Gary_lincs Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 Hi all Always had a passing interest in all things celestial, now time take things seriously. Looking forward to using the forum to learn as much as possible. Now just to choose that first telescope. 🤔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 (edited) Hi Gary Welcome to EMS to help you us you need to tell us a little about what type of astronomy you would like to try. Are you interested in just visual or photography, how much money are you willing to spend on this hobby, have you got a car to transport your scope, how mucg storage room do you have, all these sort of questions need to be taken into account while making your choice. Edited November 2, 2019 by Doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuckstar Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 (edited) Hi Gary, welcome aboard. I'm sure you'll find answers to most questions you might have just browsing the forum, but feel free to ask any questions you may have. First scope is always a tough decision. Don't rush in to anything and if you can, try and look at some kit. As Doc said, it's a good idea to think about what you want to do long term. If it's just visual then I would always recommend a dob, but if you're think of astrophotography then you need a good mount above all. Edited November 2, 2019 by tuckstar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary_lincs Posted November 2, 2019 Author Share Posted November 2, 2019 37 minutes ago, Doc said: Hi Gary Welcome to EMS to help you us you need to tell us a little about what type of astronomy you would like to try. Are you interested in just visual or photography, how much money are you willing to spend on this hobby, have you got a car to transport your scope, how mucg storage room do you have, all these sort of questions need to be taken into account while making your choice. Would be visual to start with whilst I learn my way around the night sky (planetary and general observation to begin with), photography eventually but I'm a long way from that at present. £500 would be about max budget for my first steps. Car - yes. Storage - not an issue. I think I've settled on a refractor to start with, they seem to tick the right boxes for where I want to begin my journey although I'm happy for my mind to be changed if other types suit my needs better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary_lincs Posted November 2, 2019 Author Share Posted November 2, 2019 Tuckstar, I thought I'd settled on a dob but the more I look into things I'm leaning towards refractors... decisions decisions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 If you go "push to" by this I mean learning the sky yourself without any computer aids then £500 will buy you at least a 10" dob similar to the one below. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-250px-flextube-dobsonian.html This dob will give you the wow factor. If on the otherhand you want a computer aided go-to then most of the money is taken up on the electics so you end up with a smaller mirror, so even if you are pointing in the correct place you might not see the object as your light gathering will be inferior to the large dob. I hope this makes sense. If I was starting I would buy the 10" dob and learn the skies myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary_lincs Posted November 2, 2019 Author Share Posted November 2, 2019 I haven't really considered go-to, one thing that stands out in most of the advice I've gathered so far is buy the best telescope I can within my budget, fancy go-to mounts can come later and as you say, I want to learn the sky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 Well if you want to learn the sky a 10" dob and either star maps or Skysafari a planetarium software programme on your tablet, phone or laptop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuckstar Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 My 10 inch dob, like most on here, has been modded with a setting circle and a wixey. Fairly simple mod and there is a guide in the diy section (I think?) that Daz put together. I just use alt az Coordinates from sky safari and a nice low power eyepiece to find most brighter objects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 Hi Gary, I'm a yellow-belly too, moved from Cranwell near Sleaford to Newark 3 years ago. I'm afraid I'm a goto man and now into to astrophotography. it's natural progression I think but an individual one! Enjoy the forum... Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 Hi Gary and welcome to EMS. 🙂 Loads of great advice above and good luck choosing your first scope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 Hi Gary, a warm welcome to the forum. I would agree with Doc if going visual, then best bang for your buck would be a Dob. A Refractor is only as good as it's aperture too, so a four inch frac will give you a similar visual view as a four inch reflector. For visual it's the amount of light you can gather and get to your eyeball that counts. Don't get fooled by the magnification issue either, again you can only use higher magnifications when you have the light to work with. With my Dob I mostly use 60 - 140 magnification, that is a very usable range for me. That said refactors are particularly good for the Moon and Planets, but if you want deep sky objects, then the biggest mirror you can afford would be my choice. A pair of binoculars is a good way to start learning your way round. Start with a big and easy constellation such as Ursa Major or Orion and when you have those land marks sorted you can keep moving on to more challenging targets. You can easily see the Andromeda Galaxy in a pair of Bino's, but you need to be somewhere dark. Enjoy your stay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 Hi Gary, welcome. If you have access to a good dark sky, i'd opt for the Dobsonian option. With you living in Lincs i'm expecting your night sky is a whole lot better than my own. I wouldn't rule out a refractor either : i always find they deliver better 'cleaner' images at the eyepiece. They are generally better with Lunar and planets and things like double stars where the better contrast from no central obstruction makes a noticeable difference. Theres so many pro's and cons for either scope. I can list them if you like...... Have a look on UK Astro buy & sell : there are plenty of bargain scopes to be had on there. And certainly look at getting a pair of 10x50s as well. An iPad with Sky Safari is good too. But at this point i wouldn't worry too much about aperture of magnification. What you want is something that is easy to move and set up, and gets you outside whenever you get the chance. A complex set up that takes over half an hour (or longer) to set up will make you end up wishing you'd invested in something simpler. Have a look at 'Nightspores' recent posts. He lists various easy to set up and use scopes that you can carry outside with one hand and have you observing in minutes. Theres a lot to be said for that. Keep us posted with your progress ! 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 Hi Gary welcome to the EMS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary_lincs Posted November 4, 2019 Author Share Posted November 4, 2019 Thanks for the welcome folks. On 02/11/2019 at 22:31, Ron Clarke said: Hi Gary, I'm a yellow-belly too, moved from Cranwell near Sleaford to Newark 3 years ago. I'm afraid I'm a goto man and now into to astrophotography. it's natural progression I think but an individual one! Enjoy the forum... Ron I'm not to far from Sleaford Ron, South Kyme. I'm looking forward to seeing in which direction my natural progression heads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 If your'e interested Gary, we're (ELAC) doing a stargazing night/talk this Thursday at Kesteven and Sleaford High School school, 6pm start. If you want to come along I'll give you the details. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary_lincs Posted November 4, 2019 Author Share Posted November 4, 2019 1 hour ago, Ron Clarke said: If your'e interested Gary, we're (ELAC) doing a stargazing night/talk this Thursday at Kesteven and Sleaford High School school, 6pm start. If you want to come along I'll give you the details. Ron Ron, i have just been having a browse through the ELAC site with a view to joining and spotted the upcoming events, very kind of you to offer the invitation and yes I'd love to come along. I also spotted the outreach section, I work for a school trust with 4 schools across Lincolnshire and one of the schools (Grantham) is currently studying Space as this terms topic with another school (Spalding) doing the same next term. Maybe we could have a chat on Thursday to see if an outreach day could be arranged? I think it would be something our students would be fascinated with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 Yes that sounds good to me. See you Thursday evening.. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now