Stargazing Skywatcher Skyliner 150P Dobsonian questions

[MartinJH]

Sorry to barge in on a thread, and I am sorry if this is the wrong place, but is this a recommended scope http://firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=dobsky150 for a amatuer and what could you expect to see with almost/ none light poplution.

 

[Who Am I]

I'd go for a slightly larger mirror for beginners so that they don't feel the need to upgrade after they start looking for the dimmer Messier objects in the suburbs of a bright city.

Messier only had a 4 inch scope, but he had no light pollution whatsoever. If you got light pollution, a bigger mirror is a good investment.

 

[MartinJH]

K that's cool no problem. Yes basically where I live, South Wales,uk, I'm cushioned in every direction by mountains. If you take a short car drive to the top you virtually have no man made light at all. It's an incredible view even with just using your eyes.
Thanks for the info as well :).

 

[Who Am I]

My first real telescope was an 8-inch Dobsonian mounted scope like the one in the picture. Nothing real fancy on it, just a large tube with a couple of decent eyepieces with that simple mount. I actually recommend that mount for starting out.

 

[MartinJH]

I plan on getting the above scope (http://firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=dobsky150) within the next week/month
I was wondering if anyone here has any nice shots taken with the above telescope or a similar specced
Have you any recommendations of another telescope close to the original chosen scopes price +/- ££.

 

[turbo]

I plan on getting the above scope (http://firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=dobsky150) within the next week/month
I was wondering if anyone here has any nice shots taken with the above telescope or a similar specced
Have you any recommendations of another telescope close to the original chosen scopes price +/- ££.

It is highly unlikely that you will get any decent images through a Dobsonian 'scope as small as that. You can try, but you'll be disappointed, I fear. To get decent images that are not smeared/rotated, you should look for a telescope with a German equatorial drive, or equivalent. An undriven alt-az 'scope isn't going to make you happy, unless you just want to have nice visuals. A 6" Newt can get you a lot of satisfaction, visually, though.

 

[MartinJH]

Thank you turbo-1. I wanted to quickly ask before I went ahead and purchased.
To save myself embarrassment I'm going to ask rather than say what id like to see, so what is a amatuer like myself expecting to see with the telescopes you have mentioned.
Further more I don't plan on attaching cameras to the telescope if this helps with price, what is the technology like these days can you purchase a reasonable scope that can be connected to your pc etc via a lead; that world be fantastic and a bonus although I'm not getting carried away.

 

[turbo]

Thank you turbo-1. I wanted to quickly ask before I went ahead and purchased.
To save myself embarrassment I'm going to ask rather than say what id like to see, so what is a amatuer like myself expecting to see with the telescopes you have mentioned.
Further more I don't plan on attaching cameras to the telescope if this helps with price, what is the technology like these days can you purchase a reasonable scope that can be connected to your pc etc via a lead; that world be fantastic and a bonus although I'm not getting carried away.

Don't worry about getting digital images to a PC. Learn how to observe and "see" (translate what light comes to your eye and manage that). After that, you should spend a lot of time at star-parties to see if you really want a larger 'scope. That would have been my first recommendation to you as a newbie, but it seems like you are jumping in anyway.

 

[MartinJH]

It was an idea, perhaps I was being a little optimistic or just thinking that getting the images to PC was the norm. Either way i'll have a scope around (pun intended) and see what I can find :).
thanks for your help :).

 

[Drakkith]

It was an idea, perhaps I was being a little optimistic or just thinking that getting the images to PC was the norm. Either way i'll have a scope around (pun intended) and see what I can find :).
thanks for your help :).

I purchased the Meade Deep Sky Imager II Pro with my telescope. It's relatively easy to use, but the software is extremely buggy on my laptop. I believe it has something to do with Windows 7. I've never used anything else for astro imaging, so I can't comment on how it compares to other devices.

 

[DaveC426913]

...the software is extremely buggy on my laptop. I believe it has something to do with Windows 7.

Can you launch the s/w in "compatibility" mode? (Right click icon)

 

[Drakkith]

Can you launch the s/w in "compatibility" mode? (Right click icon)

I'm not sure if I did or not. I'll try next time.