Catadioptric for planetary/lunar Apochromat for deep sky On eq3 synscan goto And I already have the asi662 mc So that leaves me with 1500e for the telescopes and the mount (I will add guiderscope and some filters +asi air sometimes later)

Just bought 12 inch dob with 1500 focal length 3 weeks ago. It came with a 32mm eyepiece and I thought it wasn't powerful enough. I wanted to get close to the planets, nebula and star clusters. So I bought a 3mm eyepiece for cheap just to test a high range of magnification. 500X on my particular setup. 1500mm focal length ÷ 3mm eyepiece = 500X magnification...I read after purchasing that this was too much. Especially with a 52° field of view. I had to move the dob every 5-10 seconds just TRY to keep it in view. I often over/under corrected, which one often led to the other and it was a mess. So even though the max useful length says 600X magnification, don't bother even getting close to that. Oh boy, I'm glad I made a cheap instead of an expensive mistake.

Hi Guys I’m looking to buy my first telescope and I found one on Facebook marketplace for $200 it looks pretty clean in the pictures and the guy said there are no scratches on the mirror and he used it 4 times in the month. Comes with a 7-21 zoom eyepiece. Should I grab it?

I am planning to buy a telescope for a friend as a wedding gift. The budget is 1200 USD. It should include telescope, carry bag and tripod. It should be strong enough to view Saturn and it's rings. It will be a plus if it has the capability to capture the image or take long exposure image via smartphone or computer along with the ey-piece. Or maybe it should have a sturdy phone /DLSR camera interface to take the image. Please help me understand if it's too much to ask for under 1200USD.

Just got my first telescope, and the left/right (the manual calls this "azimuth axis") rotating platform is too loose and was messing things up when using higher magnification eye pieces last night. There is a bolt in the center of the base, but it just rotates freely without tightening. The manual only mentions tightening the altitude bolt located on the side, but not the azimuth bolt.

Should I get awb one sky sky watch 6 inch heritage or this nex star 4se from Facebook marketplace

What telescope would you recommend for a purchasing limit of $1200-1500?

I'm pretty new to telescopes - I have a Meade 80mm StarPro AZ Refractor 234002 from my brother. I would love to go night watching but since I'm a student, I rarely have any time at all. I live in a suburban area, so it's less crowded and has less light pollution, but I have zero clue on where or when to use the telescope, and I'm not sure if my telescope is strong enough to look for some of these things. I think I want to look for Andromeda and the remainder of the planets in our solar system. Some help would be much appreciated. Thanks :)

Hello, I'm trying to make a Newtonian reflector telescope at home. For some reason, in my country, I cannot find pitch that's used for polishing the mirror. I don't know why, but there isn't even a clear translation of this term to my language and hence, I cannot purchase it. What alternatives can you suggest? ChatGPT suggested a Carnauba wax (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnauba\_wax), which is apparently very hard and is used for polishing. Can anyone advise whether it's a good option?

Hey everybody!

I [total beginner] have an Dobson telescope "Omegon Advanced X 203 D08" together with following equipment:

Omegon UHC filter [Omegon UHC-Filter 1,25"]
Omegon premium moon filter [Omegon Premium-Mondfilter 1,25'']
Explore Scientific 82° AR Okular; 8,8mm [Explore Scientific 82° AR Okular mit hochwertiger Mehrschichtvergütung, wasserdicht mit Schutzgas gefüllt: Amazon.de: Elektronik & Foto]

I'd like to get better views of jupiter, saturn and some deep sky objects like nebulae.
However, it's pretty hard to get a stable image of anything other than the moon.
I can see jupiter and the four moons, however, I was wondering, if I should add another ocular with more or less mm?
What about nebulae or galaxies - is there a certain filter that I should definitly use in order to identify it?

Thank you very much!

Carson SkySeeker 40-100x 60mm Refractor Telescope. Via the award site used for anniversary's

Not seeing any solid review on it.

Can I somehow connect my phone to it to save a video or a picture?

I am in the western suburbs of Chicago Illinois. I mainly take pics of the moon with my Samsung s23+

Would It work with other astronomical targets?

I am getting a small gift from my employer for working for them for x amount of years. Have to select from a catalogue of limited items and they have 3 scopes there so out of these 3 telescopes what would you pick? New to this and never used a telescope before.

https://skywatcheraustralia.com.au/product/sky-watcher-76-700-az1-reflector/

https://www.saxon.com.au/saxon-767az-reflector-telescope.html.html

https://www.saxon.com.au/saxon-70mm-traveller-scope.html.html

I believe the sky watcher 76-700 and saxon 767az is basically the same scope just different branding and accessories? If that's the case which one would be the better pick looking at what accessories are included?

The last traveller scope seems like a cool little kit but its "only" 400mm focal length compared to 700mm for the other two so I think I'm leaning towards one of the bigger 700mm ones..

Looking for info on the spotting scope.

Looking for a decent telescope for a good price. Located in the US. Been thru a couple cheap refracting telescopes and just picked up a Celestron Powerseeker 127EQ reflective telescope on FB marketplace which seems like a complete POS. Can’t get it to spot anything in the sky. What’s a good go-to telescope on Amazon that WILL actually work, be fun and get us looking at the stars?

Pretty noisy image taken during average seeing. The camera is a BRESSER planetary and lunar camera and the scope is a 150mm skywatcher dobsonian. Processed with PIPP, Autostakkert, registax and gimp

I recently pulled my 10” dobsonian out of storage and it still works like day one! There’s some dust on the mirror but it isn’t noticeable when using it. Do y’all have any good dobsonian stories?

I'm looking for an 8inch dobsonians but brands seems to be limited. I'm looking for a sturdy scope, that can be easy to Collimate, and upgrade lenses.

1. Apertura AD8 Dobsonian 8" Telescope with Accessories by high point scientific. ( I don't know much about this scope)
2. Celestron Starsense - Celestron is clearly a monopoly but I prefer the least amount of technology. A phone mount would help with finding stars but also makes the device more dependent on a phone which is kind of annoying.
3. Sky Watcher Classic 200 Dobsonian 8-inch Aperature Telescope –

(Lowest Amazon rating of only 3.1 stars)

What are some great goto alt az telescopes that aren't too expensive, but great on planets and moon and maybe some bright dso's? I would really like to sit back and relax with my scope outside and a laptop and look at things. With an camera in the scope of course.

Hi all, I'm looking to buy my husband his first telescope. I'm hoping to get a good first all rounder that he can grow into but won't outgrow anytime soon. I've read through the guide on this page and it seems like either of these 3 options are recommended but I have no idea how to choose between them.... Any help is appreciated 🙏🙏

Celestron StarSense Explorer 8" Dobsonian

Sky-Watcher 8" Classic Dobsonian Telescope

Apertura AD8 Dobsonian 8" Telescope

This seems cheap I saw they are like $1k new?? Am I crazy if I don’t buy it? I assume it’s a 10” by the listing title but I can’t tell by the scope itself.

I've currently got a skywatcher 130/900 on an eq2 mount, I've gotten fairly used to the eq2 mount so that's not a problem

Someone nearby me is selling a skywatcher classic 150/1200 on a dobsonian mount

They're selling it for £100

Would this be worth the upgrade? Or shall I stick with what I got until I upgrade to something alot more advanced? Thanks:)

I've been trying for the past few months to get the high school I work at (astronomy teacher) to purchase the Apertura AD8 Dobsonian from High Point Scientific. Literally everyone I've talked to is on board including the head of the science budget and the assistant principal that deals with the science faculty. Unfortunately, High Point Scientific is "not an approved vendor" so the school will not currently pay for it. The bookkeeper is trying to help me and find a work around, but she says it's unlikely. She's going to work to get High Point Scientific to be an approved vendor, which they'd definitely agree to, for future purchases. However, this process may take a year plus since it has to go all the way to a school board vote to get them approved. Should I just purchase it with my own money and then it's my telescope and not the school's?

EDIT TO ADD: The skies where I'm at are absolutely gorgeous for astronomy, it's still dark before first period, I plan on getting a solar filter for daytime usage, and if we do end up getting this telescope I'll see about starting an astronomy club.

I have recently entered into this new hobby and have a specific question I didn’t see in the beginners guide.

Essentially, what I am trying to do is look at things not so far away, but be able to very quickly line up(sorry don’t know the terminology) the scope with the object in the sky.

Just to make this easier, I am interested in viewing UAPs. They can be anywhere from let’s say the moon, all the way to a few hundred ft. I realize a telescope within my budget likely won’t have auto tracking capabilities, but can anyone point me down the path I should be looking?

The dob 8” xt8 or comp. seems like a real winner and I acknowledge I would like to be able to also use this for dso, planets, general astronomy, but the PRIMARY use case is:

I see an orb at 40k ft, it’s perhaps moving just slightly back and forth maybe 500 ft in each direction. I have seen them split and come back together, ect. In the same general spot or perhaps stationary, but I need to quickly be able to spot, align, and focus on it (them)

I assume what I am looking for is an ultra wide angle lense piece perhaps? Again, very beginner so I appreciate your patience.

Am I even in the right ballpark with my thinking?

As a bonus point, I do know that an IR filter and the ability to take pictures/video would be great, but I don’t expect this to align with the scope of what I am asking here. If so, even better. I would love to not “buy twice” here, but be able to build over time. Possible? In a perfect world, I would love to have an eyepiece that I could use to see things closer in, be able to quickly slide on an IR filter, and then on other nights be able to swap with a more deep space lense to see a nice view of Saturn. I hope something like this is possible.

I would say my budget to begin is around $750-$1200. Also I am joining a local club and hope to get advice there, but I know great info is to be found from you all.

Thanks for your feedback and not being judgmental of my intentions. Best.

I had an idea of possibly buying a telescope for my dad as a present (christmas or birthday) but I have no clue on what I should be looking for.

It'll be the first time he's used one before so we're not experts. Does anyone have any particular brands? or are there any particular aspects I should be looking for it to have?

Not looking to spend too much as it's a new thing but still enough to get a good quality image from it otherwise there's no point really.

I'm in the UK if that makes a difference.

I was trying and failing to locate this planet with my computerized SCT all summer. I'm starting to think it just isn't possible.