HAVE YOU BEEN ON A STARGAZING EXPERIENCE WITH NOVA AND NOW LOOKING FOR A TELESCOPE?
Our first stop would be Rother Valley Optics (RVO). Adam and the team have always looked after us well whether purchasing telescopes or binoculars, buying accessories, needing a repair or looking to hire telescopes for short or long term use. Their customer service is second to none and they are extremely competitive on price.
Find out more at www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk
Click here to see RVO's variety of scopes and binoculars.
Click here to see all the accessories RVO has in stock.
Click here to find out which telescopes you can hire from RVO.
Telescopes we've used (pros & cons)
Skywatcher Explorer 250PDS with an EQ6i GOTO Wi-Fi Equatorial Telescope
PROS:
-Good sized aperture (10") shows detail on the Moon, larger planets and starts to define detail in certain deep sky objects.
-Good FOV (Field Of View) with a 2" 23mm eyepiece for large star clusters like Messier 35, Pleiades and the Perseus Double Cluster.
-GoTo system with 1, 2 or 3 star alignment, once aligned this system can help locate, track and slew to celestial objects.
-WIFI connection means you can use your phone, tablet or laptop to control the telescope and it's a very stable connection between tech and telescope mount. Even if you go onto other apps it doesn't disconnect.
-Retractable weight pole that stores in the mount.
-No glass at the front of the telescope to worry about dew and doesn't require a dew shield.
-Simple alignment (1 star, 2 stars, 3 stars).
-No star diagonal required.
-Can get a syn-scan hand control for the mount to control the telescope and can be easier than using a phone or tablet.
-Not expensive for a telescope of this size.
-Attachment is provided to switch between 1.25" eyepieces and 2" eyepieces.
-EQ mount means you have the capability of doing astrophotography.
Only requires 2 counterweights to balance OTA.
CONS:
-Heavy and cumbersome mount.
-Awkward optical tube to fit onto mount.
-Large optical tube to store.
-Specific power cable fitting for the mount not a DC input, so replacements are not simple to find.
-Eyepiece can end up in some awkward positions when slewing to certain objects, especially objects closer to the horizon. Whilst you can twist the tube this can change the mounts alignment.
-Mount can be easily knocked out of alignment when moving the optical tube.
-Directional arrows on the syn-scan app are not intuitive, some adjust just the RA (right-accession), some adjust the DEC (declination) but other arrows can affect both.
-Eyepiece is not in a great place for shorter people and even without extending the legs of the tripod it can still be quite high off the ground.
-Supplied finderscope can be awkward to look through (a diagonal is recommend).
-Spider that holds the secondary mirror can be in the way when taking photos through the telescope.
-Mount strong enough to take a 12-14" OTA.
Celestron Advanced VX 11" SCT Telescope
PROS:
-Good sized aperture (11") that shows good detail on the Moon, planets and other deep sky objects.
-GoTo system that can help locate, track and slew to objects.
-You can also buy an additional system that will help with alignment and guiding known as "starsense".
-WIFI connection means you can use your phone (additional cost of WIFI dongle required).
-Lightweight mount when compared to others such as the skywatcher one above.
-Simple alignment (1 star, 2 stars, 3 stars) or auto alignment with starsense system (additional cost).
-Good position for the eyepiece but star diagonal required for more comfortable viewing.
-Comes with Celestron hand control.
-Easy to slide the OTA onto the mount.
-Celestron lithium telescope battery will power for 6-8 hrs and both battery and telescope have DC inputs.
-Attachment is provided to switch between 1.25" eyepieces and 2" eyepieces.
-Supplied finderscope easy to use and in a useful position.
-EQ mount means you have the capability of doing astrophotography.
CONS:
-Star diagonal required for easier observing.
-Right-angled attachment for finderscope is recommended for easier use overall.
-Focal reducer/corrector required to give a greater FOV.
-Narrow FOV (Field Of View) means star clusters can be outside of the eyepiece (focal corrector/reducer required to combat this).
-WIFI dongle is an additional cost and quite expensive (over £150) and connection can be poo. If you click off the app and open another it can disconnect you from the telescope app and can be temperamental at times.
-Requires 3 counterweights to balance OTA correctly.
-Dew shield required to slow down dew from building up on glass at front, however a dew heater is recommend as the dew shield won't stop the dew altogether (additional lithium battery required for dew heater and it uses a lot of energy). Dew will typically build up within 2-3 hours of observing under average conditions.
-Locking screws on the tripod can become loose overtime and other parts can become loose overtime.
-Separate attachment required for 2" star diagonal and you may not be able to use the focal reducer on the star diagonal.
-AVX mount at max load capacity with this telescope size so you can't add a larger telescope to this mount.
Skywatcher Skyliner 250PX Flex Tube SynScan GOTO Dobsonian Telescope With WiFi
PROS
-Good sized aperture (10") shows good detail on the Moon, planets and other deep sky objects and it's a good price for the size of aperture.
-Good FOV for objects like large star clusters such as the Pleiades and the Perseus Double Cluster.
-Can buy with a GoTo system that can help locate, track and slew to objects. Can also buy for less money one without a GoTo system but GoTo system recommended.
-Can use a WIFI connection meaning you can use your phone or you can use the connected syn-scan hand control.
-Simple alignment (1 star, 2 stars, 3 stars).
-Good position for the eyepiece and lower to the ground compared to its counterpart on an EQ mount.
-Collapsible telescope for easy storage.
-Lithium telescope battery will power for 6-8 hrs and both battery and telescope have DC inputs.
-Attachment is provided to switch between 1.25" eyepieces and 2" eyepieces.
-Supplied finderscope easy to use and in a useful position.
No counterweights required.
-OTA easy to fit onto mount.
-Eyepiece always ends up at a good height as it's closer to the ground when compared with the EQ mounted Skywatcher.
-OTA lightweight and the collapsible element makes it easier to manoeuvre.
CONS:
-Heavy and cumbersome mount.
-Spider that holds the secondary mirror can be in the way when taking photos through the telescope.
-Additional cap may be required to protect bottom mirror.
-Can be awkward to find a bag to fit the OTA.
Celestron Refractor 102GT with Alt-Azimuth Mount
PROS:
-Good for the Moon, planets and excellent FOV for larger star clusters.
-Easy GoTo system that can help locate, track and slew to objects.
-Comes with hand control
-Lightweight mount and OTA.
-Simple alignment (3 bright objects).
-Good position for the eyepiece.
-Easy to fit the OTA onto the mount.
-Lithium telescope battery will power for 6-8 hrs and both battery and telescope have DC inputs.
-Supplied red-dot finder is easy to use and in a useful position.
-No counterweights and no dew shield required.
-Simple and easy to set up.
CONS:
-Requires a star diagonal for observing.
-Slow moving mount when slewing to objects.
-Small aperture (4").
-Not much details on nebulae or galaxies.
-Locking screws can become loose and it doesn't take much to move the OTA by pushing it.
-Feet on the mount can become brittle and break over time after multiple uses.
-Screws to tighten legs can break easily if tightened too much.
This model is hard to find and the updated version is the NexStar 102 SLT.
Skywatcher Explorer 130P AZ-GO2 WiFi Reflector Telescope
PROS:
-Fantastic telescope for beginners.
-Good for the Moon, planets and excellent FOV for larger star clusters and some deep sky objects.
-Easy GoTo system that can help locate, track and slew to objects.
-Comes with built-in WIFI.
-WIFI connection means you can use your phone and it's a very stable connection between tech and telescope mount.
-Lightweight mount and OTA.
-Simple alignment (1 star, 2 stars, 3 stars).
-Good position for the eyepiece.
-Easy to fit the OTA onto the mount.
-Lithium telescope battery will power for 6-8 hrs and both battery and telescope have DC inputs.
-Supplied red-dot finder is easy to use and in a useful position.
-No counterweights and no dew shield required.
-Simple and easy to set up.
CONS:
-Small aperture (5.5").
-Not much detail on galaxies.
Coronado Personal Solar Telescope
PROS:
-Fantastic telescope for observing the Sun safely.
-Lightweight and compact.
-Allows you to switch between sun spots and coronal flares with a simple twist near the bottom of the tube.
-Has an easy system to help get the Sun into the eyepiece which shows a bright dot on the top of the telescope, when centred the Sun should be in the eyepiece.
CONS:
-Expensive.
-Required additional dovetail to mount on various telescope mounts.
-Very small pinhole to look through making it difficult for some people to look through.
RVO Horizon 15 x 70 Observational Binoculars
PROS:
-Fantastic pair of binoculars that mean you can start observing immediately with little to no set up time.
-Sturdy and compact.
-Comes with protective case
-Includes are to attach them to a tripod.
-Connectionto a tripod point is in an ideal position to get a balanced set of binoculars.
-Competitive price compared with other makes on the market.
-Great entry optics if you aren't sure whether to invest in a telescope or not.
-Have a better FOV than some telescopes for large star clusters like the Pleiades & the Perseus Double Cluster.
-Comes with cleaning cloth and straps to attach it around your neck.
CONS:
-Personal opinion (can be used without a tripod but I find it much harder to hold still when looking at objects higher in the sky).
WHEN ORDERING A PAIR OF THESE FROM RVO MENTION THAT YOU HAVE HEARD ABOUT THEM FROM NOVA STARGAZING AND GET 10% OFF THE PRICE.
