Astro Advice Sought

Canon Pete said:
Following on from yesterdays about EQ mounts and T'scopes , want to ask some of the Astro people if this would be a half decent 'scope to use .

http://www.telescopeplanet.co.uk/ViewProdDetails.asp?prod_code=PON07B000186


Prob's mainly used for Moon and wide field ( Nebs, clusters and the like )

Any and all input appreciated
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Hey Pete.
I'm also getting into astro, and being a brainless buffoon that I am, I went and bought this scope without thinking about it.
Turned out that I didn't get on well with it. Long story, but I must stress, it was nothing to do with the scope. It is a fine piece of kit, very capable of giving you what you need.

Easy to setup, easy to use, and gives amazing crystal clear views.

Again, me being me.........
Had a good night using my bins last night. For the first time, I was able to spot and identify a few nice objects. The Pleiades, M42, Betelgeuse, Aldeberan and The Hyades.

All very new to me, and they were all a great sight.
But, and John will go apeshat when he see's this, but I'm regretting selling my scope now that I know where a few things are :bonk:
 
thanks for the responce Andy , appreciated. There's so many to choose from its a b****r ! I can find my way around the night sky reasonably well , Stars and Nebs included. A mate has a good Meade , been out a few times ( lol , he dont drive , I taxi him and gear to dark sky).

The more I see Astro stuff the more I think I could/should combine it with my camera gear and do stuff.
 
Pete, What's the budget ? If you can stretch to the 130pm the extra aperture will make quite a difference on Light Gathering (it's based on area) and the thing about telescopes, they are about gathering light, not magnification (although that's always useful for things like the planets and moons). I've heard very good things about that scope though.

I would suggest that a pair of Binoculars (10x50's) are probably a better start than an EQ mounted scope, you can get a pretty good pair for about £25 that will work very nicely from here. This is one of the pairs I have, and they get a lot of use. There's nothing faster for getting out and viewing than a pair of Binos. The wide FOV also helps a lot for learning your way around the sky, you won't believe the difference that even a pair of Binos makes to the number of stars you can see, until you've looked, and this makes it really rather hard to find anything, as the bright stars you can normally look at, merge into the mass that are out there. It's how I started, and pretty much every astronomer has a pair of binoculars and they get used regularly. Have a look at the list Andy saw last night as an example (or I've documented everything I've done Astro wise on my blog, starting with binos).

Andy, Why would I do that ? :D

Edit:... Pete, ignore most of that, if you want to do AstroPhotography and do it properly... you are going to have to get yourself a heavy duty EQ mount, or something like an Astrotrac...
 
cheers for the PM as well ( replied )

Budget can certainly stretch to the 130pm :) Wil check it out. As said ( or implied ! lol ) I would like to use the camera on 'scope. As for Bino's though , you are sooooooooo right. Same mate with Meade has a cracking pair of Astronomical ones ( forget spec's ) , whilst using it one early evening ( still light ) I managed to see a few of the moons of Jupiter ( sure it was Jupiter ! )

Blew me away it did , so deff' would consider getting a pair as well.
 
John's advice is spot on Pete. (As always I might add........)
I wish I'd have taken it when he first offered it to me!!!

I've done things the wrong way around. I went and bought a scope first.
Unsurprisingly, it didn't get much use, as I had no idea what to see/where to see it.
Now after my little 'session' last night, when I found M42 I was longing for my scope back for a closer look :bang:
Although it would have been a mission to set the scope up in the position I was in..........
Like I said, long story.........

But seriously consider a pair of the Bresser 10X50's. They really are the dogs bits!

Incidentally, may I also recommend these guys:

First Light Optics

Not in any way related to them, just highlighting the 1st class service all the way I got from them.
 
thanks Andy , the Binos do seem a great bargain there , I can feel my wallet opening already !

Having been out a few times with mate and his scope and having had an interest in the sky from years ago , I can find my way about , set up a scope using Pole star and the like so think that I will probs get Binos and scope . Like the fact the binos quoted have a tripod bush on them , brill'.

Going to check out your link as wel , my ''Favs Folder'' is becoming maxed out lol
 
You can see all 4 of the Galilean moons (the big ones) of Jupiter with a pair of 10x50's (I have). They are also much lighter than a pair of observing Binos, the 15x70's I have are great, but they really need to be mounted on something. I'm not certain that the mount for the 130pm will allow for much in the way of long exposures, having said that, you don't need real long exposures for some objects, you just need to pick and choose.

The other benefit to having a pair of bins... Whilst the scope and camera are capturing, you can still get good views :D
 
Right , thats the Bino's ordered !!:D I also ordered the tripod bracket as well ( in for a penny as they say )

So far the 130pm is a front runner as far as the 'scope goes . I'm thinking a heavy camera rucksack attached might help with the stability during long exposure's , as long as not a force 5 gale blowing :lol:

Will probs spend some more time deciding on final choice of 'scope , wanna get this right first time .

Thanks guys for all the help given , it's appreciated.
 
Sorry and thanks for moving Mods , it was getting to be a bit chatty.

Wasn't 100% sure where to put post at beginning , it is better in here , thank you.
 
Canon Pete said:
Right , thats the Bino's ordered !!:D I also ordered the tripod bracket as well ( in for a penny as they say )

So far the 130pm is a front runner as far as the 'scope goes . I'm thinking a heavy camera rucksack attached might help with the stability during long exposure's , as long as not a force 5 gale blowing :lol:

Will probs spend some more time deciding on final choice of 'scope , wanna get this right first time .

Thanks guys for all the help given , it's appreciated.
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Hey Pete.
What bins did you go for in the end?

I'm really getting into mine.
Had a great few eveings spotting this week :woot:
 
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