37 replies to this topic

[Nickyb210]

Hey guys, I'm sure you guys get this asked a thousand times but I am looking for some recommendations on what to purchase for my first actual telescope. I have done a lot of reading and initially narrowed it down to an 8" dob, but my a goto would be fantastic for my newbie brain. I have two young kids, and i would love to show them the true beautify of our universe. I'll never forget looking at Hale-Bopp in the sky almost 20 years ago (I think I was only 9 years old!) and how fascinated i was, hoping to share these moments with my children as well. 

 

I live in a Bortle 5 (outskirts of Boston) and would mainly be viewing in my backyard, we do have a lake house in NH that is a class 3, but not sure how often I would being able to bring a big scope like an 8" dob, especially when the suv is usually packed with kids stuff

 

So with that being said, which scope would you look for? Under $600 would be my sweet spot, which I know is very limiting, especially for a go to. I've searched marketplace but most people think they can get retail price

 

Also, I'm not sure what eyepieces I should be looking for either. Would be mainly looking at our solar system with my kids, but I know I will want to go hunting for galaxies and deep stuff on my own time

 

Also, I can purchase this around black friday if there are any decent deals you may know about. Ive been looking at the Classic 200P/ Explorer Firstlight and the Apertura AD8. Not sure if theres one I should really focus on?

 

Thank you for any and all guidance

-Nick

 

(Side note, I'm running off of 3 hours of sleep so if some of my sentences dont make sense, I apologize! LOL)

Edited by Nickyb210, 04 November 2024 - 08:51 AM.

[12BH7]

Considering your area and experience level stick with the 8" Dob. It's easy to use and has a very nice wide field of view. This will make finding things a LOT easier.  Later on you can add some sort of guiding system. Like Stellarium or even encoders with a DSC controller.

 

Any GOTO system is going to blow past your budget quickly. And you haven't even go to eyepieces yet.

[SeattleScott]

You have to figure out the scope first before we can advise on eyepieces. Also, if you buy used, it might come with eyepieces.

An 8” Dob is a good way to go if you can find one in your budget. It probably won’t be GoTo with your budget, but if you decide you like stargazing, you can add Starsense or PiFinder to get object location. I don’t see any reason to do DSCs anymore.

[jkelly]

I would consider the ZWO Seestar S50 with a decent tripod and a wedge. You can run in EQ mode.In my signature you can see the images I have gotten (with processing) with it. You can learn the sky with an Sky Atlas as well,

[Captain Quark]

I went with a 10” non-goto dob and am still pleased with my choice.

 

Your kids may not care. No one in my family is into it. And it takes time observing to see much. You would think you can just look through the eyepiece and see amazing things, but it’s more work than that. Except maybe for the moon and Pleiades.

 

You have a lake house in class 3? My number one priority other than having a scope would be to find a way to use the scope there. Maybe after figuring out how to use it, just leave it at the lake house if you can’t travel with it. Dark skies are hugely better except for the moon and bright planets.

Edited by Captain Quark, 04 November 2024 - 09:29 AM.

[edsmx5]

Considering your area and experience level stick with the 8" Dob. It's easy to use and has a very nice wide field of view. This will make finding things a LOT easier. Later on you can add some sort of guiding system. Like Stellarium or even encoders with a DSC controller.

Any GOTO system is going to blow past your budget quickly. And you haven't even go to eyepieces yet.

If you go the Dob route ( I have an xt8 for local sale, jus' sayin'), there is a free app called ASTROHOPPER, that uses your cell phone to locate objects and direct you to it/them ( push-to, not go-to). It's not perfect, but it's a start.
I've been at this only two years: the xt8 Dob was my first scope. It's a good place to start: it will show you a TON of stuff, and won't break the bank. It's size (given that you're a family man), would probably be its biggest drawback.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
Ed

[cookjaiii]

A friend of mine uses this Heritage 150p on a Virtuoso mount.  He demonstrated the alignment procedure and funtionality to our club and it seemed easy.  He says go-to and tracking are very reliable.  One really nice feature of this set up is that it can be used manually without losing alignment.  

 

https://www.highpoin...d29d232d9db2632

 

Good luck with your choice.

Edited by cookjaiii, 04 November 2024 - 09:33 AM.

[vtornado]

celestron starsense dob.  That allows fully manual operation, and the phone/doc/app can help you locate dim objects.  I know it's a bit over your budget.

[DyDyMT]

My Experience:

 

I wish I had gotten my Celestron Explorer with StarSense 8" Dob as my first scope (took me 3 others tries to get to it).   It is truly the easiest to use by far. Which makes it the best scope for me.

 

I have a SkyWatcher 100 Evostar with Synscan Go-to, and a Celestron SLT 127 Mak computerized hand controller (HATE Celestron's computerized go-to handheld controller - cumbersome to find objects and hard for my older eyes to see the screen on the handheld controller).

 

With the SynScan go-to you have to align with named stars, and in the beginning, I didn't know any named stars which made if harder. Leveling is important to keep it on track and every time you move it you have to re-align if you want any accuracy. SynScan is okay, but it's not terribly user friendly.

 

The Celestron SLT computerized "go-to" handheld controller has you point at the brightest stars to align, which is easier than SynScan, but, the initial setup that has to be done every startup time (date/location/exact time, etc) is a pain. 

 

The StarSense "push to" on my 8" Dob is one where I put a cell in a bracket, let the program figure out where it is, and a green circle guides you to whatever your heart desires. I'm literally viewing objects as soon as I can put an eyepiece in.  I would encourage you to get on YouTube, or the Celestron site and watch a couple videos to see how easily it functions with your cell phone.

 

Not sure how old your kids are, but keeping their attention during setup and alignment would be a thought.  Also, say you have a partially cloudy sky, and can't really align properly with a go-to?  With the StarSense (or other push to systems folks have mentioned) all you have to do is find something in the clear part of the sky and you're In Like Flint.  

 

Celestron would more than likely have some good sales come black friday, or closer to Christmas.  As I said, I have three "go-to" mounts and I always grab the push-to Dob.  Only if I want to observe the moon over a period of an evening, or take some cell pictures, do I get the others out because they have tracking.  

 

I would not begin to advise on EP's that depends so much on budget - I do recommend the Pentax Zoom 8-24 for the Moon.  I keep a filter on it all the time and it is better than flopping eyepieces when I want to dial in on a crater.

 

Have fun choosing!

[puma1973]

A friend of mine uses this Heritage 150p on a Virtuoso mount.  He demonstrated the alignment procedure and funtionality to our club and it seemed easy.  He says go-to and tracking are very reliable.  One really nice feature of this set up is that it can be used manually without losing alignment.  

 

https://www.highpoin...d29d232d9db2632

 

Good luck with your choice.

I second this.

[dmgriff]

The idea of a 8 inch f/6, f=~1200mm dob sounds good to me, or at minimum a 6 inch f/8, f=~1200mm.

 

Woodland Hills has a sale on the Explore Scientific 8 inch dob package, nice altitude bearings, and you slide the tube in the rings for balance. Base can break down for transport, storage. Sale price 460usd (900usd retail). Sale is "limited time". If interested give a call. Money left over for eyepieces....

 

https://telescopes.n...c8aAgvuEALw_wcB

 

The differences in the SkyWatcher Classic, Apertura AD8, and Explore Scientific 8, will be in altitude and azimuth bearings, focusers, etc. The optics should be basically equal. 

 

You can add a digital inclinometer (~25usd +/-) to your optical tube, either magnetically or with double sided tape, and put a SkySafari app on your cell phone or tablet. Set the ota  to the degrees altitude that SkySafari gives you and guesstimate your azimuth. Or AstroHopper or such...

 

Whatever rings your bell and pocket book.

 

Good luck....

Edited by dmgriff, 04 November 2024 - 11:17 AM.

[Floaters]

A friend of mine uses this Heritage 150p on a Virtuoso mount. He demonstrated the alignment procedure and funtionality to our club and it seemed easy. He says go-to and tracking are very reliable. One really nice feature of this set up is that it can be used manually without losing alignment.

https://www.highpoin...d29d232d9db2632

Good luck with your choice.

I think this is a good call! It doesn't take up that much space in the car, and the low price leaves room for a few Paradigm eyepieces.

[sevenofnine]

Welcome to C/N! 

 

Another vote for the 8" Dob. You will see many wonder-full things from your Bortle 5 backyard! No real need to travel if your yard is not overgrown with tall trees. Don't be too concerned with tracking a manual Dob. Probably 80% of your viewing will be at lower powers. Do get an astronomy chair ASAP. Seated viewing is much better and easier for all family members including children. Starbound and Vestil are the most preferred on this forum. I like the TeleVue Air Chair but similar and much cheaper drummer's throne/stool are available on Amazon. Best of luck to you! 

 

https://www.bhphotov...hair_White.html.

[rlmxracer]

If you want to keep most modern day kids interested GoTo is a big plus in my experience. Most kids quickly lose interest if you take too long to track down a target. It will also give you the ability to do photography or EAA in the future with tracking for longer exposures. I think you are on the right track with an 8" GoTo dob. GoTo has a learning curve but most have become much more intuitive. 

[joseluis.17g]

I'm going to be the third one to recomend the 150 virtuoso, can be used like a manual dob, but if you'd like in can track and point anything you tell it to, it's also quite portable, can be put on a plastic box quite easily and trhown in the trunk of the car.

 

I'm also going to recomend the starsense explorer DX5 

its quite portable also, can be used for terrestial views aswell 

it doesn't have tracking, but it has point to, via a cellphone app, you get a mount that has a place to put your phone, in the app you tell it to take you to anything you want to look at, and it tells you where to point, with great great acurracy, not quite GOTO, but it works

 

I know it seems like a quite the challenge when you start in the hobby, where to point the telescope and in that regard, both of this scopes solve the issue, they won't show quite as much detail as an 8in dob, but you get quite more portability and way easier for a novice to see things quick

[Nickyb210]

A lot of good information in here and I thank you all. 

Seems like my two choices are

8" dob

Sky-Watcher Virtuoso GTi 150

 

I will wait a few more weeks to see what deals are out there but this one really seems like a steal: $460 . Im really leaning towards this one but the point to of starsense would be awesome. 

https://telescopes.n...c8aAgvuEALw_wcB

[Dave Mitsky]

While it doesn't deal with purchasing or using a telescope directly, you may find some of the information on astronomy, amateur astronomy, and observing presented in my post (#22) at https://www.cloudyni...mers/?p=5184287 useful, Nickyb210. There are sections on various books, observing guides, the Moon, the planets, star-hopping, stellar atlases, planispheres, planetarium programs, astronomy apps, deep-sky objects, lists of worthwhile celestial objects to observe, binocular astronomy, urban astronomy, and other related topics.

[12BH7]

As nice as the GTI is the short focal length concerns men for beginners with high expectations. With the traditional 27mm EP you're looking at a magnification of 24x. Basically one step up from a small refractor.

 

The encoders and DSC are a nice feature, I can not argue that. But I am concerned that the OP is going to look at M42 and see a dot instead of a majestic nebula. Just my two cents.

 

At least with the 8" the OP can use iphone apps to find the basics and learn from there. Then when he/she get's some scope time in start investing in a few good EP's.  That 8" can go a LONG way.

Edited by 12BH7, 04 November 2024 - 03:35 PM.

[edsmx5]

While it doesn't deal with purchasing or using a telescope directly, you may find some of the information on astronomy, amateur astronomy, and observing presented in my post (#22) at https://www.cloudyni...mers/?p=5184287 useful, Nickyb210. There are sections on various books, observing guides, the Moon, the planets, star-hopping, stellar atlases, planispheres, planetarium programs, astronomy apps, deep-sky objects, lists of worthwhile celestial objects to observe, binocular astronomy, urban astronomy, and other related topics.

++1 on this

[Dave Mitsky]

A lot of good information in here and I thank you all. 

Seems like my two choices are

8" dob

Sky-Watcher Virtuoso GTi 150

 

I will wait a few more weeks to see what deals are out there but this one really seems like a steal: $460 . Im really leaning towards this one but the point to of starsense would be awesome. 

https://telescopes.n...c8aAgvuEALw_wcB

That telescope is supplied with a 25mm eyepiece, presumably a 50-degree apparent field of view Plössl, which will yield a magnification of only 49x.  You'll need one or two more and perhaps a 2x Barlow lens, which will double the magnification produced by the eyepiece that's inserted into it. 

 

The Astro-Tech Paradigm Dual ED eyepieces have 60-degree apparent fields of view and enhanced eye relief.

https://astronomics....ndor=Astro-Tech

Another option is a 7 to 21mm or an 8 to 24mm zoom eyepiece.

https://www.svbony.c...v-40-60-degree/

https://astronomics....endor=Celestron

https://www.cloudyni...y_discount.html - Astronomics non-sale item discount for Cloudy Nights members

https://www.celestro...ossary-of-terms - glossary of astronomy terms

[RCLARK28]

I am still new to all this and have been VERY happy with my DX5, C5 and my beloved AT80ED. Members here gave me some suggestions and input. I have no regrets at all with the hardware I have used for the past year.

*If I could append any advice to you, it would be to get a DOB and start your journey. You know what your requirements are and if you do not need portability like I did get DOB.

*There are so many good options on the market so good luck.

[Chilihead]

Like others have said, an 8" Dob is great first scope. 

My first 20 years were spent learning the sky with an 8" Meade Starfinder Dob. Only in the last 10 have I upgraded to the equipment in my sig.

[SeattleScott]

A lot of good information in here and I thank you all.
Seems like my two choices are
8" dob
Sky-Watcher Virtuoso GTi 150

I will wait a few more weeks to see what deals are out there but this one really seems like a steal: $460 . Im really leaning towards this one but the point to of starsense would be awesome.
https://telescopes.n...c8aAgvuEALw_wcB

Then get that one and put a Starsense phone dock on it.

Hmm, it is ES. Different finder base. I believe you can still get an adapter 3D printed for putting Starsense phone dock on an ES scope, but would need to verify. Honestly, some people say magnets work just fine.

[Nankins]

I'm still fairly new to all this and having only owned an Apertura AD10 10" dob I can't say anything in the way of other brands other than: The Apertura 8" dob will be a very good telescope, but with your budget if you are counting eyepieces and a few other bits of equipment you might want to look into something smaller like a 6" dob.  Or one of the other telescopes the others are suggesting.  

 

For eyepieces - if your kids ever want to use the scope start out with some Plossl eyepieces - Celestron most likely.  Televue also has good Plossls.  For yourself, the X-Cell X eyepieces are pretty good for the amount of money you have to pay (less than $100 per eyepiece).  

 

A GoTo telescope, even a cheap one, will cost at least as much as your top budget - don't go that route.  When I was looking for telescopes I could not find a GoTo telescope that was 10" that was any cheaper than $1000.  But because of my aperture preference my budget also had to be higher than yours.  

 

Get an observing chair, like a Starbound chair which many of us love to use.  They are about $200 dollars but super comfy and they sure save the back and neck pain from standing and looking down into the eyepiece.  The white ones are great because you will see them and not be wondering why in the world you tripped over a chair you knew was there.  You don't have to get it now, but if you want to in the future I suggest that.  Same with Ultra High Contrast and Oxygen III filters, which are commonly used for observing nebulae.  They are an extra addition to the accessory container that most but not all visual observers like to use.  They bring out more detail in nebulae than a view without a filter does, but they are extra money.  

 

Dew shields are another must, depending on where you live.  These don't have to be expensive - You can make them from duct tape and cardboard.  One for the finderscope, one for the telescope, and you can also buy Telrad dew shields, which are about $20.  For the finders, that depends on what scope you decide on and what it comes with (if anything).  The AD8 comes with 2 eyepieces (the 9 mm is Meh but the 30 mm is a nice one), and a finderscope so you will save about $200 on that telescope.  You can learn more about finders in many threads on CN - notice that some of us have finders GALORE on our telescopes!

[Echolight]

Goto and fit in an SUV packed with stuff....

For less than $600.,,,

 

Hmmmm,,,,,,,,

 

A used 6SE maybe?