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 bring detail to 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 retracts into 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 tech.
-Not majorly 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 .
CONS:
-Heavy and cumbersome mount.
-Awkward optical tube to fit onto mount.
-Specific power cable fitting for mount (not DC into the mount).
-Eyepiece can end up in some awkward positions when slewing to certain objects. 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.
-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.
Celestron Advanced VX 11" SCT Telescope
PROS:
-Decent 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.
-WIFI connection means you can use your phone (additional cost of WIFI dongle required).
-Lightweight mount.
-Simple alignment (1 star, 2 stars, 3 stars) or auto alignment with starsense system (additional).
-Good position for the eyepiece.
-Comes with 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.
-Focal reducer/corrector required.
-Narrow FOV (field of view) means star clusters can be outside of the eyepiece (focal corrector/reducer required).
-WIFI dongle is an additional cost and connection can be poor. If you click off the app and open another it can disconnect you from the telescope app.
-Requires 3 counterweight to balance 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).
-Locking screws can become loose overtime.
-Separate attachment required for 2" star diagonal.
-AVX mount at max load capacity with this telescope size.
Skywatcher Skyliner 250PX Flex Tube SynScan GOTO Dobsonian Telescope With WiFi
PROS:
-Good telescope to invest in if looking to increase size of telescope
-Good sized aperture (10") shows good detail on the Moon, planets and other deep sky objects.
-Good FOV for certain objects like large star clusters such as the Pleiades and the Perseus Double Cluster.
-GoTo system that can help locate, track and slew to objects.
-WIFI connection means you can use your phone or you can connect a 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.
CONS:
-Heavy and cumbersome mount.
-Eyepiece can end up in some awkward positions when slewing to certain objects.
-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.
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:
-Star diagonal required for easier 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.
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.
