| Telescope for a beginner 11:15 - Nov 18 with 3848 views | KingsCrossBlue |
I've noticed a few threads on star gazing and astronomy on here with a few of you sounding like you definitely know what you are talking about.
On that basis, can any of you recommend a decent telescope for a beginner? Since moving out to the sticks my Mrs has become obsessed with the Night Sky app - so thinking this could be the ideal xmas present. |  | | |  |
| Telescope for a beginner on 16:18 - Nov 18 with 3393 views | GeoffSentence |
Here's my advice for what it's worth. The best telescope is the one you use the most.
I have two newtonian scopes and they are great for detailed looks at planets and some deep sky objects like nebulae and some galaxies, but despite that the thing I use most is a forty quid monocular. It is so easy to use, just pull it out of your pocket and gaze away. Not so much detail, for individual objects, but it has a wide field of view and is greater for looking at the stars and in particular star clusters.
The bigger the scope, the less mobile it is, they can get blinking heavy, so to begin with it might be a good idea to get a travel scope something like a 74mm newtonian.
Celestron and Skywatcher both do good ranges of beginner telescopes.
Whatever you get, I'd also advise getting a good finder scope or reflex sight to go with it. It can be surprisingly difficult to find objects in the night sky with a telescope and a good finder or reflex sight can save a lot of frustration.
[Post edited 18 Nov 2022 16:20]
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| Telescope for a beginner on 16:19 - Nov 18 with 3390 views | itfc_bucks |
jump on Facebook and look for a group called UK Astronomy - I help co-run the charity and there's loads of advice and guidance specific to all kinds of budgets, plus helpful hints and tips on how to use your fancy new bits of kit. | | | |
| Telescope for a beginner on 16:28 - Nov 18 with 3374 views | KingsCrossBlue |
Thanks chaps - much appreciated! I’ve started reading up a lot more and what you say makes complete sense.
I’ll check out that Facebook group too! | | | |
| Telescope for a beginner on 16:33 - Nov 18 with 3367 views | StokieBlue |
| Telescope for a beginner on 16:18 - Nov 18 by GeoffSentence |
Here's my advice for what it's worth. The best telescope is the one you use the most.
I have two newtonian scopes and they are great for detailed looks at planets and some deep sky objects like nebulae and some galaxies, but despite that the thing I use most is a forty quid monocular. It is so easy to use, just pull it out of your pocket and gaze away. Not so much detail, for individual objects, but it has a wide field of view and is greater for looking at the stars and in particular star clusters.
The bigger the scope, the less mobile it is, they can get blinking heavy, so to begin with it might be a good idea to get a travel scope something like a 74mm newtonian.
Celestron and Skywatcher both do good ranges of beginner telescopes.
Whatever you get, I'd also advise getting a good finder scope or reflex sight to go with it. It can be surprisingly difficult to find objects in the night sky with a telescope and a good finder or reflex sight can save a lot of frustration.
[Post edited 18 Nov 2022 16:20]
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Excellent advice, especially about the best scope being the one you use the most.
As you say, it can be frustrating without a good method of finding what you are looking for, I managed to get an excellent second hand Baader Sky Surfer V and it's made a huge difference to viewing.
I've got a little 60mm Makutsov as my travel scope, it's great and fits in hand luggage.
Do you do any astrophotography?
SB |  |
| Avatar - IC410 - Tadpoles Nebula |
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| Telescope for a beginner on 16:44 - Nov 18 with 3344 views | GeoffSentence |
| Telescope for a beginner on 16:33 - Nov 18 by StokieBlue |
Excellent advice, especially about the best scope being the one you use the most.
As you say, it can be frustrating without a good method of finding what you are looking for, I managed to get an excellent second hand Baader Sky Surfer V and it's made a huge difference to viewing.
I've got a little 60mm Makutsov as my travel scope, it's great and fits in hand luggage.
Do you do any astrophotography?
SB |
No to the astrophotography. I don't have any sort of camera. I have tried a little bit using adapters for a mobile phone, but the results have always been disappointing. | |
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| Telescope for a beginner on 16:46 - Nov 18 with 3332 views | StokieBlue |
| Telescope for a beginner on 16:44 - Nov 18 by GeoffSentence |
No to the astrophotography. I don't have any sort of camera. I have tried a little bit using adapters for a mobile phone, but the results have always been disappointing. |
Using a mobile phone can be quite annoying, I did take some video of Saturn and stack the best images but it's not great. Enjoyed it though so ended up grabbing a ZWO camera which has thus far proven to be good fun.
My avatar was taken with that about a week ago.
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| Avatar - IC410 - Tadpoles Nebula |
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| Telescope for a beginner on 16:49 - Nov 18 with 3319 views | GeoffSentence |
| Telescope for a beginner on 16:46 - Nov 18 by StokieBlue |
Using a mobile phone can be quite annoying, I did take some video of Saturn and stack the best images but it's not great. Enjoyed it though so ended up grabbing a ZWO camera which has thus far proven to be good fun.
My avatar was taken with that about a week ago.
SB |
You took that? It's brilliant. | |
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| Telescope for a beginner on 16:58 - Nov 18 with 3308 views | ArnoldMoorhen |
| Telescope for a beginner on 16:46 - Nov 18 by StokieBlue |
Using a mobile phone can be quite annoying, I did take some video of Saturn and stack the best images but it's not great. Enjoyed it though so ended up grabbing a ZWO camera which has thus far proven to be good fun.
My avatar was taken with that about a week ago.
SB |
I would be absolutely thrilled to see the little bright burst of light that is labelled Jupiter hover into view with it's bands and spot. It must be incredible! | | | |
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| Telescope for a beginner on 16:58 - Nov 18 with 3306 views | WeWereZombies |
For a novice the best telescope is a pair of binoculars - much easier to navigate around the night sky finding the Orion nebula, the Square of Pegasus, tracing the line at the end of the Plough up to Polaris and so on when you are looking at a wide field rather than a smaller one. And it doesn't have to be top end, as long as there is some magnification and clear resolution of the image then you are away. If still keen after a few months of standing out in the cold of a winter's night (because that is when nights are longest and the air is clearest for amateur astronomy) there is still an enthusiasm for the hobby then you can think about a good telescope. [Post edited 18 Nov 2022 16:59]
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| Telescope for a beginner on 17:05 - Nov 18 with 3292 views | StokieBlue |
| Telescope for a beginner on 16:49 - Nov 18 by GeoffSentence |
You took that? It's brilliant. |
Thanks!
It's a big improvement on my first attempts.
Was hoping for it to be clear tonight as Mars is at a close point of it's orbit and thus was hoping to take a stab at it.
SB | |
| Avatar - IC410 - Tadpoles Nebula |
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| Telescope for a beginner on 17:15 - Nov 18 with 3272 views | ArnoldMoorhen |
| Telescope for a beginner on 17:05 - Nov 18 by StokieBlue |
Thanks!
It's a big improvement on my first attempts.
Was hoping for it to be clear tonight as Mars is at a close point of it's orbit and thus was hoping to take a stab at it.
SB |
Keep posting the results here, please! | | | |
| Telescope for a beginner on 17:26 - Nov 18 with 3253 views | Swansea_Blue |
I don’t know what I’m talking about, but the first bit of advice I was given by an astrophysicist at work was to use your eyes first, to just learn the visible constellations and main stars as they’re used as reference points. That ties in nicely with the monocular idea too. With a pair of bins you can see the moons of Saturn (I think it’s Saturn anyway!). Tiny, but visible.
I can see the appeal of a telescope though, so I’m not saying don’t go for one. I’ve no idea about them though. I was given a very basic one but I’m not sure how it works lol (told you I don’t know what I’m talking about!). |  |
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| Telescope for a beginner on 18:52 - Nov 18 with 3194 views | stonojnr |
for beginners Id always recommend a decent set of binoculars first instead of a telescope, purely because decent telescopes are much more expensive, and you need to know you are really into the hobby before spending that money.
because youve got to appreciate actually the best time of year to star gaze is now, when its cold, damp, miserable, you might also live in an area blighted by light pollution, so cant see much other than really bright objects anyway.
which binoculars can just as easily pick up, I can see Jupiters moons using my binoculars, so dont assume they arent any good just because they arent a telescope.
plus I get to use them theyre alot more practical for going bird watching or wild animal reserves etc etc.
a telescope you can only look at the stars, the moon and the space station with. | | | |
| Telescope for a beginner on 21:11 - Nov 18 with 3142 views | BanksterDebtSlave |
| Telescope for a beginner on 16:33 - Nov 18 by StokieBlue |
Excellent advice, especially about the best scope being the one you use the most.
As you say, it can be frustrating without a good method of finding what you are looking for, I managed to get an excellent second hand Baader Sky Surfer V and it's made a huge difference to viewing.
I've got a little 60mm Makutsov as my travel scope, it's great and fits in hand luggage.
Do you do any astrophotography?
SB |
Thanks. |  |
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| Telescope for a beginner on 10:23 - Nov 21 with 2960 views | StokieBlue |
| Telescope for a beginner on 17:15 - Nov 18 by ArnoldMoorhen |
Keep posting the results here, please! |
As requested, here is my attempt at M42 and M43 from last night.
M43 - De Marian's Nebula is ~1300 LY away and is the smaller nebula in the bottom left of the image.
M42 - The Orion Nebula is 1344 LY away and is the larger nebula in the rest of the image.
M42 is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth.
SB | |
| Avatar - IC410 - Tadpoles Nebula |
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| Telescope for a beginner on 10:27 - Nov 21 with 2941 views | BiGDonnie |
| Telescope for a beginner on 17:15 - Nov 18 by ArnoldMoorhen |
Keep posting the results here, please! |
Yeah, definitely post that SB if you can...
Edit - need to look at dates. Amazing pic! [Post edited 21 Nov 2022 10:38]
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| Telescope for a beginner on 17:27 - Nov 21 with 2833 views | StokieBlue |
| Telescope for a beginner on 10:27 - Nov 21 by BiGDonnie |
Yeah, definitely post that SB if you can...
Edit - need to look at dates. Amazing pic! [Post edited 21 Nov 2022 10:38]
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Thanks!
I'll still try and get Mars (1st December is when it's closest) and I'll try a few more deep sky objects as well.
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| Avatar - IC410 - Tadpoles Nebula |
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| Telescope for a beginner on 17:31 - Nov 21 with 2820 views | GlasgowBlue |
Stokie is you man for that. He knows his onions.
edit. He's already on the thread. [Post edited 21 Nov 2022 17:32]
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| Telescope for a beginner on 21:55 - Nov 21 with 2769 views | StokieBlue |
| Telescope for a beginner on 16:28 - Nov 18 by KingsCrossBlue |
Thanks chaps - much appreciated! I’ve started reading up a lot more and what you say makes complete sense.
I’ll check out that Facebook group too! |
Did you make some decisions on the scope?
What did you decide to go for?
SB | |
| Avatar - IC410 - Tadpoles Nebula |
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| Telescope for a beginner on 12:21 - Nov 22 with 2681 views | KingsCrossBlue |
| Telescope for a beginner on 21:55 - Nov 21 by StokieBlue |
Did you make some decisions on the scope?
What did you decide to go for?
SB |
Hi SB,
Thanks to yours and others advice - I'm going to plump for a decent set of binoculars at first. We are lucky in that we live in an area with very little light polution, but also open fields out the front where red kites have taken up residence. So a pair of bins will double up for both purposes for now.
That said, I think my Mrs will very quickly start to get in to astrophotography, as she is already quite a skilled photographer. It'll be further down the line than Christmas - but would you recommend a particular brand or model, or just things to consider for a beginner telescope, with a nod to getting in to the more photography side of things?
Big love for all the advice from everyone! | | | |
| Telescope for a beginner on 09:42 - Dec 4 with 2294 views | StokieBlue |
| Telescope for a beginner on 12:21 - Nov 22 by KingsCrossBlue |
Hi SB,
Thanks to yours and others advice - I'm going to plump for a decent set of binoculars at first. We are lucky in that we live in an area with very little light polution, but also open fields out the front where red kites have taken up residence. So a pair of bins will double up for both purposes for now.
That said, I think my Mrs will very quickly start to get in to astrophotography, as she is already quite a skilled photographer. It'll be further down the line than Christmas - but would you recommend a particular brand or model, or just things to consider for a beginner telescope, with a nod to getting in to the more photography side of things?
Big love for all the advice from everyone! |
I think that's probably a good plan, the binoculars will be easier to use and with little light pollution she can decide if she enjoys the hobby.
If she does decide to get into it then I'd be happy to recommend some things. I started off using my Newtonian reflector but this isn't really ideal for the purposes (the shots I've posted on here were done using that) so given I'm enjoying the hobby I'm going to grab a refractor which is more suited to astrophotography as it collects light quicker from a smaller appeture.
Just ping me on PM or on this thread if you want some advice down the line.
SB | |
| Avatar - IC410 - Tadpoles Nebula |
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| Telescope for a beginner on 17:11 - Dec 7 with 2142 views | ArnoldMoorhen |
| Telescope for a beginner on 10:23 - Nov 21 by StokieBlue |
As requested, here is my attempt at M42 and M43 from last night.
M43 - De Marian's Nebula is ~1300 LY away and is the smaller nebula in the bottom left of the image.
M42 - The Orion Nebula is 1344 LY away and is the larger nebula in the rest of the image.
M42 is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth.
SB |
Just seen this- amazing!
Did you get the shots of Mars that you wanted at the beginning of this month? | | | |
| Telescope for a beginner on 17:20 - Dec 7 with 2101 views | StokieBlue |
| Telescope for a beginner on 17:11 - Dec 7 by ArnoldMoorhen |
Just seen this- amazing!
Did you get the shots of Mars that you wanted at the beginning of this month? |
Thanks!
Unfortunately it's been cloudy for over a week now although I did manage to get a shot of Mars about 12 days ago. It's not great but you can just about make out one of the ice caps and some of the terrain.
SB | |
| Avatar - IC410 - Tadpoles Nebula |
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| Telescope for a beginner on 17:25 - Dec 7 with 2086 views | essexpaul64 |
I have a celestron tabletop telescope, got it from Argos only £80 a few years ago, best one I had. Can see the moon close up and even see the rings of Saturn. I would say, buy one on a tripod or some kind of stand otherwise the views are all over the place. Apart from that, very interesting hobby. Also, you don’t need any telescope or binoculars but I also enjoy viewing the ISS (space station) pass overhead. You can find an app online, again very interesting. |  | | |
| Telescope for a beginner on 09:19 - Dec 8 with 2015 views | StokieBlue |
| Telescope for a beginner on 17:25 - Dec 7 by essexpaul64 |
I have a celestron tabletop telescope, got it from Argos only £80 a few years ago, best one I had. Can see the moon close up and even see the rings of Saturn. I would say, buy one on a tripod or some kind of stand otherwise the views are all over the place. Apart from that, very interesting hobby. Also, you don’t need any telescope or binoculars but I also enjoy viewing the ISS (space station) pass overhead. You can find an app online, again very interesting. |
I assume that would be a Dobsonian mount which are great for learning the stars or for very large scopes.
With something like that you can actually get much better quality views by replacing the eyepieces. The scope will be plenty good enough but the eyepieces they supply are usually pretty poor quality. Some second hand ones can make a huge difference.
Astronomy is a lot like golf in that some people will buy good stuff then decide they don't like it so you can get excellent and barely used stuff second hand - that's what I often do.
SB | |
| Avatar - IC410 - Tadpoles Nebula |
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