Advice on a telescope

[skater911]

I am looking for my first telescope and think I have narrowed it down based on my budget of about 1500. I was looking at the 8 inch celstron sct goto with computerized German eq mount.

Am I thinking right for best quality of images for my budget? Also, what can I expect to see with and 8 inch scope. Checked google and other forums, but didn't really see any photos taken with something comparable. I want to get into astro photography, but would like to see more than just a faint sphere for planets like Jupiter and saturn.

Any advice would be great,
Thanks
Richard

[fogboundturtle]

Originally Posted by skater911

I am looking for my first telescope and think I have narrowed it down based on my budget of about 1500. I was looking at the 8 inch celstron sct goto with computerized German eq mount.

Am I thinking right for best quality of images for my budget? Also, what can I expect to see with and 8 inch scope. Checked google and other forums, but didn't really see any photos taken with something comparable. I want to get into astro photography, but would like to see more than just a faint sphere for planets like Jupiter and saturn.

Any advice would be great,
Thanks
Richard

8" SCT is a great first telescope for observation but might not the best the best for astrophography because of his long focal length (2032mm). SCT shines when you want to capture object (planet/moon ) that requires an longer focal length and can be capture through video instead of long exposure. For what you want to do, I think you are in good shape. You can use an T2i or higher to capture video in 640x480 mode, convert the video to uncompressed AVI, stack each frame and obtain decent result.

If you want to do capture of DSO (Deep Space Object), 2032 mm is very long and you need impeccable polar alignment + assisted guiding through an guiding scope. If this is what you want to do in the future then I recommended acquiring an F6.3 focal reducer for your SCT. This will reduce the focal length to around 1200mm and will reduce the exposure time needed for the same result.

In terms of pure visual observation, 8" of aperture is really great, You will see Galaxies, Nebulae, Globular cluster etc...Even though I am using a refractor , I still have my SCT 8" and I don't think I will ever give it up.

[HaroldC3]

Even with that much focal length you will still need a decent barlow lens or get into eyepiece projection. Also for planetary photography you have to photograph during good to excellent seeing or you wont get any detail in the planets. Here is an example I took with my 8" SCT with poor seeing. It's not very good and it was my first attempt.


Best Saturn So Far by HaroldC3, on Flickr

[skater911]

Thank you both for your replies. I will look into the reducer so I can do dso's occasionally.

[fogboundturtle]

Originally Posted by skater911

Thank you both for your replies. I will look into the reducer so I can do dso's occasionally.

I think you missed my point. Start with Planet/Moon. If you want to do DSO with an C8, you will need guiding.

[skater911]

Ah gotcha. Sorry when it comes to scopes I am still learning (everything). What kind of guiding are you referring to?

[fogboundturtle]

Originally Posted by skater911

Ah gotcha. Sorry when it comes to scopes I am still learning (everything). What kind of guiding are you referring to?

Your mount will not be sufficient to keep the object in the FOV for more then 30 sec. DSO requires long exposure. The longer your focal length , the more your tracking as to be perfect. In order to achieve that, you need a guiding scope and an autoguider camera to correct your mount. You will soon learn that astrophography is a very expensive hobby. You will also learn that DSLR are ok but they can never beat an unfiltered dedicated CCD Camera.

Welcome to AP. Bring your wallet with you !

[skater911]

Don't say that. I can't believe how much I have already spent on my camera gear. .

Would it be possible to do a lot of stacking with let say 15-20 sec exposures to compensate for the mount?

[fogboundturtle]

Originally Posted by skater911

Don't say that. I can't believe how much I have already spent on my camera gear. .

Would it be possible to do a lot of stacking with let say 15-20 sec exposures to compensate for the mount?

Yes, its possible and its probably the best approach for now until you can do longer exposure. So make sure you polar align and level your mount to the best of your ability.

[skater911]

Cool thanks

[HaroldC3]

If you want to photograph DSOs with an SCT you will definitely need a focal reducer. Look at the Antares 6.3 reducer.

[skater911]

Originally Posted by HaroldC3

If you want to photograph DSOs with an SCT you will definitely need a focal reducer. Look at the Antares 6.3 reducer.

I saw this had some good reviews, is there any others I should look into before I buy one? Also I saw the celstron has a kit for about 150. That has filters a few eye pieces and a 2x Barlow. Is this good to get or is there better ones out there? Would I even see a difference?

[HaroldC3]

For eyepieces I would avoid kits. I think you only need 3 eyepieces and a barlow.

32mm, 20mm, 12mm and a 2x barlow. I can't really give you any advice on what brand/model to get but I would spend a couple hundred on the above.

[spit]

kits arent bad if you get the right price, after oberserving for awhile you get an idea what you want to upgrade too in terms mm size- which usually turns out to be just a wider FOV, i think colors filters are wasted though some people like them, sale what you dont want and you do end up with nice (and needed) case, stacking 15-20 seconds on some really brighter objects is ok, other objects your just wasting your time, the main purpose of stacking is a better average, you cant stack data the camera doesnt see, the 8"SCT EQ is a good all-round scope