Star gazing.

[BolshieBastard]

No, not watching for phoney 'celebs'! The cosmos!

I've always had an interest in things astronomical. And as Sir Patrick Moore once said 'if you cant tell mars from uranus, you arent borrowing my telescope any more! So, been thinking about buying a scope since last christmas but as I had to watch what I spent, decided to leave it for the time being.

Well, Im looking again and need recommendations for a good telescope to start my star gazing with. Two I've looked at are the Celestron 4 se at around £379

Celestron NexStar 4 SE Telescope

and the Celestron 5 se at around £629

Celestron NexStar 5 SE Telescope

Beauty of these and others I may add, is the computer gizmo that can navigate round the celestial sky for you which, Id imagine would be a boon for a beginner. As one gets more knowledgable, you'd obviously start navigating yourself if you wished.

Any one 'out there' into astronomy and got advice on telescopes to buy? Dont really want to go above £650. The ability to have the scope navigate around the sky (yes, I know you have to do the initial set up with most of them first), be able to take pictures via an attached camera would be nice as would linking the scope to a laptop.

Any ideas?
Ta.

[minestrone]

When Alfred J Pruffock's TARDIS gets him back here he will be the man for this thread.

[Gonzo]

I'd save your money if I were you. I am sure that Google Galaxy will be available shortly.

[Gonzo]

I was taking the piss, thought I had better check, and it already exists.

Google Sky

It doesn't look as satisfactory as looking at the real thing though.

[minestrone]

I was taking the piss, thought I had better check, and it already exists.

Google Sky

It doesn't look as satisfactory as looking at the real thing though.

Had it for a while, works quite well picking out the star names for you, could imagine it would be good if you had kids.

Drains the battery like nothing on earth though.

[scooterscot]

No, not watching for phoney 'celebs'! The cosmos!

I've always had an interest in things astronomical. And as Sir Patrick Moore once said 'if you cant tell mars from uranus, you arent borrowing my telescope any more! So, been thinking about buying a scope since last christmas but as I had to watch what I spent, decided to leave it for the time being.

Well, Im looking again and need recommendations for a good telescope to start my star gazing with. Two I've looked at are the Celestron 4 se at around £379

Celestron NexStar 4 SE Telescope

and the Celestron 5 se at around £629

Celestron NexStar 5 SE Telescope

Beauty of these and others I may add, is the computer gizmo that can navigate round the celestial sky for you which, Id imagine would be a boon for a beginner. As one gets more knowledgable, you'd obviously start navigating yourself if you wished.

Any one 'out there' into astronomy and got advice on telescopes to buy? Dont really want to go above £650. The ability to have the scope navigate around the sky (yes, I know you have to do the initial set up with most of them first), be able to take pictures via an attached camera would be nice as would linking the scope to a laptop.

Any ideas?
Ta.

If you can find a refractor rather than a reflector at the same diameter go for that, inch or inch you're far better off with a refractor.


You do not need the fancy computer controlled scopes for our backyards unless you searching for deep sky objects, in which case you really need to be out in the countryside.

I used to have a 4 inch reflector and could find jupiter and saturn easily enough through the small scope first.

[norrahe]

If you can find a refractor rather than a reflector at the same diameter go for that, inch or inch you're far better off with a refractor.


You do not need the fancy computer controlled scopes for our backyards unless you searching for deep sky objects, in which case you really need to be out in the countryside.

I used to have a 4 inch reflector and could find jupiter and saturn easily enough through the small scope first.

How do these cope when living in sort of built up areas (I'm kinda in the sticks, on the edge of a village), i'm thinking light pollution. Was thinking of buying Mr N a scope as a pressie.

[Zippy]

How do these cope when living in sort of built up areas (I'm kinda in the sticks, on the edge of a village), i'm thinking light pollution. Was thinking of buying Mr N a scope as a pressie.

It's rubbish here. Just got a cheap telescope (which isn't bad), but the tripod is very cheap so we get a lot of vibration.

[norrahe]

It's rubbish here. Just got a cheap telescope (which isn't bad), but the tripod is very cheap so we get a lot of vibration.

unfortunately he doesn't do cheap.

I think I'll use it an an incentive for him to do well on his masters

[gingerjedi]

What about this one: Meade ETX80 Telescope Package

I've been toying with the idea for a while too.