Simviation Forums

Well I have recently been bitten with the star gazing bug again. My old telescope was great for viewing the moon and perhaps a bunch of stars, but not really that good at detailing nebula and the distant planets.
I am hoping someone here can point me in the direction of a reasonably priced telescope good for viewing nebula especially but also things like saturns rings and jupiter and what not.
Thanks.

By reasonable I mean,

You need Alex.

You also need somewhere without light pollution. I would hardly think Birmingham is an ideal spot.

You want light gathering power.  Perhaps an 8" Dobsonian might be a good pick.  Those can be gotten for about $300 new.  If you want better tracking than the azimuth mount a Dob provides you, then you'll want the equatorial mount.  An 8" Eq scope would run you about $450 and up.  Also, if you're interested in nebulae, then you want a short focal length.  An f4 1/2 would be good for wide fields.  For example, the Veil Nebula in Cygnus is very big, though very faint.  So you definately want low power and a short focal length.  High power and long focal lengths are good for planetary observations, as well as splitting doubles.

Also, if you're saddled with light pollution, all is not lost.  There are what are called "nebula filters".  They pass the light that nebulae omit and block the light that come from streetlights.  They slightly dim the overall view, but the nebula jumps out at you because they filters offer good contrast, which otherwise your view would be washed out by the light pollution.  Also, consider the size of your scope.  If you buy a big honkin "light-bucket", if it's difficult for you to transport and set up, you won't want to be bothered with using it too much, so you end up defeating your purpose.

It may seem a little offbeat, but ask any astronomy club and they'll agree with what I'm about to say...

But, if you're like most people, a scope will be irresistable to you, so here are a few don'ts to go with the above do's

Don't buy any scope that advertises what 'power' it is.

Anyone worth their salt i astronomy will tell you this fact and it's probably the most important guideline to follow.

[quote]My suggestion for a first scope?

Meade's ETX 90 or ETX 125.

Excellent advice from Kevin... ...!

I use a good quality 10 X 50 binocular for general observation, and a 30mm, 8 - 25X zoom refractor telescope, 12 inches long and weighing just over 1 pound, for long distance searching.

Binoculars are comfortable to use, and are, of course "binocular"......!

BOTH of these have to be mounted on a camera tripod to gain a clear view and prevent shake....
...and note that we are rotating, and the object will be constantly disappearing from view......!

...and all the objects will be viewed the "correct way round"...(Reflector telescope objects are viewed "upside down" )!

Note: My 8 - 25X telescope zoomed out to 25X brings the 250,000 mile-away moon viewable at a distance of a mere 10,000 miles...!!

(I blame it all on this Star Trek addiction of yours, Craig)......!

Paul..."Beam me up, Scotty"......!

Thanks for the help guys.
I've already sorted myself out with Bino's. It's going to be a while before I have saved enough for this.

If you're going after bino's, look for a few things.  For astronomical viewing, I would recommend nothing less than 50mm lenses.  Of course larger would be better, but they cost more and are heavier.  I have some 12x60's that I can use comfortably.  Larger than that, you'll want a nice lounge chair to lean back with and not end up getting tired of holding the binos up.  Also, pay attention to the coating.  Coated lenses are good, multi-coated are better, fully multi-coated are best.  There's lots of lenses and prisms in bino's.  That means lots of surfaces that can reflect light.  The coating cuts down the reflections.

Along with the targets that were previously mentioned, the saggitarius(sp) "teapot" in the summer sky on a dark night will amaze you!  That's the direction of the center of the galaxy.  The lagoon nebula and the trifid nebula are definately within reach.  I saw them with my 8x50's.

Also know this, nebula as viewed through a scope looks nothing like the pictures.  Make sure you understand that so you won't be disappointed.

Dont worry, I know that one
Thanks for the advice.

For the more prominent objects like the Andromeda Galaxy and nebulae in Orion, binoculars work fine, even in poor conditions (up to a certain point). Stuff like the Pleiades is very nice with binoculars, too.

Trouble with spending more on a good reflector for nebula-viewing in urban areas is... well... I'm just glad that I only spent $150 on my  old-but-hardly-used  catadioptric now that I'm back in the city. Wider=brighter; so with wide light-gatherers,more light pollution= less enjoyment. Power (focal length) won't help much.
I haven't used mine here in a long time, except to view Luna and Jupiter.

You may get more satisfaction getting a decent refractor for viewing the Moon and planets, and spend less money, to boot. I've been thinking about doing that, because here inside the NYC-area light-cesspool, I can still see everything out to Saturn with the naked eye, even with the pee-colored glare.
also been thinking about building a Dobsonian... great, another project I'll never get to.

The general rule seems to be:

Refractor for the moon and planets

Reflector for deep sky objects.

SCT for a decent middle ground.

Just be sure if you get a refractor, DON'T get one of the junk ones I mentioned...  ;)

[quote]The general rule seems to be:

Refractor for the moon and planets

Reflector for deep sky objects.

SCT for a decent middle ground.

Just be sure if you get a refractor, DON'T get one of the junk ones I mentioned...