telescopes celestron 130slt or nexstar 4se?
Discussion
Good afternoon, I am looking into buying a telescope and having looked at reviews have brought it down to the above choices. Just wondering if anyone on here can guide me to the final decision.
I want it to look at the moon, jupiter, saturn (would love to see its rings if this is possible) , mars and galaxies (again if possible).
I like the idea of the automation as whilst I love looking up, I dont yet know what I'm looking at and believe that the automation part will help keep my interest.
Would love to be aboe to attach my canon slr camera and take photos.
Would mainly be using it in my small back garden and this is one of the negatives for the 130slt in that I believe that you cannot get it to point up as it will foul the mount which would further limit the sky could see. I believe the 4se not to have the same issue due to the smaller size, am I correct.
Als does anyone know of anyone local to north Derbyshire who sells these as would refer not to buy onlne. I have heard rother valley optics mentioned on other forums but dont onow f their reputation is as good as made ou or if its just because their active on the forums.
Thanks for taking the time to read, any advice greatly appreciated and have a good day.
I want it to look at the moon, jupiter, saturn (would love to see its rings if this is possible) , mars and galaxies (again if possible).
I like the idea of the automation as whilst I love looking up, I dont yet know what I'm looking at and believe that the automation part will help keep my interest.
Would love to be aboe to attach my canon slr camera and take photos.
Would mainly be using it in my small back garden and this is one of the negatives for the 130slt in that I believe that you cannot get it to point up as it will foul the mount which would further limit the sky could see. I believe the 4se not to have the same issue due to the smaller size, am I correct.
Als does anyone know of anyone local to north Derbyshire who sells these as would refer not to buy onlne. I have heard rother valley optics mentioned on other forums but dont onow f their reputation is as good as made ou or if its just because their active on the forums.
Thanks for taking the time to read, any advice greatly appreciated and have a good day.
I am no expert, but since no-one has replied, I would favour the smaller Mastutov-Cassegrain (the 4SE model) design, which is easier to use and you are not resticted by the mount in the same way, as you suggest. I have a similar telescope.
You should be able to see the ice caps on Mars, the cloud bands on Jupiter, and a little detail in the rings of Saturn with any luck. The rings thamselves will be very clear and you should see the moons. You can also attach your SLR.
Steven Quas
Hamburg
You should be able to see the ice caps on Mars, the cloud bands on Jupiter, and a little detail in the rings of Saturn with any luck. The rings thamselves will be very clear and you should see the moons. You can also attach your SLR.
Steven Quas
Hamburg
Edited by Steven Quas on Saturday 30th March 16:21
i know how you feel kazte, i got a telescope in February and i've used it about 3 times since, it's been so cloudy.
i went with the "don't get a motorised one, learn the sky first"... I really wish I had ignored this advice. Whilst I can find things around the sky alright, it's (literally) a complete pain in the neck. the included finderscope is small and hard to use, and thinking about the way it flips the image does my head in. I think I need to buy a red dot finder and then maybe a right-angle image correcting finderscope before I can confidently say what i'm looking at.
i went with the "don't get a motorised one, learn the sky first"... I really wish I had ignored this advice. Whilst I can find things around the sky alright, it's (literally) a complete pain in the neck. the included finderscope is small and hard to use, and thinking about the way it flips the image does my head in. I think I need to buy a red dot finder and then maybe a right-angle image correcting finderscope before I can confidently say what i'm looking at.
kazste said:
Thanks for the reply but after some serious budget creep I am the proud, if befuddled owner of a nexstar 6se.
Befuddled as I think its in need of collimation but have bought some of bobs knobs to aid this and just need a clear sky to finally take up this hobby.
That is quite a jump in price. Sounds a good move though. I am surprised that a Schmidt-Cassegrain needs collimation - that is usually one of the advantages of this and Mastutov. I would have thought that it should be correctly aligned from the factory. If you bought it from a shop then they should be able to do this without charge. Online shops probably won't though. Perhaps a keen local astronomer could help for a small price...Befuddled as I think its in need of collimation but have bought some of bobs knobs to aid this and just need a clear sky to finally take up this hobby.
Steven Quas
Hamburg
Was bought from a local shop, to be honest the more I read about it the more I think collimation wasnt the issue but now I have unscrewed the scope in order to fit mr bobs knobs it most definitely will be now!!
Have used it to look at the moon so far was really impressed with the detail I coukd pick out and also to watch a hare in the field at the bottom of the garden. Not its intended use but was stood next to the scope using binoculars and thought hmm I wonder.
Problem I was having was getting dso's to appear in focus which I took to be an issue with collimation but now believe it to be that the tube wasnt at temperature causing currents as when de focused I didnt have concentric rings I had jagged rings.
As for the budget creep I decided to go for the 5se but at last moment whe rang through the till with the extras I figured whats another £100 ish
Have used it to look at the moon so far was really impressed with the detail I coukd pick out and also to watch a hare in the field at the bottom of the garden. Not its intended use but was stood next to the scope using binoculars and thought hmm I wonder.
Problem I was having was getting dso's to appear in focus which I took to be an issue with collimation but now believe it to be that the tube wasnt at temperature causing currents as when de focused I didnt have concentric rings I had jagged rings.
As for the budget creep I decided to go for the 5se but at last moment whe rang through the till with the extras I figured whats another £100 ish
Probably useful to know how to collimate for future use anyway, although I have't needed to in about 10 years.
I occasionally use mine to look at a deer or a bird of prey as well.
The first time you see Saturn through the eyepiece, rather than on television will be quite an experience. It really does look like that!
Have fun...
Steven Quas
Hamburg
I occasionally use mine to look at a deer or a bird of prey as well.
The first time you see Saturn through the eyepiece, rather than on television will be quite an experience. It really does look like that!
Have fun...
Steven Quas
Hamburg
Edited by Steven Quas on Sunday 31st March 14:01
You've bought at a good time for the objects you want to see - Jupiter is still bright in the West in the evening if you're quick (it was stunning a month ago at night-time - the highest it's been for decades so really clear, I was setting everytyhing up just to look at it); you should see three of Jupiter's moons and two cloud belts on (or "in"!) the planet itself with your telescope. Saturn is getting earlier by the day and nearer to observable now for those of us who have work in the mornings; you'll easily see the rings and Saturn is a beautiful object to look at. Thankfully, the objects you list are all very bright and easy to find in the sky by yourself without computers etc. However, an 'automated' mount will be good for finding faint fuzzy things, but for the planets you should be ok just pointing, although guidance is extremely useful for keeping the objects in sight as the earth rotates and they drift out of view. The Moon is always stunning, so try and look at that asap.
If you want to progress off the planets at all, then during April the galaxies M81 and M82 are in a very good position to view high overhead, (so you're looking through less atmosphere and they appear brighter). If you google for a star chart online you should be able to find them ok, although you may wish to turn to your computerised mount as they're not visible to the naked eye and not near any prominent stars. Also worth a look are globular clusters - M3 and M13 are spectacular in most telescopes. The Andromeda galaxy is worth a look too - it's bigger than the full moon, but extremely faint.
Enjoy
If you want to progress off the planets at all, then during April the galaxies M81 and M82 are in a very good position to view high overhead, (so you're looking through less atmosphere and they appear brighter). If you google for a star chart online you should be able to find them ok, although you may wish to turn to your computerised mount as they're not visible to the naked eye and not near any prominent stars. Also worth a look are globular clusters - M3 and M13 are spectacular in most telescopes. The Andromeda galaxy is worth a look too - it's bigger than the full moon, but extremely faint.
Enjoy
How do celestron compare to Skywatcher and others? I am looking to get a telescope soon as we will be holidaying in deepest darkest Wales so hoping to make use of the clear skies
Something like the 4SE would be what we are after, but just wondered if other brands offer better value for money?
It would need to be portable as we will be camping, and quite like the goto function
Something like the 4SE would be what we are after, but just wondered if other brands offer better value for money?
It would need to be portable as we will be camping, and quite like the goto function
Gassing Station | Science! | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff