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Where in dublin can i buy a telescope ?
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05-08-2009 2:44pm#1Hello i have recently had a big interest in astronomy and i was thinking of buying a telescope , i have around 300 euro. What can i get where can i get it and how much do they cost id like to be able to see some planets or the surface of moon is this possible ? thanks
*Edit*Even any online store's if you know any.0
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Thanks i have been looking at this site http://www.teleskop-express.de
But i am not to sure what spec's i should be looking at i have read the stickys here and i know i should be looking for a good apature, But im not to sure what exactly il be able to see, I would like to be able to see the rings of saturn and anything else out there really.
I am thinking of ordering this
http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php?products_id=938#ebericht
Optical data:
-- aperture ... 102mm
-- focal length ... 1325mm
-- focal ratio ... f/13
-- Maksutov optics with XLT coating
-- max. useful magnification ... about 240x
-- limiting visual stellar magnitude ... 12,5mag
-- resolving power ... 1,14"
-- linear obscuration by the secondary mirror ... 35%
-- tube length ... 342mm
Are these good spec's i dont want to buy something and then regret my purchase
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This one on Argos any good:
Celestron Powerseeker 127EQ - €249
- Quick and easy no tool set up.
- Slow motion controls for smooth tracking.
- Erect image optics- ideal for terrestrial and astronomical use.
- Fully coated glass optical components with high transmission coatings for enhanced image brightness and clarity.
- 3x Barlow lens triples the magnifying power of each eye piece.
- Accessory tray for convenient storage of accessories.
- 'The Sky (R)' level 1 planetarium software with 10.000 object database and enhanced images .
- Aluminium tripod.
- Mount-German Equatorial.
- Eyepiece 1 - 20mm - 50x magnification.
- Eyepiece 2 - 40mm - 250x magnification.
- Optimum magnification x50.
- Maximum magnification x250.
- Finderscope - 5 x 24.
- Size 83.82 x 43.18 x 27.94cm.
- Weight 7.71kg.
- Manufacturer's 2 year guarantee.
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This one on Argos any good:
Celestron Powerseeker 127EQ - €249- Quick and easy no tool set up.
- Slow motion controls for smooth tracking.
- Erect image optics- ideal for terrestrial and astronomical use.
- Fully coated glass optical components with high transmission coatings for enhanced image brightness and clarity.
- 3x Barlow lens triples the magnifying power of each eye piece.
- Accessory tray for convenient storage of accessories.
- 'The Sky (R)' level 1 planetarium software with 10.000 object database and enhanced images .
- Aluminium tripod.
- Mount-German Equatorial.
- Eyepiece 1 - 20mm - 50x magnification.
- Eyepiece 2 - 40mm - 250x magnification.
- Optimum magnification x50.
- Maximum magnification x250.
- Finderscope - 5 x 24.
- Size 83.82 x 43.18 x 27.94cm.
- Weight 7.71kg.
- Manufacturer's 2 year guarantee.
Hello there Hellboy! Long time no speak!
Couldnt help replying to this post and although I am no expert here I believe that's a decent entry level telescope but I personally think there are better options out there!!
What's your budget?
Looking to similar telescopes, someone correct me if I am wrong, you can find better telescopes for a similar price. Most people recommend the Celestron Omni XLT 150 (just bought one myself). It has a bigger apperture than the one above, that's a bit over 33% more light gathering than the 127 mm from argos.
Astronomy Ireland sells them for 404 euro, I bought it here for 260 euro (http://www.green-witch.com/acatalog/Omni_XLT_Series.html). I have heard good things about green-witch, so far they have been very helpfull and quick to reply to all my questions. I havent received the telescope yet so can't say much more about them. I am sure that people will correct me if I am wrong.
Another very attractive and similar option is the Skywatcher Explorer 150P. Both the Celestron and the Skywatcher have exactly the same optics as both are made by the same company although the mounts are slightly different. I found a very good deal here (http://www.opticalvision.co.uk/astronomical_telescopes/sky-watcher/newtonian_reflectors/explorer_150p_eq3_2). The Skywatcher comes with more eyepieces as well as a 2x barlow lens. I'd disregard the lens that come with the telescope as they are not very good quality. You should get your own good quality lens.
At the end. I went for the XLT 150 and bough a few extra good quality eyepieces as well as filters.
It also depends on your budget and what you are going to be using the telescope for, I mean, terrestial views? planets? Deep Space?
Newtonian reflector telescopes are probably the best type you can buy without spending a fortunte (except for the dobsonians).
I'd try to avoid motorized telescopes as they are normally quite expensive, and most of your money will go to the computerized part of it.
Maksutov-Cassegrain and Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes are a good option if you are looking for a very portable system (take a look around at the Celestron Nexstar SE series) but they are more expensive.
Technically you should be looking for a telescope with a mirrow diameter of at least 127/150 mm and a focal lenght of 650/750 mm. I believe this considered good for planetary and deep space observation.
Remember that the most important factor (or one of the most important factors) on a telescope is the light gathering, the more light they get the more you will see.
Also remember that there are loads of telescopes claiming magnification over x300, x400, blah blah blah. A telescope should not be pushed further than double its mirrow diameter in mm (50 if its measured in inches), so if you have a 150 mm (6 inches) telescope the highest practical power (magnification) should be ~x300, or a bit more.
Once you get a decent scope and you get the hang of it, you can start spending money on eye pieces, filters, etc...0 -
What's your budget?
what you are going to be using the telescope for, I mean, terrestial views? planets? Deep Space?
Hi Bohrio
Budget for me is up to €300, only really starting out and my son will be using it too so I don't want something too complicated. It will be for all round use from moon (mainly for me for getting pictures), stars and planets. Thanks for the help. 0 -
You can still use a computerised tripod one manualy cant you ? or do they only move if you enter cord's in I was looking at the computerised one because some one was telling me to check out certain place's. Hmm
i have 300-400 euro i thought a decent telescope would be good enough for terrestial views planets & Deep Space, I just want to see what ever i can really.0 -
Lone Stone wrote: »You can still use a computerised tripod one manualy cant you ? or do they only move if you enter cord's in
Yah, you can manually move it by using arrow keys.I was looking at the computerised one because some one was telling me to check out certain place's. Hmm
But you see, if you get an equatorial mount you can find anything in the sky manually. And trust me, there's an infinitely greater satisfaction in finding something manually from a star atlas using co-ordinates than there is in selecting the object from a computer database. Half of the fun of astronomy is trying to find the object, in many cases observing the object itself is relatively boring. The hunt is what it's all about, and computerised mounts -- for beginners -- kill that.i have 300-400 euro i thought a decent telescope would be good enough for terrestial views planets & Deep Space, I just want to see what ever i can really.
I still think that the one I've linked to for €404 would be your best choice.0 -
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Hi Bohrio
Budget for me is up to €300, only really starting out and my son will be using it too so I don't want something too complicated. It will be for all round use from moon (mainly for me for getting pictures), stars and planets. Thanks for the help.
Ok, well if you will be using the telescope for astrophotography that might reduce the amount of telescopes you can use. What kind of camera will you be using? Depending on the size you will need a stronger mount and if is a big SLR with a zoom you might need to buy extra weights. But you can do it in bits.
I still recommend either the XLT150 or the Explorer 150P. The explorer is probably your best option, as it comes with more eyepieces as well as a barlow lens. The telescope has a screw on the top were you can piggy back the camera (again bear in mind the weight). If you want to take more serious pictures then you can buy an adaptor (T-ring/T-mount adapter) although I think the 150P already comes with it.
In this link you can find more information http://www.astropix.com/HTML/I_ASTROP/TOC_AP.HTM.
The skywatcher is cheaper, same optics although the mount is not as good as the celestron's, the skywatcher also comes with more eye pieces. The telescope is easy enough to use although you will have to familiarize yourself with collimation as it might some calibration from time to time. This is not a difficult task to perform although it might be tricky at first.
I have seen the telescope for sale in several sites, firstlightoptics sell it for £219, plus £7 for shipping, can't tell you if they are serious or reliable as a shop as I have never used them. They are 140 euro cheaper than Astronomy Ireland.
http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=150eq32
http://www.telescopeplanet.co.uk/ViewProdDetails.asp?prod_code=PON07B000060
If you want a similar model to the one from argos try these two:
http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=s130pm
http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=skywatcher_explorer_130p_AZ_goto
The first one is the same as the 150P but with a smaller aperture and a smaller mount, as well as the 150p you can also piggy back a camera on the top, the problem is that the mount is not as good as the 150p's.
The second one already comes with a go to system, these means that, after properly calibrated, it will point to the place you want to see all by itself, the con is that you will probably have issues if you want to use it for astrophotography as I am not sure if the telescope can handle much extra weight.0 -
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Lone Stone wrote: »Did you get it from green-witch.com yet , Was going to order one from there since its so much cheaper. How long did it take to arrive, Would you recomend buying from them ?
Hi
Yes I did and so far I can't recommend them highly enough. They shipped the telescope on friday and I got it on monday. Couried next business day delivery from UK, very impressive. The telescope came perfectly packed and with no visual defects. Got it up and running in about 20-35 minutes.
Couldnt wait to test it, so at first, I was a bit pissed off because the sky was covered but luckily enough at 1am I had about 20 minutes of partially clear skies. I tried the telescope and even though I live on an area with some light polution (a flat in sandyford industrial park), I could see the moon with its craters as crips as never seen it before, I honestly could not believe how detailed the surface was. Then I pointed up towards Jupiter and had a clear view of the planet and 6 of its moons (at least the Galileans moons). Jupiter was obviously small (I only have a 25 mm and 12 mm 52 FOV eyepiece) but I could perfectly distinguis the different gas layers (couldnt see the red spot although I didnt have time to study it carefully). So considering the result the telescope was amazing for its value, and also considering that is not collimated.
I bought the telescope (came with a 25 mm eyepiece, a lunar filter, a 12 mm plossl (omni) for less than 340 euro including delivery (next business day).
Very happy. They were also very helpful and quick to reply to all my question, only within hours of emailing them. To be honest I found the telescope cheaper in other sites but I decided to order from them because of their response, both the emails and phone. I wanted someone I could relay on.
I will be ordering more from them soon, my next objectives are the celestron ultima barlow, a variable filter, a few lens, a case for the lens and a baader collimator and probably a bag.
After that I will look into buying a t ring and etc and prepare myself for astrophotography. Can't wait. Hate the weather though, keep looking out the window hoping for a clear sky but no luck
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