Hi guys, I'm a totally noob at astronomy but I have always held a deep fascination for the (not so starry Singapore) skies.
After much reading up, I think that a basic reflector/refractor scope would be the best for me as I'm more towards casual visual stargazing and perhaps some planetary observation. (Do feel free to correct me if this is the wrong type for me, still cant make much heads or tails out of it =( )
Portability will be an issue so best if can be something not too heavy as I will have to travel a fair bit on foot to go to a small hill not very nearby lol.
Ok, my wording seems kinda messy so I'll put it in point form.
1)Best if it's fuss-free and low maintance
2)If possible, portability would be desired
3)Of course, most important thing would be ease of use.
My budget is around 150-200 (might be able to exceed it by a lil bit)
Pictures of the scope(s) will be very much appreciated if possible.
Ps:hopefully can get a full set with mount, cos no money buy one. =(
WTB easy to use telescope
Hi there lunzi88, first of all, welcome to Singastro! A refractor would be decent for you as it fits the "low maintenance" condition. A reflector would need constant collimation and requires you to buy quite a number of accessories for collimation uses. But in my case, I'd recommend a Maksutov-Cassegrain, which is a catadioptric telescope with elements from both reflectors and refractors (using both lenses and mirrors). It doesn't require any collimation, so it's a grab and go scope. It's a very popular scope, and I personally own one as well.
Budget-wise, your price range is too low. You may be able to get a pair of decent binoculars with that budget, or maybe an only-tube assembly (OTA) without any mounts. You'll still need to get a mount/tripod to go with it which will definitely cost way over your budget. I'd recommend going for observation sessions before rushing in on a purchase as you can take a look through various types of telescopes for free, then better decide which type of telescope would suit you. I too started off by going for an observation session with NUS students in July 2008, then moved on to getting a pair of Vixen Ascot 8x42 binoculars in August 2008 to test out my interest in Astronomy before I finally got my 127mm/5" Maksutov in December 2008.
Meanwhile, do save up a little more so that you can increase your budget to at least $500 and above, and keep checking here for good 2nd hand deals! I got my set from David Lian for $750, and spend a couple hundreds on eyepieces and accessories. But if you're really tight, a pair of binoculars would be great at this point of time. Lastly, just a day or two ago kayheem posted to trade a 4" maksutov for a 5", and I don't know if he's willing to sell his scope instead of trading it, so maybe you can PM him to see if you can make any deal or offers on his scope. His thread can be found here.
Regards,
Zane
Budget-wise, your price range is too low. You may be able to get a pair of decent binoculars with that budget, or maybe an only-tube assembly (OTA) without any mounts. You'll still need to get a mount/tripod to go with it which will definitely cost way over your budget. I'd recommend going for observation sessions before rushing in on a purchase as you can take a look through various types of telescopes for free, then better decide which type of telescope would suit you. I too started off by going for an observation session with NUS students in July 2008, then moved on to getting a pair of Vixen Ascot 8x42 binoculars in August 2008 to test out my interest in Astronomy before I finally got my 127mm/5" Maksutov in December 2008.
Meanwhile, do save up a little more so that you can increase your budget to at least $500 and above, and keep checking here for good 2nd hand deals! I got my set from David Lian for $750, and spend a couple hundreds on eyepieces and accessories. But if you're really tight, a pair of binoculars would be great at this point of time. Lastly, just a day or two ago kayheem posted to trade a 4" maksutov for a 5", and I don't know if he's willing to sell his scope instead of trading it, so maybe you can PM him to see if you can make any deal or offers on his scope. His thread can be found here.
Regards,
Zane
btw, i found this telescope on ebay which will cost ard 180+ inclusive of shipping.
Would this be a good starter scope?
Because I would really like to be able to see the craters on the moon and stuff.
And I'm still kinda hang up on the idea of peeping through a telescope and see distant objects.
http://www.celestron.com/c3/product.php ... ProdID=422
Would this be a good starter scope?
Because I would really like to be able to see the craters on the moon and stuff.
And I'm still kinda hang up on the idea of peeping through a telescope and see distant objects.
http://www.celestron.com/c3/product.php ... ProdID=422
Hi lunzi88,
That refractor would be decent if we had night skies like Australia. In Singapore, that scope would not be that useful as you'll not be able to see many stars due to it's small aperture. You should get at least a 4" as a minimum. I'm still an amatuer so I'll not be able to offer you an in-depth comparison of the various types of scopes, so maybe you can wait for the more experienced to reply.
If you stay nearby, you can always drop by my area and I can organise an impromptu session for you, so you can take a look through my scope first. I can even bring along my binoculars for you to compare. You wouldn't want to rush into getting a scope and leave it lying around to grow fungus in future. I did a lot of homework before purchasing mine, and I do hope that you know what you're buying before you do.
I live in Hougang and I always observe at the big field next to Buangkok MRT station, and if you're interested to drop by, let me know. I can be contacted at 9-one-2-eight-1-six-four-1 or you can add me on MSN. I'll be able to explain to you more on how to go about finding objects in the skies when you're here. Or if you live far away, maybe you can check out and see if you can join any of our other friends in their observations, such as weixing in Tampines, neojerryjoe in the West/Chinese Garden, Sam Lee in Woodlands, and many more!
There is no rush in getting a telescope because you can join others and have a look through their scopes that may cost thousands and have a magnificant view of the sky without paying a single cent. IMHO, a pair of binoculars is best for starters as it's easier to find your way around in the skies, identify constellations and get familiar with the stars. With a scope, it's not as easy as most scopes have inverted views like right is left, up is down and vice versa. With a pair of binoculars, you can easily navigate around the night sky as it is handheld. You'll have to get used to tuning the knobs if you get a telescope, and sometimes even I get frustrated with it when I can't find the object that I can easily spot with my naked eyes. Most scopes have finderscopes so you can have it at low magnification to find objects in the skies easier, or else you may have a hard time finding objects with a high magnification. In that case, you'll have to invest in eyepieces that can easily cost over $100 for different magnifications. I'm also pretty sure you'll be getting other accessories for the scope, as well as maintenance stuff that will cost you a bomb. I'll be able to show and explain these to you in practical terms if you join me or any of our other members in an observation session.
Regards,
Zane
That refractor would be decent if we had night skies like Australia. In Singapore, that scope would not be that useful as you'll not be able to see many stars due to it's small aperture. You should get at least a 4" as a minimum. I'm still an amatuer so I'll not be able to offer you an in-depth comparison of the various types of scopes, so maybe you can wait for the more experienced to reply.
If you stay nearby, you can always drop by my area and I can organise an impromptu session for you, so you can take a look through my scope first. I can even bring along my binoculars for you to compare. You wouldn't want to rush into getting a scope and leave it lying around to grow fungus in future. I did a lot of homework before purchasing mine, and I do hope that you know what you're buying before you do.
I live in Hougang and I always observe at the big field next to Buangkok MRT station, and if you're interested to drop by, let me know. I can be contacted at 9-one-2-eight-1-six-four-1 or you can add me on MSN. I'll be able to explain to you more on how to go about finding objects in the skies when you're here. Or if you live far away, maybe you can check out and see if you can join any of our other friends in their observations, such as weixing in Tampines, neojerryjoe in the West/Chinese Garden, Sam Lee in Woodlands, and many more!
There is no rush in getting a telescope because you can join others and have a look through their scopes that may cost thousands and have a magnificant view of the sky without paying a single cent. IMHO, a pair of binoculars is best for starters as it's easier to find your way around in the skies, identify constellations and get familiar with the stars. With a scope, it's not as easy as most scopes have inverted views like right is left, up is down and vice versa. With a pair of binoculars, you can easily navigate around the night sky as it is handheld. You'll have to get used to tuning the knobs if you get a telescope, and sometimes even I get frustrated with it when I can't find the object that I can easily spot with my naked eyes. Most scopes have finderscopes so you can have it at low magnification to find objects in the skies easier, or else you may have a hard time finding objects with a high magnification. In that case, you'll have to invest in eyepieces that can easily cost over $100 for different magnifications. I'm also pretty sure you'll be getting other accessories for the scope, as well as maintenance stuff that will cost you a bomb. I'll be able to show and explain these to you in practical terms if you join me or any of our other members in an observation session.
Regards,
Zane
-
superiorstream
- Posts: 1504
- Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2008 4:45 pm
Hi,lunzi88
Nice to know of another newcomer to the hobby of astronomy.This is a hobby that can dig deep into your pocket and make you end up with all the wrong equipment.If you live in a flat I suggest you have a scope that can do what I had done in my ealier days-window side astronomy.A good scope for that is the Orion 80mm refractor(F/5)(cost approx $130 on 2nd hand) on a camera tripod(or hand held-its light).That scope is reasonable in image quality and you can even try afocal photography of the moon and will give reasonable result.I wont recommend a bino as its limited to seeing only.Next up the line is perhaps a 120mm achromatic refractor like the orion120,F/5.That will give you access to object of magnitude 7 if atmospheric condition in Spore is extremely good. Some people say it produces color blurr image at the edge or the field but its price is low!If you do afocal photography -crop at the proper point.(Price of scope should be less than a thousand but its 5 kg in wt and so do allow at least another 500 for a slow motion enabled mount.)At this point you can also consider Zephyrus suggestion of a mahsutov or a 6-8 ins SCT(if you have learn enough about collimination).I personally prefer refractor because its easy to clean and I clean it myself.Next,you will have to consider wheather further spending on the hobby is worth or not.If you do solar obs those Ha solar filter will cost thousand.Photographing star cloud,galaxy etc need a good tracking mount that will cost thousand too.Those DSLR and the associated computer program cost hundreds ,not to say if they change the OS you have to buy again.
As for me I stop at afocal photography and do frequent observation when Singapore sky condition is good.I think we should enjoy our hobby with due condideration to our financial constraint.I am not getting any price for what I am doing-I just enjoy doing it.Happy observing.Some of the photo I had taken-all unedited-can be found at
www.chia-astroblog.blogspot.com.
Thanks for reading
Nice to know of another newcomer to the hobby of astronomy.This is a hobby that can dig deep into your pocket and make you end up with all the wrong equipment.If you live in a flat I suggest you have a scope that can do what I had done in my ealier days-window side astronomy.A good scope for that is the Orion 80mm refractor(F/5)(cost approx $130 on 2nd hand) on a camera tripod(or hand held-its light).That scope is reasonable in image quality and you can even try afocal photography of the moon and will give reasonable result.I wont recommend a bino as its limited to seeing only.Next up the line is perhaps a 120mm achromatic refractor like the orion120,F/5.That will give you access to object of magnitude 7 if atmospheric condition in Spore is extremely good. Some people say it produces color blurr image at the edge or the field but its price is low!If you do afocal photography -crop at the proper point.(Price of scope should be less than a thousand but its 5 kg in wt and so do allow at least another 500 for a slow motion enabled mount.)At this point you can also consider Zephyrus suggestion of a mahsutov or a 6-8 ins SCT(if you have learn enough about collimination).I personally prefer refractor because its easy to clean and I clean it myself.Next,you will have to consider wheather further spending on the hobby is worth or not.If you do solar obs those Ha solar filter will cost thousand.Photographing star cloud,galaxy etc need a good tracking mount that will cost thousand too.Those DSLR and the associated computer program cost hundreds ,not to say if they change the OS you have to buy again.
As for me I stop at afocal photography and do frequent observation when Singapore sky condition is good.I think we should enjoy our hobby with due condideration to our financial constraint.I am not getting any price for what I am doing-I just enjoy doing it.Happy observing.Some of the photo I had taken-all unedited-can be found at
www.chia-astroblog.blogspot.com.
Thanks for reading
-
superiorstream
- Posts: 1504
- Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2008 4:45 pm
Nice to know that. I would really like to get a mount for that however, because I havesomewhat shaky hands. Haha, yeap I agree with consideration about the financial constraint part. Namely because I'm still a poor student working part time for my allowance and extra wants.
But like I said I'm more of a causal observer of the sky and not really that into astrophotography (yet) hence all I want is just a good basic scope for visual sighting. Furthermore, because my interest is more towards nearby objects such as the moon and planets within the solar system. I think I wouldn't really need a very high powered tube yet.
Since you mentioned about the orion scope, would you happen to have one for sale?
But like I said I'm more of a causal observer of the sky and not really that into astrophotography (yet) hence all I want is just a good basic scope for visual sighting. Furthermore, because my interest is more towards nearby objects such as the moon and planets within the solar system. I think I wouldn't really need a very high powered tube yet.
Since you mentioned about the orion scope, would you happen to have one for sale?
Haha, lunzi88, you sound just like me. I'm also a casual observer and not into astrophotography due to the costs involved. The f/ratio of the maksutov is too slow for any good astrophotography as the exposure time required is much more than faster scopes. Afocal photography can be fun though, and the maksutov can probably take a few decent lunar shots. I've got a Meade LPI to play with too, haha.
Anyway, occasionally I do go to Woodlands area to observe, there's a big field near the Admiralty MRT station. My friend, Lester aka letburn (forum nick) stays around that area and I go over there to join him at times. In any case, I do have a pair of Vixen Ascot 8x42 binoculars lying around unused, and if you've decided on which to get for yourself, then let me know again. Your budget is definitely only good enough for a pair of binoculars as a decent setup for a small scope would cost you at least around $400.
Anyway, occasionally I do go to Woodlands area to observe, there's a big field near the Admiralty MRT station. My friend, Lester aka letburn (forum nick) stays around that area and I go over there to join him at times. In any case, I do have a pair of Vixen Ascot 8x42 binoculars lying around unused, and if you've decided on which to get for yourself, then let me know again. Your budget is definitely only good enough for a pair of binoculars as a decent setup for a small scope would cost you at least around $400.