Telescope for loft apartment

catoutthebag

Hi I'm looking for my balcony and wondered if there any beginners recommendation? I want to zoom into the moon and stars and wonder what is, what was and the possibilities that lay ahead

AndyPix

Hi, I know this isnt very "money saving" advice , but i would STRONGLY advise you NOT to buy a cheaper "manual" telescope.


I got one, and very powerful it was too, but the problem is , you are looking at things so far away, that the SLIGHTEST move of the telescope, moves what you were looking at out of view.


I could literally breath on mine and that tiny movement would translate into thousands of miles of movement in the sky ..


I wish i had spen the extra £100 or so for something like this


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/221973726070?lpid=122&chn=ps&googleloc=1007105&poi=&campaignid=620800750&device=c&adgroupid=27378723426&rlsatarget=aud-133395220866%3Apla-181480831746&adtype=pla&crdt=0


That will automatically point at what you want, and stay pointed at it


Hope that helps a bit
Andy

googler

AndyPix wrote: »

Hi, I know this isnt very "money saving" advice , but i would STRONGLY advise you to buy a cheaper "manual" telescope.

You mean 'advise you not to buy', don't you?

OP, get onto some specialised astronomical forums and ask for advice there.

AndyPix

googler wrote: »

You mean 'advise you not to buy', don't you?
.

OOps yes , i'll edit it now

bingo_bango

googler wrote: »

OP, get onto some specialised astronomical forums and ask for advice there.

^^^That. You will have no idea at this point what exactly you want to do, and it's too late once you've bought the scope. I spent 18 months reading through forums before buying mine (still not convinced I made the right decision ).

Agree with the advice to get a GOTO mount though, as it will save a lot of heartache at the start.

Try stargazerslounge.com, cloudynights.com and astronomyshed.co.uk (other forums are available).

Shimrod

bingo_bango wrote: »

Agree with the advice to get a GOTO mount though, as it will save a lot of heartache at the start.

It may save some heartache, but could also be useless. If the balcony only offers a limited view of the sky, it may not be possible to locate the alignment stars required to set up the GOTO.

As has been advised, try the more specialised forums - the sky at night website has some good guides and reviews which may also help you make up your mind http://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/astronomy-for-beginners

tonyh66

and remember, if you buy an astronomical telescope the hot neighbour you want to spy on will be upside down. The advice you will get from stargazers.com and other forums will be to start with binoculars and then move on to a telescope if you are still interested.

Fightsback

If you are interested in stargazing a very good free planetarium program is Stellarium:

http://www.stellarium.org/en_GB/



It's an excellent free educational tool.

AndyPix

tonyh66 wrote: »

and remember, if you buy an astronomical telescope the hot neighbour you want to spy on will be upside down. .

Not a prob, simply make yourself a set of these snappy gigs


http://www.instructables.com/id/Upside-down-glasses/

Fightsback

AndyPix wrote: »

Not a prob, simply make yourself a set of these snappy gigs

Wear them too long and your brain will start to interpret the upside image as the correct way up, be warned.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/nov/12/improbable-research-seeing-upside-down

S0litaire

Also look into getting one that you can easily attach some sort of digital camera, still or video. that way you don't need to be near the telescope and can get some great long duration pictures.

Especially when in the winter months you get a crystal clear night and the temp drop below 0c, you can stay warm in the house while you get great views! ^_~