Looking for your telescope suggestions

Hi ET.
I'd agree with the other lads,

Go for a Dob.
(10'' if you can afford it.)
but 8'' would be more transportable.
Get yourself a good beginner sky atlas and
also a more advanced one for later.
A good pair of 10 x 50 binoculars also will be essential
(lidl do a fantastic pair for around 20 euro every year and I think they are on
sale right now)

Lastly but probably most importantly,
contact the Cork club.
(the link is in the links section)

It's the best way to get the info and advice you are looking for.

Happy hunting.

Hi,
A limitless budget is a very dangerous thing to ask about here, it is very easy to blow 20,000e on a scope if you wish.! :shock:
You need to ask yourself what you want to do with the scope, viewing or astrophotography??
If its simply viewing then get as large a scope as you can afford and transport, basically a Dobsonian reflector.
If you'll be doing imaging, then a SCT with goto capabilities will be the one you want.
What critical for a scope is the diameter of the lens/mirror, this is aperture , aperture is everything so get as big a scope as possible, a smaller scope with bells and whistles is not going to be a match for a simpler yet bigger scope.

Whatever you go for, I'd really really suggest that you shop around before you commit, be certain what you want and dont let a shop deviate you from your decision, also get a price from atleast 3 shops before you decide, you should also consider the online astro shops and second hand sites like astromart.com, some people who jumped before they looked ended up finding similar scopes at other shops for a cheaper price.

Hi guys! im sorry its my first time ever writing on a message board so please bare with me.I have been looking through my fathers cope just at the moon for years you know just gazing now and then and i decided its time i get my own.The trip to kennedy space center in florida ignited my interest again.im really interested in astrophotography and have read webcams are best for planets which is what i am interested in.Im coming across a bit of money soon and am going to fork out on everything i need in one go.First of all will be binoculars which i read was the best thing to do starting off.But can anyone recommend a good book?Also a decent scope that can be used for observing aswell as photography?An all roumd scope i suppose (if they exist).Ive been reading internet pages etc. for sometime now and decided i would post.Any help at all would be greatly greatly appreciated!sorry for the longpost

Hi Keith and welcome,

We have "reasonably" regular meetings at the Deise Astronomy Society, in Waterford, just keep an eye out on the Message Board on the Deise Astronomy Society site, for the latest updates. It is a bit quiet at the moment due to it being rather bright at night.

I am over in Cherrymount, so if you want you can pop over to have a look at the equipment I am using and try them out to see if they fit your requirements.

I use a 6 inch Newt, a 11 inch SCT and a variety of Camera Lenses. For Photography, I use a 350D and a DMK Webcam (this replaced the Philips Webcam).

Your log in on the DAS site should now be active, feel free to PM me with any queries.