Celestron 114gt Nexstar

Hi,
Im thinking of buying one of these. Has anyone got any experience in using one, or in using the celestron goto system. How exactly does it work? Any advice would be much appreciated, Thanks in advance,
Stephenk.

Hi,

Im thinking of buying one of these. Has anyone got any experience in using one, or in using the celestron goto system. How exactly does it work? Any advice would be much appreciated, Thanks in advance,

I'll leave it to others to comment on the goto and mount, I've never used Celestrons.

This scope is a 4.5" reflector, and costs about EUR 550 from the UK (€ 1,014 from A&S!).
Thats a lot of money for a 4.5" reflector. I guess your decision will boil down to whether having the goto is important, if its not then you can probably get a better scope on a dobsonian or regular equatorial mount for the price. For example celestron have a 6" reflector on a regular equatorial mount for a little less money, but will let you see a lot more, for a little more money you might be able to get even an 8" dobsonian.

Cheers,
~Al

Hi Stephen,

I'd be inclined to agree with Al on this.
It's not to say it's a bad scope, just that it may be a little dear for the aperture. GOTO is handy no doubt about that but I'm not sure how necessary it is for such a small scope.
An 8" dob would show alot more detail and would cost a similar price.
But don't worry too mucb about which scope to buy as your first scope - either one will do fine. You've taken the right steps in avoiding those little scopes on the pharmacy window. After that you can't go too far wrong.
Also make sure to shop around. Alot of people here are reluctant to deal with the main Celestron dealer in Ireland due to what they feel are very high prices.
A few dealers to consider are:
Andromeda Optics
North Down Telescopes
Shop around on UK and US websites also and see if they can deliver to here.

Finally, try and visit a local astronomy club. Members there will only be too keen to show you their scope and let you look through it. That way you can see and try them before having to spend loads of dosh.

Michael

I did quite a bit of observing when I was younger (12-16) with a good pair of binoculars. Now I can afford a good reflector, and I think the goto one looks good (I am still a bit sceptical as to its accuracy/reliability), but down thew road I want to do a bit of photographt. Can the goto track objects for photography? Your advice/opinions are very important to me, thanks a million,
Stephen

- Just a note, Is everyone using digital cameras/webcams?
I have a canon eos 1v. Quite a good camera, but there does not seem to be any posts about using a 'normal' slr camera.

Just a note, Is everyone using digital cameras/webcams?
I have a canon eos 1v. Quite a good camera, but there does not seem to be any posts about using a 'normal' slr camera.

Hi Stephen,
I don't have a digital camera for astronomy! Although I want one...
I have a film slr camera that I use for taking long exposure photos of the night sky sometimes. I am rebuilding my 8" reflector to have a camera mount, and I'm going to get a T-adapter to attach the camera to the eyepeice/focuser - thats how I am going to do astrophotography, and not cheat with digital optics and Registraximajig software (sorry Michael, Keith, and Dave! ).
It will be a good challenge, and when printed from the photographers on 10 X 12 prints will make nice pictures, I think.

Seanie.

Bascially, there are a few different types of astrophotography:

1) Wide angle shots of star trails.
All that's needed for this is a SLR camera and a tripod.

2) Moon
All you need here is a telescope, eyepiece and a basic digital camera than you can put up to the eyepiece for a simple snapshot.

3) Planets
This requires a scope with tracking capability and a good quality webcam connected to a PC. Doesn't need to be a GOTO, just so long as it can accurately track objects across the sky.

4) Deepsky
This is where it gets difficult. This requires a scope with a VERY SOLID mount and a slr camera. The more advanced the astrophotography you want to do, the more expensive the equipment gets and the more diffficult it is to achieve a good result.

I have a LX90 whjich is a 8" f/10 goto scope. I have done a good bit of imaging of the moon and planets and am happy with the results.
I recently tried some deepsky astrophotography (with one of those proper digital slr cameras - not those cheap auld film yokes ).
I was reasonably satisfied with the result, but even with my scope there are limits to the level of deepsky work I can do. Basically, if you want to take really long exposures of deepsky stuff, you need a VERY expensive mount, telescope and camera and ideally you'd also have your own observatory!

At this stage, if I was you, I'd just concentrate on getting a scope which you can use primarily for visual use and perhaps for taking some images of the moon with a simple digital camera.
Alot will come down to your specific needs and your budget. If you want to spend less than €1000 then I'd probably recommend getting the biggest dob you can afford along with a good quality star atlas.
If you are willing to spend more that that, then something like a ETX125, LX90 or one of the LX200 scopes may be worth considering.

Michael