mount with RA drive,
- then switched to a C8 (compromise),
- built a 32cm f/3.7 lightweight trusss Newtonian on an altaz mount,
- switched to a 6" f/5 Newtonian (film photography) + 4" f/10 Maksutov (guidescope) on a commercial equatorial;
- got rid of everything when CCD's were on the horizon; and

- recently bought a 102mm f/7 ED refractor (wide field) + a 180mm f/15 Maksutov (lunar & planetary) which share an altaz mount.

Of these...

The 8" Newtonian was impossible in the city. Like yours, big, heavy, while I could transport it, it was a real turn-off. Sold it to buy the C8, thinking it was more portable ... well yes, but optically inferior to the Newtonian and it had a whole set of problems of its own. Disappointed by the C8, sold it and built the 12".

My lightweight truss 12" f/3.7 saw quite a lot of use mainly for looking at galaxies from a dark sky site, even though it suffered terribly from coma, and magnification was not a strong point either so it was not ideal for wide field stuff, and quite hopeless for lunar and planetary. Individually the pieces were light enough to be easily lifted and assembly/disassembly took 10 minutes.

Of the two scopes I have now, I bought the 102mm f/7 ED refractor as a grab & go however in reality I grab the Mak instead and often leave the refractor , which has become little more than a very big finder for the Mak. Both are easy for me to lift, they can be assembled on an altaz mount in about 1 minute.

So in conclusion I'd say buy the largest aperture SCT you are comfortable with lifting, at least the 6" lightswitch or possibly the Meade 8".

[taxman (Matt)]

No technical advice from me - there are much more experienced people here that can provide that I suspect.

Very rarely do any of us get to look through an instrument that gives views that are even 10% as good as photographs (sorry about the split infinitive). So imagination to see what the telescope cannot give and wonder that I am looking at an actual planet, nebula or galaxy with my own eyes is what keeps bringing me back.

So for me, a fine piece of equipment used in the pursuit of my hobby enhances my imagination and so enriches my viewing sessions.

It is the same as someone who likes (but is not particularly talented at) playing piano and gets themselves a Schimmel. It does not make them any better but they do enjoy practicing more...

[Screwdriverone (Chris)]

Hi Jessica,

Andrews Comms has the Nexstar 8SE for $2699 which isnt a heavy (Equatorial mounts are VERY HEAVY) GEM mount and is almost as big as the 10" dob you had. Because you can lock on to an object and it tracks after an easy alignment procedure and without having to polar align it first, you will have more time viewing and less setting up etc.

With the GOTO function and the nice compact size, the 8SE is pretty good value and the SCT can magnify quite a bit more than other 8" scopes of the same aperture.

I have heard a lot of good things about the orange tube Celestrons and a lot of owners rave about how good they are AND the whole thing including the tripod only weighs 15kg so it should be light and portable for you.

That's where I would spend the dosh if I were you.

Cheers

Chris

[hulloleeds]

As someone who dropped 1k on a 12 inch dob 4 months ago and has used it twice, I can very much appreciate what taxman is saying

[liljpo (Jessica)]

Ok all your help has been so so so great so thank you again.

Now Im sure i have narrowed it down to these three. The Saxon Maksutov 8 inch, Celestron Nexstar 8 SE Computerized Cassegrain Telescope, or the Meade LX90-SC 8" Schmidt Cassegrain?????

Which would you choose????