Equipment Recommendation

[rebecca]

Hello,
I read this forum daily and this is the first time I have posted on this forum.

I would like your opinion on purchasing my first telescope. I am looking to purchase a Reflector Telescope but I am not sure if I should be purchasing a Maksutov Cassegrain or Maksutov Newtonian. I have the opportunity to purchase the following Reflector Telescope:

• Aperture 254 mm(10") F=1150mm (f/4.5) Parabolic
• Focuser 2" Rack & Pinion
• Finder scope 8x50 Illuminated
• Film Aluminium +Sio
• Eyepiece 31.7mm(1.25”)70° 10mm FMC & 50.8mm(2”)70° 26mm FMC
• Motor Drive Dual Axis (Optional)
• Mount JE160
• Tripod 2" Stainless Steel

Basically, I want to view the solar system, asteroids, stars, satellites, etc., as far as possible with the best image. I can purchase the above for about $1,500.


Thank you

[Paddy (Patrick)]

Hi Rebecca, welcome.

If your interest is mainly visual I'd recommend a dobsonian scope. You will find that you get a bigger scope for your money & it will be much easier to set up & use. Have you had look through a few scopes? If not it's a worthwhile investment as you get an idea of what to expect. For your budget you'd easily get a 10-12" dob with cash to spare.

[Davros (Lauren)]

I would lean to a Dobsonian mounted Newtonian as well (Dob). There is no real need for a tracking mount unless you are heading towards astrophotography in the short term. For visual use a large aperture Dob in the 12 inch plus areas will give you magnificent views and is easily achievable on your budget with some left over for decent eyepieces. The new collapsible 12 inch Dobs are a fantastic bit of kit.
If you want to go down the imaging path then i would go for a secong hand EQ6 with an ED80 and DSLR to start out with. When the EQ8 mounts come onto the market possibly later this year expect a fair few second hand EQ6 mounts to hit the market.
Oh and by the way, welcome to the nut house

[alistairsam]

Hi Rebecca,

while a dobsonian reflector is an obvious choice, I think your two options of Maksutov Cassegrain or Maksutov Newtonian are also worthy contenders for a few reasons.
they're compact with their folded optics (Mak-Cass), mostly goto so easier to find objects although you won't learn star hopping that way, usually longer FL I think so good for planetary observation.
I'm not an expert so i'm sure others will correct me if i'm wrong.

I guess the biggest factor would be how portable do you need it to be?
collapsible go to dobs are good value for money, but a 12" is quite heavy.
some common questions, would you be transporting it often or more from your backyard?
8" is a good size whatever type of reflector it is and with your budget, you should get a decent one.

you'll also have to keep a bit aside for some decent eyepieces.
a 25mm and a 9mm 2" would be ideal.

did you already have a few scopes in mind amongst the mak-cas or mak-newt?

found this in a search
http://www.stellaroptical.com/diff-summary.htm

[rebecca]

Hello,
Thank you for your replies and recommendations. I am going to take your advice and start small with a lower end and less expensive telescope and then maybe upgrade if I need to. If I have to carry around 90lb all the time, the fun will not last.

[Mariner (Frank)]

Hi Rebecca,
I have been reading this forum for about a year and a half. I have never had bad advice and am always surprised by the depth of knowledge out there. I bought a 12" collapsible dob as my first scope. The images I see with it are nothing short of stunning for the money. However, i weigh around 100kg and do not find it hard to lug around or set up - although easily portable it is a heavy scope. The advice that I got when looking to buy my first scope that rang the loudest (only after I had already bought the dob) was that the best scope is the one that you will use the most. That is, the scope that is most practical, easy to set up and to use.

I now have a refractor as well. It's images have some noticeable chromatic aberration and it draws in a fraction of the light of the big dob but, I use it the most because I can pull it out, set it up and be looking at the stars in a few minutes. A really decent refractor around the 3.5 - 4 inch mark will show great planetary views and plenty of detail in the brighter DSOs. Like me, I don't think that any beginners heed the advice that says buy a smaller and less capable scope for the same price as the big light bucket, but it is good advice.

If you have a nice easy path from house to backyard (pretty flat and level with no or few stairs) and are willing to dedicate the required time that may be required to set up, collimate and wait for the mirror temps to cool sufficiently, then the bang for your buck that you will get from a big dob can't be beat.

The other advice I got was buy good quality EPs. They will last a life time. This is one bit of advice that I did take. For the price, Teleuve and others make great Plossls - very underrated eyepieces.

Good luck, whatever telescope you buy you will enjoy it.
Regards, F.

[Waxing_Gibbous (Peter)]

I'll be a kill-joy and NOT recommend a Mak as your first scope.
While they give outstanding Lunar and Planetary views, they also have a very narrow field of view (FoV) and can be difficult to collimate because of the long focal lengths. They are also very susceptible to poor seeing (turbulence in the atmosphere) and can take a while (up to 2hrs!) to cool down to the point of being usable.

Having said that I love mine!

Try as I might, I can't think of a better all-rounder than an 8" Newt on an Alt-Az mount. An 8" is large enough to show you fantastic lunar & planetary deatil and give inspiring if not spectacular views of most Deep Sky Objects and star-fields.
It's also small and light enough to be easily portable.
An Alt / Az mount like a Voyager, Sky-Tee, or EZ-Touch is simplicity itself and equally easy to carry around.
You can spend hours star-hopping with this set-up and even spy on your neighbours with ease. There are also 'go-to' versions available at a higher price.

You could invest in a go-to dobsonian like Skywatcher or Orion, but they tend to be a bit pricey. However for 10"+ aperture, they are indeed the business.
'Regular" dobsonians in the 6-8" range offer no advantages over a Alt/Az mounted newt and larger one's are a hassle to move and (I find) are quite fiddly to use owing to their length and weight (others WILL disagree).

I wouldn't bother with an equatorial mount unless you are planning on doing a lot of astro-photography or want to track objects throughout the night (perfectly good reasons, I might add).

As to eyepieces - use what comes with the scope by all means and then get a cheapo zoom - say 7/8mm-21/24mm and a couple of cheap eyepieces in the 30-40mm range.
This way you can get a good idea of at what lengths you like to view and you can extrapolate wider angles.
A few weeks down the line, you can start spending your Super on Naglers, Panoptics and Pentaxes!

Hope some of this is useful.
Enjoy!
Peter