Telescope Advise -Any Astronomy Peeps in the House?

[HomeCheese]

I'm thinking of getting a home telescope but am not sure which way to go. I am wondering if anyone here can share their thoughts and expierences.

I'd like something for less than $500 but would consider a more expensive scope if it is worth it. I live in a pretty rural area that is very conducive for stargazing. Often I can look up and see he Milky Way and numerous planets. I would probably use it in my drive way most of the time but may want to put it in the back of my car and head out every now and then.

Any suggestions?

 

[Otto!]

Depends if you want to get into astrophotography or just observing. If you just want to observe planets, a Dobsonian is a good choice. ( dobsonian refers to the mount type- they are a simple design). I paid about 4k for mine with accessories, but you can pick smaller ones in your price range.

Dobsonian give you more aperture for your money, which is great if you want to observe. They’re not suited for long exposure photography as they don’t track.

Here is my Dobsonian (Explore Scientific 16 inch)



Avoid a refractor scope as you need to spend a lot more to get something of comparable quality.

 

[HomeCheese]

Depends if you want to get into astrophotography or just observing. If you just want to observe planets, a Dobsonian is a good choice. ( dobsonian refers to the mount type- they are a simple design). I paid about 4k for mine with accessories, but you can pick smaller ones in your price range.

Dobsonian give you more aperture for your money, which is great if you want to observe. They’re not suited for long exposure photography as they don’t track.

Here is my Dobsonian (Explore Scientific 16 inch)

View attachment 473651

Avoid a refractor scope as you need to spend a lot more to get something of comparable quality.

Thanks and thats a sweet telescope, 16" is huge! Is it pretty easy to point and focus on your target? Do you feel the need for a computer guidance? I was looking at a few 8" Dobsonian scopes just because they are so much bigger and gather more light for the money.

 

[Otto!]

Thanks and thats a sweet telescope, 16" is huge! Is it pretty easy to point and focus on your target? Do you feel the need for a computer guidance? I was looking at a few 8" Dobsonian scopes just because they are so much bigger and gather more light for the money.

I bought a Argo Navis for mine, but i haven’t installed it yet as i wanted to get used to navigating by hand first. I find it fairly easy once my view finder is aligned properly, but once i install the Argo Navis it will make it much easier to know what i’m looking at. As far as the focus go i made notes of the sweet spot for each eyepiece and it makes it much faster to focus. I just bought a nice ccd camera but having issues getting that in focus.

 

[HomeCheese]

I bought a Argo Navis for mine, but i haven’t installed it yet as i wanted to get used to navigating by hand first. I find it fairly easy once my view finder is aligned properly, but once i install the Argo Navis it will make it much easier to know what i’m looking at. As far as the focus go i made notes of the sweet spot for each eyepiece and it makes it much faster to focus. I just bought a nice ccd camera but having issues getting that in focus.

Thanks man, I only understood about 65% of that but I'll get my google on and get up to speed. thanks for the help.

 

[Brofessor]

Depends if you want to get into astrophotography or just observing. If you just want to observe planets, a Dobsonian is a good choice. ( dobsonian refers to the mount type- they are a simple design). I paid about 4k for mine with accessories, but you can pick smaller ones in your price range.

Dobsonian give you more aperture for your money, which is great if you want to observe. They’re not suited for long exposure photography as they don’t track.

Here is my Dobsonian (Explore Scientific 16 inch)

View attachment 473651

Avoid a refractor scope as you need to spend a lot more to get something of comparable quality.

Holy crap. That looks like some serious equipment. Are you a professional or a hobbyist?

 

[El_Dyablo619]

Holy shit, with that telescope I can tell when my neighbor get razor bumps shaving her poon

 

[HARRISON_3]

Did NASA find oil on Uranus?

 

[sangreporsangre]

Are we not doing "GTFIH" anymore??

 

[Otto!]

Holy crap. That looks like some serious equipment. Are you a professional or a hobbyist?

Just a hobby. My friend spent around 85k on his gear, so I’m definitely not anywhere near the very serious guys....

 

[Stranger Come Knocking]

Your neigbor must have really nice tits.

 

[HomeCheese]

I bought a Argo Navis for mine, but i haven’t installed it yet as i wanted to get used to navigating by hand first. I find it fairly easy once my view finder is aligned properly, but once i install the Argo Navis it will make it much easier to know what i’m looking at. As far as the focus go i made notes of the sweet spot for each eyepiece and it makes it much faster to focus. I just bought a nice ccd camera but having issues getting that in focus.

I picked up an Orion 8" dobsonian and am just figuring out how to use it. Right now I have the two eye pieces it came with, 10mm and a 25mm and am looking to get a few new ones. I am wondering it it is worth the money to go with a 2" eye piece rather than the 1.25". Is there much difference and is it worth the extra money?

I would also do you have any recomendations on what other eye pieces and filters? It's relatively dark at night where I live asides from a few street lights and they are yellow so they don't interfere that much. I'm hoping to be able to grab a wide variety of deep space and closer objects.

Would it be better to buy a set or just one at a time?

 

[rj144]

Advice...

And you've gotten good advice so far.

 

[Otto!]

I picked up an Orion 8" dobsonian and am just figuring out how to use it. Right now I have the two eye pieces it came with, 10mm and a 25mm and am looking to get a few new ones. I am wondering it it is worth the money to go with a 2" eye piece rather than the 1.25". Is there much difference and is it worth the extra money?

I would also do you have any recomendations on what other eye pieces and filters? It's relatively dark at night where I live asides from a few street lights and they are yellow so they don't interfere that much. I'm hoping to be able to grab a wide variety of deep space and closer objects.

Would it be better to buy a set or just one at a time?

I went with 2 inch eyepieces as the difference in the apparent field of view is significant. Some of the eyepieces i bought are over $300 each so before you spend that kind of money it’s worth trying one on. Maybe attend an astronomy club night and see if someone will let you compare.

As far as the eyepiece i would recommend buying a Barlow. A 2x Barlow would basically transform your 25 mm into a 12.5 mm, and your 10 mm into a 5mm. It’s a good way to increase your inventory without buying more lenses.

 

[Deleted member 220895]

Best way to test if a telescope works well is to the stare at the sun.