SingAstro

fizzy123 wrote:I suggest if you are planning to buy the 114mm Newtonian on EQ, why not go for something smaller in size like a refractor, more portable one, as you are 16 and dont drive. So portability is your main priority. Besides refractor have a simpler optical design with an unobstructed optical system. A reflector the position you view is a little awkard for beginners.
I suggest the ETX80 by Meade. It is portable, GOTO and is supported by 2 prongs rather than one in celestron designs, thus should be more stable

hmmm sounds good to me but need to stock up on batteries occasionally. haha thx. any idea where i can get this and whats the minimum cost for it?


are there other telescopes near similar to it but without the GOTO? can the telescope still be used when there's no battery? and can i manually navigate using my hands to "turn here and there?" sorry. kind of a novice at this.

Dragon Man wrote:eMinity,

I'm sorry I can't help with which telescope you should start with as I am unfamiliar with your skies.

I live with very dark skies in a small country town in Australia where BIG scopes are the choice.

But consider whether you will need it for just visual or for Astrophotography.

Not knowing your sky I can't help, sorry.

But I can help you with your query regarding the 2 big bright stars near the Moon. They aren't actually stars. They are the planets Venus and Jupiter.

Venus is the lowest one and Jupiter the highest one

haha thanks. i was suspecting that they were planets instead of stars cause they werent twinkling. but eliminated the thoughts cause i thought singapore was too bright to see these.

Hi,

are there other telescopes near similar to it but without the GOTO?

There are lots of scope out there without GOTO.

can the telescope still be used when there's no battery? and can i manually navigate using my hands to "turn here and there?"

Most GOTO (computerised) scope won't work if run out of power and you can't manually point the scope by hand on most GOTO scope even it's run out of power as this will damage the gears and motor.

Anyway, before you jump in and buy a scope, do some research on different type of telescope and list down what type of object you'll be looking at most of the time.

Below are some idea on different type of observation and type of scope suitable:
1) Lunar/planetary/General observation: Apochromatic Refractor, "Slow" (F8 and slower) F-Ratio Achromatic Refractor, Newtonian, MCT and SCT.
2) Wide Field observation: short focal length Apochromatic/Achromatic Refractor, small aperture "fast" Newtonian and binocular.
3) Deep Sky Object (in dark sky): Any type of scope... the larger the aperture, the better.
4) Deep Sky Object (in singapore darkest sky): Any type of scope greater than 4" for Refractor and 5" for Newtonian/MCT/SCT... the larger the aperture, the better.

By the way, portability is also very importance. If the scope is too heavy or bulky, you won't use it very often unless you are super on. Also, as I mention before, scope look smaller than they actually are in magazine/book/photo, so look at the actual set up to check whether can you handle it before you decide. Remember, the best scope is the one you use most often.

Good luck and have a nice day.

My intention of proposing the ETX-80 is not only due to the portability and simplicity of the refractor design. It is also partly of its developmental capabilities.

Since GOTO are now so cheap and widely available, why not get one? I mean yes, we can always mount a generic 80mm on a camera tripod, but if you calculate the cost of a good, reputable, camera tripod vs. the ETX-80, you will see that the cost is comparable. Besides, during observations, you do not need to be worried abt constantly turning the slow motion control as the scope will constant be tracking those objects. Compare this to those cheap first scope on the market with GEM mounts, those mounts are notoriously hard to use and if you want to have tracking capabilities, you still need to fork out money fro clock drives.

For developmental, this scope have built in prog, that tells you what can be observed tonight. This is good for newbies operating alone as it allows them to learn those DSO, constellation quick. e.g. M42 is in Orion, thus the scope point to M42, you can immediately tell that you are looking at Orion region. At the same time, you can also do some astrophotography in the future, if you are interested.

I once own the now not in produxtion ETX-60. It was my first real scope as I have been using a Tasco 60mm for years. This scope is robust, light enough to be bag packed. Mine didnt come with a tripod, so I made one out of my Tasco junk tripod. The optics are gd, with only CA problems at high magnification. The powers are low enough for comfortable viewing of DSO using the supplied eyepiece and the light baffles in the tube is sufficient. Offers decent views of DSO, planets, suitable for casual now-and-then observers.

Why don't you consider David sales, very good beginner scope.

David's sales

Using a non-GOTO will help one to learn more how to locate an object. Also, using a GOTO, one need to know the name/number of the object, no easy to remember many of them. I've a ETX105 with GOTO and a 25x100 bino, it end up I use the bino more often than the ETX105.

hmmm im looking for a telescope like this...

1) Portable
2) Able to look at deep sky objects/planetary
3) non-GOTO
4) Budget S$500?

any telescope like this i could get? or am i expecting too much? is my budget too low for a telescope?

David's sales fit your requirement, if you have a tripod and mount that can handle the scope, it will be well within your budget as Zongye is ready to pick up that tripod and mount.

eMinity wrote:hi people. i'm quite new to astronomy and have been reading up on it for about a year.

recently i've been thinking of getting a telescope but i have no idea of what to get. i have not much knowledge about telescopes so i would really appreciate your help.


im interested in deep sky objects and planetary so any idea of what telescope i should get? i was thinking of getting Celestron AstroMaster 114EQ. do you think it would be good for me to get it? any other suggestions other than that?


as im staying at the east, are there any places selling the telescope suggested near the east other than the science centre? because its quite inconvenient for me to travel from east to west. =X


another question i would like to ask. i've been looking up at the night sky with my naked eye and have been seeing these 2 stars near the moon and they are pretty bright. any idea what stars are they? or are they just satellites?


hope to receive a reply soon. haha thanks. =D

Hi,
I would recomand for a starter, a Skywatcher parabollic 114/500 Newton on a EQ3 Mount. With this combination you will be able to observe the DeepSky Objects also the moon and ofcourse the big planets like Jupiter, Saturn or Venus. Even Mars is seeable, but here you can not awayte the same images you know from TV or even from Posters.

The combination, provided that it is collimated, shows you really good planetary images, where the magnification can be taken up to 120 - 140 x.
Above this, the combination is not really heavy, so you can see it as a nice transportable instrument.

Why do I recomand the EQ3?
Here are more reazons for.
1st is, the combination can be motorized on both axis, actually even with a GOTO Kit, where for small aperture telescopes, with not very long focal lengths, it give a nice photographical mount.
2nd is, this mount is able to carry bigger size telescopes and later, if you wish to have another telescope, there you will have a good base for.

Another reason is the price. The Skywatcher products are often bargain prices by a good quality.
The Celestron Brand is in real Skywatcher with another colour ;-)


Robert

sry. but where can i get this Skywatcher 127mm Maksutov Cassegrain? and how heavy does it weigh without the tripod and mount?

Hi eMinity, the Skywatcher 127mm Mak OTA (tube assembly) weighs about 3.5kg alone.