N00b needs help with buying gift, please?

[touge kyousou (Touge kyousou)]

Hi all,

I come humbly before all asking for advice.

I realise there's probably a wealth of knowledge on these forums and i have read a few threads and read the sticky of how to pick a telescope but i thought maybe some of you would like to tell me what exactly to look for etc.

Please forgive the following seeming stupid questions.

My situation: i'm looking to get a telescope for my fiancee but don't have much money to spend.

What her needs are from the telescope: Fairly portable (can't be too heavy). Point and view no fuss. Complete package ready to go don't need to buy add ons and more etc. We live in a unit but moving to a house with backyard soon.

What she would like to view: Stars, moons, planetary detail, Saturn rings if possible (i think something to view this will be exxy?). Is it right deep space stuff like stars and planetary details/moons can't really be done well with one telescope?

Budget: I have no idea what a ready to go package would cost.. unfortunately i don't have much money at the moment so can i chuck out a $500 figure and go from there. Really am after the best bang for buck for complete beginner but will last well. I am happy to get a good condition second hand set etc.

It seems i should be looking at a dobsonian for my budget. Would a typical one of these come ready to go or do i need to then look at eyepieces, mount, filters etc etc.

All help appreciated and sorry for the newbness!

Jon

[M54 (Molly)]

Hi Jon,



A 6 or 8 inch Dobsonian is the best way to go.
$500 will get you a complete package. I don't know where you are, but check out this site...

https://www.bintelshop.com.au/welcome.htm

They're very easy to use and she'll see all of the things she wants to see and more, including galaxies and nebulas.
They need to be collimated but it's easy to learn.

And don't forget to tell her about this wonderful forum. She can ask any questions she likes, no matter how noob, and the good folk here will shower her with help.

Happy hunting.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Hi Jon.

Ready to go is a broad statement.

A Dobsonian is ready to go, but you need to find the objects in the sky.

One of the hardest parts of Astronomy is finding stuff. But it can also be the most exciting and rewarding part when you actually find what you were looking for.

If you want a computer-based scope that finds objects for you you'll need to raise your $500 starting point by quite a bit.

The scopes that find stuff for you are called Go-To, because they 'go to' objects.

But a Dobsonian is a great starting point in this hobby. Bintel in Sydney and Andrews Communications in Sydney both sell the GSO brand Dobsonians as a full pack.
Andrews are slightly cheaper.

[madwayne (Wayne)]

Jon

Our astronomy club Sutherland Astronomical Society is holding a public open night this Saturday 26 March. The observatory is located at Green Point in the Sutherland Shire. More information can be obtained at www.sasi.net.au.

Take your fiancee down there for a look. There will be Dobsonians in all sizes from 6" up to 14" and all forms of go to mounts that Ken mentioned. Some of these will blow your budget sky high but as Ken said it makes finding things all that bit easier particularly if your skies are light polluted like Sydney's are.

You can talk to the members about their equipment and you will meet some really nice people. I won't be there as I have other plans but it is well worth a look and there will also be talks on all things astronomy as well as the observatory being open for the general public to have a look through some really nice equipment.

Otherwise a trip to Bintel at Glebe will get you on the right track. Their products and service are first class. You do pay a little bit more than you would from others but the piece of mind that you will get what you are after is well worth it.

Wayne

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Jon
Good to see someone on the right track looking at a dob. If you can, get an 8", really makes a huge difference over a 6". Dobs are the easiest scopes to use for the $$$$ and will give years of enjoyment.
As your budget doesn't extend to a go to, try to finds a few dollars for a basic atlas. I know there are programs like Stellarium that are free but yopu are not going to use them at the scope. The Cambridge Star Atlas and Cambridge Double Star Atlas. Sky Atlas 2000.0 is also excellent.
Waynes suggestion of getting to an observing night is also a great idea, you will learn so much!

Malcolm

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Oh a couple of other things.
An 8" dob will give great views of Saturns rings. Planetary observing with a dob requires a bit of patience as you need to use high magnification and the seeing has to be really good so you just keep pushing the scope until you get that great view.
From what I understand (I am more of a Deep Space guys myself) planets are best seen with a long focal length scope (Schmit Cassegrain or Mak) on a tracking system, but dobs still do a great job. With DSO's (Deep Space Objects if you are not familiar with DSO) dobs excell.

Malcolm

[Jutscher (Sam)]

Hi Jon,

I am also gonna throw in my two cents and say that the 6 or 8 inch dob would be the go. Value for money (read view for money) a dob cant be beat as a great all round scope and as already stated, combine that with a cheap stellarium or planisphere and a lot of fun can be had poking around the night skies making new discoveries.

Of equal note, if your other half decides that astronomy is something that she wants to pursue, then a GoTo mount (i.e EQ5 or EQ6, they will be under mounts section on the bintel site) can later be purchased on which you could mount the scope that you already have. That way you could save the extra expense for now until you are sure that she wants to make a solid hobby of it, which I am sure she will.

This was pretty much how I personally started out... well actually someone bought me a dick smith type refractor. It was completely useless except for the moon, however that set off the bug and then I moved to a 10" dob two weeks later. Havent looked back since .

Again, I would suggest going to a club night, unless it is for a surprise gift etc, in which a club night aint so romantic.

Any way, good luck mate

Sam

[touge kyousou (Touge kyousou)]

G'day all.

Thanks for all the helpful replies, it is much appreciated

Sorry for the late reply from me, i haven't forgotten about the forum or the generous help - life's been hectic with a newborn!

I definitely will look at some dobs then after reading the above replies. It was going to be a surprise gift but not anymore and the missus has also asked for a goto mount haha as she said she won't have the patience for maps etc so looks like i will extend my budget then (if i can stop spending money on my cars hoho!)

I told her about the meets/clubs etc and she was keen to go, just bringing along a 4month old might've been hard so i think i will just need to goto bintel one day and check 'em out in person or maybe snag a good used setup from these forums.

Once again thanks for all your help, i'll definitely point her to the forums and will probably have a few more noob questions i might post in this thread later on. Most importantly, you guys have saved me from walking into national geographic and buying some random one off the shelf (i'm assuming they're not too great now after seeing some 'real' ones on bintel etc).

[Brian W (Brian)]

Goto is a nice feature... but it is not needed. As well it really does push the cost up. Try downloading Stellarium and perhaps she will discover that star hopping is quite easy with a real time map.

An 8" reflector is one of the best all round scopes one can own. Good for planets, nebulae, galaxies, comets, just about everything.

Something to realize is that using a telescope, even a goto requires learned skills. Before you spend the money take some time to go to a few star parties and find out if you are willing to put in the time and effort to develop the needed skills.

Brian

brian

[Stu Ward]

Depending on whether or not i manage to snag a Goto Dob for myself, I may have an 8" Skywatcher Dob going cheap if you want to PM me

Stu