advice needed

hi everyone,
im a beginner astronomer and am curently trying to get a telescope (which is really confusing ) and need advice . i was thinking of getting a skywatcher explorer 130m yet ive heard its hard to get precise polar inlinement (or what ever its called) so would be difficult for astrophotography, so does any one have any ideas for a good beginners telescope (nothing to dear).

Hello Novae,

Welcome to the world of astronomy. I recently upgraded and am looking to sell my beginners scope. Whats your budget? Check it out at www.nancylaw.co.uk/telescope.htm , the price is definitely negotiatable.
Its a lovely scope with a good steady base and excellent views of the planets and deep sky objects.

Neill

Hi,

Welcome to thw best hobby in the world!

My first advice to you would be to learn the ropes before getting too far ahead and worrying about things like astrophotography. When you get that far you will realise there id a hell of alot more to astrophotography than just polar alignment!

Any equatorial scope can be polar aligned properly with experience. I wouldnt imaging the SW130 is any more problematic than any other scope in that class.

My second bit of advice would be to buy the best scope your budget will allow. If that means waiting a while until you have a few bob extra then I'd strongly suggest you do so. If you buy a scope just because thats all your budget allows, I guarantee you will be back here next year trying to sell it to move onto the scope you really want. If you have to wait, buy a pair of good binoculars and learn your way around the sky first.

The SW130 is a decent beginners scope saying all that.
However, I should add that it will only allow rudimentary astrophotography, you will need to add drive motors (comes with one motor, you need two for astrophotography) in order to track the stars and even with that you will need a much more substantial mount if you want to do long exposure photography.

In summary, relax, enjoy your first steps, dont try and run before you can walk. The sky is going nowhere:)

Hi,

My first advice to you would be to learn the ropes before getting too far ahead and worrying about things like astrophotography. When you get that far you will realise there id a hell of alot more to astrophotography than just polar alignment!
In summary, relax, enjoy your first steps, dont try and run before you can walk. The sky is going nowhere:)

Hi Novae, this is probably the best advice you could get.
I bought my first scope last December, I also made the mistake of purchasing a CCD to go with it, because that is where my main interest is. The mistake being that I hadn't even learnt anything about astronomy, I just thought I could put the CCD onto the scope, apply my knowledge of photography and away we go. How wrong! Now I'm struggling with both, I should have spent the last 6 or 7 months learning my way around, then using the CCD. Of course, now that I have them both anyway, I find I can't put the CCD aside for a while, everytime the scope is out, so to s the CCD, thats how stubborn I am. Don't get me wrong, I'm having loads of fun learning both, but it's pretty well peppered with frustration for me, as many on these boards will confirm.
Have fun, take your time and welcome.
Bill H.

what do you think of the skywacther explorer 130m :
should i go for something dearer
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hi everyone,
im a beginner astronomer and am curently trying to get a telescope (which is really confusing ) and need advice . i was thinking of getting a skywatcher explorer 130m yet ive heard its hard to get precise polar inlinement (or what ever its called) so would be difficult for astrophotography, so does any one have any ideas for a good beginners telescope (nothing to dear).

Hi Novae,

My advice is to get a 6" to 8" Dobsonian and forget astrophotography for the moment. That type of scope is generally regarded by many experienced amateur astronomers as the best for beginners to get to know the night sky and see a lot as you're getting a sizeable aperture at a very competitive cost. Get some decent Plossl eyepieces as well.

However, if you really want a Skywatcher equatorially mounted scope, I suggest you avoid the Skywatcher Explorer 130M in favour of the 130P. The 130M has a spherical mirror whereas the 130P has a parabolic mirror and is much better optically. It's only £14 more and well worth it. Here's a review by a friend of mine in Canada who is a very experienced astronomer and you can trust what he says.
www.skywatchertelescope.net/13065Review.html

It has to be said though that the scope could do with a stronger mount than the EQ2. Also, the EQ2 can only take a single axis Right Ascension (tracking) motor (not dual axis - RA and Dec which you really need for long exposure astrophotography). If you have an option to upgrade the mount to an EQ3 (don't think so looking at the web site but ask), it would be worth the extra dosh.

Gordon