new to telescopes

richard2600 (Richard) · #1 07-02-2014, 04:40 PM

Hi all im new to all this stuff been doing it for about 2 months now and enjoying it a lot. I have a celestron nextstar 130 slt I thought this would be a good scope to start off with . Anyway was wondering if the celeston 6se would be a good upgrade from my telescope as im already getting the upgrade bug and have noticed they seem to be on special round $1500 mark.

OzStarGazer · #2 07-02-2014, 05:10 PM

Hi, I have been doing it for about 2 months too and have a scope similar to yours.
I think if you want to upgrade it would be better to upgrade at least to an 8" scope, but I would wait a bit.
I want to upgrade too one day, but in order to upgrade I also have to upgrade where I live.

Pete53 (Peter) · #3 07-02-2014, 05:21 PM

Hi,

I would suggest you look at an 8" or 10" Dobsonian from Bintel. Bigger aperture, more light coming in, see more. Doesn't have the fancy "go to" but see much better images. I have a 10" Dob and very, very happy with it.

Peter

Scorpius51 (John) · #4 07-02-2014, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete53

Hi,

I would suggest you look at an 8" or 10" Dobsonian from Bintel. Bigger aperture, more light coming in, see more. Doesn't have the fancy "go to" but see much better images. I have a 10" Dob and very, very happy with it.

Peter

Hi Richard

This is a very good suggestion! Think very carefully about upgrading after only 2 months. $1500 is a big investment in a 150mm 'scope that will not show you much more than what you see with the 130mm.

Investing in a new 8" Dob will cost ~ $500 and give you superior views. Alternatively, have a look in the IceTrades - you can get a very good 2nd hand 'scope there. For the money you save, you can get a few nice quality eyepieces, etc.

This is an infectious hobby. The best advice is to go along to a viewing evening and try a few different 'scopes and consider what you want to get out of this hobby.

Cheers
John

richard2600 (Richard) · #5 07-02-2014, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scorpius51

Hi Richard

This is a very good suggestion! Think very carefully about upgrading after only 2 months. $1500 is a big investment in a 150mm 'scope that will not show you much more than what you see with the 130mm.

Investing in a new 8" Dob will cost ~ $500 and give you superior views. Alternatively, have a look in the IceTrades - you can get a very good 2nd hand 'scope there. For the money you save, you can get a few nice quality eyepieces, etc.

This is an infectious hobby. The best advice is to go along to a viewing evening and try a few different 'scopes and consider what you want to get out of this hobby.

Cheers
John

Thanks for all good advise now I think of it, it is lot money for maybe tiny bit more. I think I will keep my eye on the classifieds looking whats there you def get more for your money second hand . I was thinking of a dob .you get lot more for your money but because I don't know were anything is in the sky I thought goto might be better.

richard2600 (Richard) · #6 07-02-2014, 07:55 PM

Weres the viewing evenings how to you get to know were these are is there a thread on these

Larryp (Laurie) · #7 07-02-2014, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richard2600

Weres the viewing evenings how to you get to know were these are is there a thread on these

You should visit Sutherland Astronomical Society. They have an observatory complex at Green Point Reserve, Oyster Bay-quite close to you.
They meet every Thursday night from 7.30pm, and have field nights where you would have the opportunity to look through all types of scopes before you make any decision on an upgrade.

Tony_ (Tony) · #8 07-02-2014, 09:32 PM

G'day Richard,

All of the advice here is good. You can also read the "sticky" on choosing your first telescope (the advice also applies to your second scope).
It is an infectious hobby or does it tend to attract people with infectious personalities?? ... I wanted a bigger telescope before mine even arrived.

One key point is that if you have to set up your scope each time (like me) - bigger is heavier and takes longer to set up. This can be a major deterrent especially on work nights in the summer when it gets dark later. Also think of what you may want to do long term. It may be best to decide what is the biggest (if that is your goal) telescope that you can easily handle and save enough for that rather than just a small upgrade. If you want to get into photography at some stage bigger isn't necessarily better, the mount is probably more important in that case and a dob isn't suitable.

Regards,
Tony.

simmo · #9 07-02-2014, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richard2600

...but because I don't know were anything is in the sky I thought goto might be better.

You can get goto dobs Richard. It will cost just a bit more than the standard dob but you can get them. Just check out a few well known astro sites and you'll get some idea of the price.

Alternatively there is also add ons to a dob if you want one later. I'm pretty sure you can retro fit a standard dob with the manufacturers goto tracking later on.

Also there are other companies that sell goto/tracking devices. Argo Navis is one and I believe it's Aussie too

richard2600 (Richard) · #10 07-02-2014, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larryp

You should visit Sutherland Astronomical Society. They have an observatory complex at Green Point Reserve, Oyster Bay-quite close to you.
They meet every Thursday night from 7.30pm, and have field nights where you would have the opportunity to look through all types of scopes before you make any decision on an upgrade.

Awsome info thanks heaps will look it up .Yes im at Illawong so very close to me

OzStarGazer · #11 08-02-2014, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richard2600

I was thinking of a dob .you get lot more for your money but because I don't know were anything is in the sky I thought goto might be better.

I had no idea either just 2 months ago, but I used Starry Night Pro and could identify most objects.

It is really easy. There are also free programs like Stellarium.

richard2600 (Richard) · #12 08-02-2014, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OzStarGazer

I had no idea either just 2 months ago, but I used Starry Night Pro and could identify most objects.

It is really easy. There are also free programs like Stellarium.

Yes I will have to look into some stuff like that

PSALM19.1 (Shaun) · #13 09-02-2014, 12:01 AM

Hi Richard, welcome to IIS! I was actually looking at your scope when I was upgrading from a 60mm refractor; I sought some advice from Bintel's Sydney store and they encouraged an 8" dob and said it was a better scope by a country mile than the 130slt. If you need goto then Bintel stock Orion Goto Dobs for around that $1500 mark (the 10" is 1500). I don't know how good they are, but my Orion Eyepiece is very good.

But one thing: enjoy the scope you've got now to the nth degree! And getting to know the sky will come with time; I've never had goto, in fact in some respects, it's a benefit not to!

Enjoy the sky...I saw the best view of Saturn early this morning that I've ever seen, you never know which night is going to be THE night!

JJDOBBER79 (Jas) · #14 09-02-2014, 08:48 AM

Hi Richard, we all start off not knowing where anything is. I haven't used goto but I figure more things to go wrong, more time to waste setting it up. Here's the thing, most beginner targets can be seen naked eye, just point the scope at them. Even better get some binos to scan the sky for objects of interest and then point the scope at them. $1500 is IMO a huge budget for a beginner. I just got a 12" for $600! For $1500 you could get a 12" or 10" (12s are large, read the threads on here to see if it suits, not for everyone ) and a top collection of quality glass! This will keep you going for a long time. I've never used my scope and thought to myself "I wish I had goto". Finding objects by your own steam is most of, if not all of the fun. When you find something that has alluded you for several ob sessions, that is exciting. I think if I had goto, I would know half as much about the night sky as I currently do. Which isn't much, lots to learn. Have fun.

OzStarGazer · #15 09-02-2014, 10:33 AM

I think that particularly beginners learn much more by trying to find out what they see rather than just "going to" it.
Last night I had insomnia and went on the balcony in the middle of the night.

I didn't even look at the watch because I didn't want to know the time. Then I checked in Starry Night this morning (based on the exact time the photos were taken). It was fun and I learned something.

richard2600 (Richard) · #16 09-02-2014, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PSALM19.1

Hi Richard, welcome to IIS! I was actually looking at your scope when I was upgrading from a 60mm refractor; I sought some advice from Bintel's Sydney store and they encouraged an 8" dob and said it was a better scope by a country mile than the 130slt. If you need goto then Bintel stock Orion Goto Dobs for around that $1500 mark (the 10" is 1500). I don't know how good they are, but my Orion Eyepiece is very good.

But one thing: enjoy the scope you've got now to the nth degree! And getting to know the sky will come with time; I've never had goto, in fact in some respects, it's a benefit not to!

Enjoy the sky...I saw the best view of Saturn early this morning that I've ever seen, you never know which night is going to be THE night!

What time is Saturn able to be viewed. I was looking at Jupiter couple nights ago and could just make out the 2 bands going around it. That got me excited. But yeh im starting to know were things are now up in the sky

OzStarGazer · #17 09-02-2014, 11:08 AM

Saturn rises just after midnight and then it appears to move from east to west. At about 4:30am for example it should be visible between east and north-east around Sydney at an altitude of about 26 degrees and an azimuth of 72 degrees. I saw it a few times, including the rings, but it was small. I still enjoyed it. The first time was particularly exciting.

Camelopardalis (Dunk) · #18 09-02-2014, 11:15 AM

Going to sound contrary to everyone else, but....

...I'd stick with your 130slt for a bit longer and get your money's worth

the 5" reflector is a perfectly decent scope and will show you plenty of the bright stuff, and those are the best objects when you get started. Sure a 8" Dob will be brighter and show you more detail...but your SLT has tracking and that's worth more IMO....it's easier to see detail when it's stationary and you can concentrate on it rather than trying to keep an eye on it and keep nudging the scope to keep it in the FOV.

Just my IMO, all these other guys have got a bad case of aperture fever...we all have...just fight it as long as you can