Telescopes?

Soldato
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It is my dad's birthday shortly & he has a bit of an interest in being out & spotting the various astrological bits & bobs and my Mum is thinking of getting him a Telescope but along with me, has no idea about them. Anyone know what a good one for a novice with a passing interest would be? No idea of the budget but please recommend away if there is anyone who does this as a hobby etc
 
Man of Honour
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Thinking about buying one also, the one in the link is very tempting, will read the forums linked also.


As a side question, can anyone explain how you capture images you see from your telescope to save to your computer etc.
 
Man of Honour
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Hey Mik3, ordered the Celestron Omni XLT 127 above. Can't wait to take it out in the garden. Any hints or tips for a complete newbie? I've registered on SGL also.
 
Soldato
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Hey Mik3, ordered the Celestron Omni XLT 127 above. Can't wait to take it out in the garden. Any hints or tips for a complete newbie? I've registered on SGL also.

Did you get it at the bargain price? I think it was £260? its back upto £340 now:(

You will probably be frustrated at first but don't let that put you off. Try the Moon and Jupiter is stunning now, Jupiter is towards the south, it looks like a star but 10x brighter you cant miss it, you will be able to see the bands and all moons with that scope.

I just noticed you only get a 25mm eyepiece with that scope, if you email me your address I'll post you a 10mm eyepiece for free. I've got a spare Barlow lens also you can have that as well.
 
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Associate
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Some of the images people have captured on that forum are nothing short of mind-blowing. I guess I was naive about what could be captured with 'personal' telescopes, some of the detail and imagery caught is spectacular.

Highly recommend people check out the 'Image of the Week' subforum.

Thanks for the link!
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Soldato
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If you stretch to this one:
http://www.telescopeplanet.co.uk/ViewProdDetails.asp?prod_code=PON07B000014

I started with a Celestron Nexstar 80SLT, has computerised goto (Tell it what to find and it finds it) andthen Last year I bought a Skywatcher 200P which has an 8" mirror. The views are nothing short of stunning. The Celestron is superb for planetery and the moon, and s portable. The 200p is not (Tube is huge! and the mount is even heavier/bigger). I need to save up £500 to upgrade the tube with a better focusser and some new lenses. Meh, cant afford it right now!
 
Man of Honour
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Did you get it at the bargain price? I think it was £260? its back upto £340 now:(

You will probably be frustrated at first but don't let that put you off. Try the Moon and Jupiter is stunning now, Jupiter is towards the south, it looks like a star but 10x brighter you cant miss it, you will be able to see the bands and all moons with that scope.

I just noticed you only get a 25mm eyepiece with that scope, if you email me your address I'll post you a 10mm eyepiece for free. I've got a spare Barlow lens also you can have that as well.


email sent, thank you :)
 
Man of Honour
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I would like a GOTO in the future, but as a beginner don't want to miss out on the fun of searching and finding via charts and scanning myself. I am sure they are very good.
 
Associate
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I bet you can see some great sights with that scope, I'm jealous.

Yup, I can and it took a while before I took the plunge and got it!

Sadly tho' since i have had it it has sat in the shed along with all the rest of the astro stuff (cameras, adapters etc..). That is nearly £6k I have lying around and unused.

But, since I have moved to a place that you can see the MilkyWay with the naked eye, it will get it's own home in the back garden!
 
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