Good telescope?

[hsl]

I'm very fascinated by astronomy and have been wanting to buy a good telescope for a while.

I've seen one on offer from a national newspaper and want the opinion of people who know what they are talking about.

The telescope looks the business and has extras like the tripod etc. It has a magnification of 20-55 x 60 zoom optics, whatever that means and it costs £50 (£50 saving.)

Do you think this is a good telescope? And can someone tell me where in the Midlands is a good place to star gaze, away from light pollution?

Thanks!

[badger426]

Don't be wowed by magnification claims they mean very little unless you're spending a lot of money. the price you are quoting for a scope and tripod suggests to me that it's not a lot of good. I have a Tasco 6 inch (the diameter of the mirror) Newtonian and only use magnifications between 100x and 200x. With this I can see the rings of Saturn and Jupiters belts, and the detail on the Moon is incredible. I live in a light polluted area so do not get the best out of it. Give me a clearer idea of what you wish to achieve and what budget you have and I'll try to give you some better advice.
Cheers,
Badger.

[wildlifesnapper]

Hi

I wouldn't touch the ones in the papers. Try looking at Skywatcher or Orion makes , they do some good starter scopes for aroung £100-150.

neil

[jimmer]

Yes they are both right buy good 6inch reflector that is a good start. regards Jimmer

[hsl]

Thanks guys. I'll save up around £150-£200 and get a good one, probably a Newtonian one.

I only mentioned the light pollution because I thought it mattered a lot and was hoping there would be areas in the Midlands with no light pollution. But I can go into the middle of big parks and fields and so I think that will do for a start

[carlos_dfc]

Hi hsl

Yep, I can agree with all that's been said here so far.
Avoid newspaper offers, they are invariably rubbish - also beware e-bay, there are a few gems to be had on e-bay, but the VAST majority is rubbish, and you need to know the optics market very well, to be able to sift the gems from the garbage.

I can also endorse SkyWatcher/Orion as a good brand, I own 3 SkyWatcher scopes myself (Orion USA are the same company as SkyWatcher - not to be confused with Orion Optics UK, which are an even better brand)

Your target of around £200 will be enough to get you a decent scope - a Skywatcher 150P (6" Newtonian reflector on an equatorial mount) can be had for £195
Skywatcher Explorer 150P (EQ3-2) - Telescopes - Skywatcher - Reflectors
This was my first 'serious' scope, superb value for the monry, and even though I own quite a few scopes nowadays, I still use that 6" 'newt' quite often.
An equatorial (EQ) mount is handy to track objects as they move slowly across the sky, and is a neccesity if you want to take photos with exposures longer than a fraction of a second.
If you don't feel you need an EQ mount, then for an extra £30 you could go up to an 8" aperture (almost 80% more light-gathering ability than a 6") Dobsonian, which is basically a Newtonian on a simpler 'point-and-view' mount.
Skyliner 200P - Telescopes - Skywatcher - Dobsonians

Either scope would be a great introduction to astronomy - and don't forget a pair of binoculars - surprising what you can see in bins, and a great aide to finding your way round the sky with a telescope

[hsl]

Hi Carlos. Thanks a lot for the advice. As soon as I can afford it I'll get one of the telescopes recommended. Thanks everyone

[Vipera]

I have an Orion 6in newtonina and the optics are excellent, my only negative thing about it is the mount, i have to get a completely new mount in order to have motor drives on it, which i need if im going to take any half decent astropics!