Where to purchase my first scope?

Thanks for such prompt responses!! Waited 2 days for a reply on my thread on boards.ie The lads over there probably spend most of their time over here.

Well it looks like Telescope-Service are the ones to go for then. I notice they do paypal. Unless there is a limit on the value of the transaction with paypal, then I guess thats the way to do it. Feel much better doing it that way rather than giving my card details over the phone.

Re: Eyepieces. I can't find any sets on telescope service but I have seen some Meade and Celestron Plossl EP,Barlow and Filter sets. Maybe thats what I should be going for just to get me going and only start buying more expensive, wideangles EP's, nebula filters etc farther down the line when I get some experience under my belt. That is unless those meade and celestron sets are totally mediocre. I'd have to get them elsewhere too as telescope-service don't stock them. Which to go for though? The €200 Celestron Plossl,barlow,filter set or the €400 Meade 4000 series PLossl,barlow,filter set.

Or failing that could you recommend me a selection from telescope-service. Not only am I lost re: what mm EP's to get, which barlow etc but also lost as to which eyepiece from which brand to get. For instance I have read elsewhere about the Hyperions for wide angle but what brand general purpose plossls should I get and in what sizes etc.

Re: Lunartic and Local Clubs. I've been lurking on the forums for the last few days and saw already saw the threads pertaining to both the IAS and SDAS. I plan to try and get down to Glendalough on Saturday assuming the meet is on and we have clear skies. I was also reading the thread about the prospective new SDAS dark(ish:lol: ) site up past Enniskery/roundwood. Was thinking to myself, "Sounds like the SDAS is the club for me! Dark Site not too far from Bray"

Re Barberskum

Haven't actually looked through a smaller scope. I know that apeture fever would still be a major problem even with a 12in scope but whatever about trying to control myself with a 12incher, I know that me being me would have quickly worked his way up from 6-8-10in anyway and I would have either had the hassle of selling a few scopes in quick succession or would have had 2 or 3 scopes gathering dust in the attic very quickly. For me it was best to go biggish from the off and at a size where price increases are more exponential. ie much easier to talk myself out of a bigger scope when the price of a 16in doubles over the price of a 12in whereas starting smaller, I'd be "Well that 8in is only 200 quid more than my 6in, that 10 is only 200 quid more than my 8in etc

Rest assured though after researching I have lowered my expectations. I know I won't see anything like the pics in a magazine even in a 12in. Worst case scenario is that I might look through the eyepiece for the first time and think to myself, "Well if this is what you see through a 12 then I'm glad I didn't get anything smaller" TBH though I have probably lowered espectations too much at this stage and might be pleasently suprised about what I can see. So although I know that I might be, "Mah, I'm sure we can do better", I'll Know that this is the biggest and best we can afford/accomodate right now. Get a 6-8-10in and straight away I would probably wish we had have gone for the biggest and best we could afford.

As for why I kind of ruled out the lightbridge. Like I mentioned ealier, one of the reasons was spontanaeity(sp?) A choice between grabbing a scope (albeit a behemoth) and simply moving it to the viewing spot in the garden
or grabbing the non behemoth seperate parts of a scope and having to put them together and be guaranteed to deffo have to collimate before getting to use it.

The other reason for the Orion over the Meade LB is the Object Locator. Quicker for me and much easier for the family. Some of the others get bored quickly and it would be hard to hold their interest in a cold back garden when it takes 10 minutes to find each object.

Thanks again for the help all. I think I am going to be spending a lot of time here!!

Keith

I have a set of Meade Series 4000 Plossls that I don't use that often, they are 9.7mm, 15mm, 26mm and 32mm, when you get the scope let me know and you can have the loan of them, if you like them I'll give you the option to buy them. I only live down the road in Ballybrack.

Hi,
The Meade series 4000s are pretty good eyepieces, I haven't used the Hyperion eyepieces, but i hear they are good.

Information Overload!!

Just been doing more reading on the subject.

Is it right that bigger apetures can actually have a negative impact on planetary viewing. Its just that on the one hand you have people saying that they barely noticed a brightness difference going from 10-12in while on the other hand some say that some galaxy spiral arms and dust lanes come into view in 12in which are invisible in a 10inch and that except on nights of exceptional seeing the extra 2 inches of a 12inch actually make planetary views worse.

Is it better to trade off some image quality of the planets for the chance to see spiral arms and dust lanes or is it better to go with a 10inch, get better views of the planets but miss the chance at seeing spiral arms that might only be visible through light polluted skies one or two days a year??

I thought I was sure I wanted the 12in and wouldn't be happy with a 10in but now I just don't know :roll: It would be a good €350 cheaper and would fit in my car and would fit in the house where a 12in would need a shed out the back.

I guess I am asking how much I would be sacreficing going for a 10in instead of a 12in or indeed how much I would be gaining going from 10 to 12??

Aperture is king!!!!!!, there are times when a 12" might show slightly worse off images compared to say an 8" but there are other times where it wont. I've used the 20" on planets and at times it completely floors other scopes for planetary detail (to my astonishment!).
Remember that there are only 3 planets out there with decernable detail and thousands of deep sky objects where aperture rules.
You made a good choice deciding with the Orion scope, those digital setting circles will save you alot of time tracking down objects, I've often found that your first gut instinct is usually the way to go, so don't let anyone sway you.

Following on from my last post.

Basically my new found confusion just comes from finding out that bigger isn't necessarily always better.

It is not an issue of cost or space or car portability. Like I said in the first post. We have budgeted enough for the 12in anyway. Have no problem keeping the scope outside in a shed which in many ways is better for the scope and quick setup and acclimatisation of the scope. Have permanent access to a vehicle capable of transporting the 12in. That said one can't sneer at saving 350 quid, being able to use any car, not having to buy a mini shed.

I guess I just need clarification. Does that extra 2in mean much in the scheme of things. Is it a case of slightly less clear views of the planets but the extra inches open up another 1000 DSO's and improve countless others (ie go bigger for better views of 1000's of objects or go smaller for better views of 2 or 3 planets)........or does that extra 2 inches severly impact planetary views while only slightly improving the views of a few DSO's. Is there a trade off either way and how much of a trade off. ie I know the pro's and cons of OTA size, price, transportability, storage of both sizes of scope. But what are the pro's and cons with regard to what I can see and how I will see it for the two sizes?