Hi I am returning to the hobby I had as a child ( inspired by the year of Astronomy ) I sort of know what to expect when looking through a telescope . I want look at the moon , planets and near by stars , my budget is $500 - to about $600 . I have read the beginners guide and came up with the following scopes. I don't need to move it around much so being transportable won't be a big issue .
Welcome to IceInSpace! You are going to enjoy this Peter. Seems to me that equipment and capabilities have moved on significantly over the years so your money will get a very respectable performance.
First things first. You are in Melbourne. Where do you think you will do most of your observing - suburban backyard, or take it all and drive away from Melbourne for an hour to get to darker skies? Where are you with respect to the city and its huge skyglow? Moon, planets and brighter stars are no problem from most suburban areas, but nebula, galaxies, globular clusters etc. are much more challenging and require the biggest aperture you can afford, especially if you are competing with city skyglow. Some filters can assist.
Are you happy to push/pull your scope to follow planets as the earth rotates beneath you feet? Or would you rather have the scope driven by motor to keep the object in your view? For higher magnification observation of the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn, motor driven is best. With a limited budget, you will trade off aperture for motor drives (and the EQ mount that is the basis of these particular motor drives).
You may find the approach is to go with a particular approach now, leaving an upgrade path for later - eg. get the biggest aperture on a hand operated EQ mount, and buy the optional RA motor drive later when you can.
Are you happy to search for the objects yourself and point the scope at them, or do you need some form of computerised help to point the scope at the object? For Moon, Jupiter and Saturn, it's easy to do manually. Fainter objects can be more challenging to locate by hand.
Re "squinting", there are a few solutions. One, as you mention, is choice of eyepiece. We can come back to that in future. Second is not to squint, but to keep the non-observing eye open. In a location that is not really dark, this can be distracting, but a cheap eyepatch from the Pharmacy and you can keep both eyes open easily.
Erick has already thrown some good points up to think about.
I guess if it was me, I'd go with the 8" dob. It's a larger aperture than the others, but is still portable. There is no substitute for aperture for visual observing. If you want later you can always mount it on a GEM.
I have the SW135 and would not recommend it as a first scope, buy a DOB, specifically 8" or larger, you can get a 10 inch SOLID tube skywatcher dob from York Optical (with the 20% discount for IIS members) for only $632.50. BARGAIN. Check it out here SW880 10 inch Skywatcher dob
This size dob would suit not only your budget but last you a VERY long time, and as Sheeny said, can be mounted on a GOOD German Equatorial Mount later on. DONT buy a scope with an EQ2, they arent that good and cant be used for goto later on. Get at least an Eq5 which can be upgraded to full goto computer control later if needed.
Also, Look to pay ONLY $400 to $500 for an 8 inch dobsonian, any more than that is starting to rip you off.
From you list I would go for the 8" dob - best bang for your buck.
Its already been said but you could add a heavy GEM to it later if the astrophotography bug bites but then you would have time to save for that later. If you want tracking later and stay a visual observer then an equatorial platform is the go, I can track at 400x with mine for many minutes at a time.
The only essential extra you need is a cheshire eyepiece for collimation. Another "essential" would be a Telrad and then you would be set to go for a LONG time.
Thanks guys ...2009 The year of Astronomy has bitten me
I will leave my telescope at my parents house which is 70km from Melbourne so there shouldn't be much city lights , so transporting it won't be an issue. Most of my observations will be down in their yard and I am happy enough to move my telescope manually when tracking ( for the time being ) . If I can get the SW880 10 inch Skywatcher dob for around $632.50 with the discount then I might go for that or the 8 inch for $360 ! not sure yet
I just have a few questions in regards to the dob . I noticed it is rather a low telescope , back when I was a kid my old scope could be lowered or raised , does this mean I have to crouch low to the ground to use it? or can it be raised to eye level without buying a tripod ? also does it come with a 45 degree eye piece so I don't wreck my neck ? Last of all I wear glasses and taking them off can make things a bit blurry does wearing glasses make things difficult?
OK Peter, good news that you can observe 70km from Melbourne. That should be darkish skies. I'm 50 km from Melbourne and east is not much use from the skyglow.
An 8"or 10" reflector on a dobsonian mount is best used sitting down. There are purpose built (and expensive) astronomy stools which have adjustable height so that as you raise the scope, you can adjust the stool to suit. I just use an old gaslift office chair (I pull the back rest off it) and have a folded blanket to hand if I need a bit more height.
You would use regular eyepieces with these scopes - they are designed for such eyepieces to be placed directly in the focusser. Because of the movement of a dobsonian mount, the eyepiece just goes heigher or lower, whilst always maintaining the same orientation with respect to the ground. Without a chair or a stool to sit on, you will find you need to crouch or sit on a stool for objects lower in the sky.
Re glasses, unless they are for correcting astigmatism, you will probably find that you can observe without them. All that happens is that you adjust the focusser to a different position then other people would have it. However, then this may mean that you are forever putting your glasses on and off when you want to look up at the sky or at star maps. Certain eyepieces are designed to leave a good space between the top of the lens and your eye - called "eye relief" - and this is usually to allow for comfort and the wearing of glasses. Some, such as the no longer made Vixen LV range, are very good this way. The 9mm plossl eyepiece that will likely come with these scopes wil probably have too small an eye relief for you to wear your glasses.
Sounds like it's time for you to visit the Bintel shop and talk with the guys there, or to find a gathering where you can actually see these scopes in action and experiment with them to see the features and what suits you.
Peter, which part of Melb is the 70km away, N, E or W
As for not squinting - i prefer long eye relief (ER) eye pieces. I like to have 20mm, I find my eyes much less strained. When looking at ep's consider this. But to do this you will need to be somewhere to compare. Luckily N E or W you will find an observing group not that far away.
I not sure if answered but the dobsonian is fixed height - it cannot be rasied or lowered in its native form - and viewing height depends whether viewing straight up or near the horizon.
As for the eyepiece position on the Dob, it is perpendicular to the tube, i don't know of anone using a 45 deg angled eyepiece setup...these are usually for ground based observation, with some astronomy.
Thanks for the advice guys! I will take a trip down to York optical to checkout the 8' and 10' Dob....I will be making my observations from the Bellarine Peninsula about 70Km SW of Melbourne
All the advice that has been given is tops. (its like having your own brains trust at your disposal. Definate thing to do is jump over to your local astro club, you can see what they have and what you want to do with it all.
OK Peter, here is a light pollution overlay for the Bellarine. Queenscliff is darkest (get away from the streetlights), but the rest is subject to Melbourne and Geelong. But "green" is OK to observe in - I used to observe in "green" up the Dandenongs, and all was good enough but the West, which was a waste of time looking toward, except for planets and Moon. North and West from the Bellarine will be fairly bright, I would expect. South and East and zenith will be much better.
One other thing to add is I have found your optical prices higher than bintel for example... & i will say that the bintel guys can answer all my questions about products & astro stuff () i hope you get what the wink means
to IceInSpace.
It's a larger aperture than the others, but is still portable. There is no substitute for aperture for visual observing.
If you want later you can always mount it on a GEM.
