To be fair I hooked up the camera on my Nokia 7650 to this telescope and this is the picture of Jupiter I managed to get

Although I don't have this one, I do have a telescope of this type, I use a garden table with mine, the sort of thing a lot of people have in their gardens, though we have taken it out and about with a folding table as well. Though perhaps the best support was a bar stool where you could view the night sky standing up.

A Dobsonian of this type is probably better at viewing the moon than far away objects, but I've used mine to see Saturn's rings and the moons around Jupiter, so it's not that bad, for the money it can be a great introduction to Astronomy without breaking the bank. The requirement of a stand is not the problem with this Argos telescope.

mike

honestly, this is a waste of £34... it'd be better to buy binoculars, even the reviews say it's well made but ultimately disappointing - it's the kind of scope that will put you off astronomy, low price though it may be

also, are you going to be taking a table outside?

My Boy has a similar one to this a Funscope i think, there is a part to attach a tripod can anyone recommend one sturdy enough?

Unfortunately the magnification is still far to low to be able to see Labour's chance of being re-elected..

Celestron FirstScope Accessory Kit https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0028MA7LU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_uE-IxbM4BDFE4

Just bought one on Amazon for £24.99 delivered

Don't think a 400mm lens would be anywhere good enough for detail on the planets. Can you detach the lenses? If so you can attach your camera body to a telescope with a T Mount. It's not something I've done but I have used a webcam as in my pictures above.

Couple of factors. Focal length determines the magnification but it's objective size that's more important. A camera lens will only be 50mm or so while a telescope will maybe start at 150mm, this gives 9x more light and astronomical objects are pretty faint. It also give better resolving power meaning more detail.

Astronomy can be an expensive hobby but even that firstscope above will give better results than using normal lenses* Don't take that verbatim as I've never used it.

Have you tried just leaving your camera shutter open and doing star trails? I was able to photograph many of the constellations in the 90's with a 35mm camera, they turned out quite well. Meteors, satellites and faint fuzzies were all spotted in them.

What telescopes to people recommend?? I'm looking to spend about £150 - £200 or would they be rubbing as well?

Old canon 70-210 FD beer can got this photo of the moon, would it be more economical to look at 300/400mm+ camera lenses or go for a telescope to get closer/better, and extend to planets etc? /complete noob

When in reality:





Both taken with a webcam attached to my telescope. The Jupiter picture is actually quite similar to what I see through the eyepiece.

That seemed to help, thanks!

To be fair I hooked up the camera on my Nokia 7650 to this telescope and this is the picture of Jupiter I managed to get

The green-eyed monster strikes again.

I've always had an interest in Astronomy, as a kid I saved up and bought a cheap 50mm Tasco scope and was underwhelmed with the views. In the end it was set in the corner of my room and never used. I've a love for astronomy but something like this could easily put someone off the hobby.

Binoculars were my reintroduction. They are great to get to know the sky and give great views of large areas. No you won't see the bands but you will see the moons, you'll also notice something strange about Saturn and it whets the appetite to get something bigger. That's why I invested in a telescope. Try sweeping binoculars through parts of the Milky Way and you'll appreciate it far better than looking through a cheap telescope.

I still use my bins more often. On an ISS (International Space Station) pass I'll go out and have a look and then use the bins for 10 minutes to try and spot some things. To set my scope up takes 10 minutes, it's so much easier with the bins.

This is a great price and a good make and may make a good XMas present but if your child shows a passing interest in the subject, throw in a pair of cheap binoculars that appear from time to time in Lidl, they will be a better investment.

BTW you mention your 5" Mak, I still get aperture envy from time to time. Just last week I was looking at a 10" dob thinking about purchase but I know deep down I wouldn't use it enough to justify buying it.

Would have thought this was better value at £20 http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/maginon-60x60-spotting-scope-19-99-aldi-free-delivery-2465276

OK for introducing kids but again with light pollution in cities it can be a problem seeing any deep sky objects. Come winter you'll easily see Orion's nebula. You're not likely to see the rings of Saturn or any banding on Jupiter with binoculars either and kids will have problems aiming and holding them steady in many cases.

At least your scope gets used once a month. This year not even my 5 inch mak gets out because of the rain and clouds.

Pointless, just don't. Save a bit more and get a 150mm Skywatcher Dobsonian, it will last you for years and years. I have a 12" Reflector worth thousands, I learned the hard way to avoid these **** little telescopes if you truly want to appreciate the Universe and it's beauty.

Would this be suitable for viewing tits?

I like birds I do..

I own a Celestron 102SLT and while I'm an avid Astronomy fan, I'm only a casual observer. I also own 2 pairs of binoculars, a pair of 10x50 and a pair of Celestron 15x70's. I do use my telescope but it's the binoculars I'd use far more. They are much more versatile and no need to set up.

Unlike your average HUKD'er, I'm pretty passionate about the subject and as a "first" telescope I'd recommend binoculars. Lidl sell cheap Bresser bins from time to time around £20 and you will gain far more use out of them.

My Celestron 15x 70's will have more light gathering power than this 76mm scope and are £60 in Maplin: http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/celestron-skymaster-15x70-binoculars-n98ek?cmpid=ppc&gclid=CO2axq_K980CFQo6GwodA4ADaw.

This small telescope will be used for a night and then put in the corner. You will just about see the bands on Jupiter, it's moons and the rings on Saturn will be barely visible. Only our own Moon will be worth looking at.

Binoculars you can put in your glovebox and use for many things besides astronomy.

I don't want to put people off from Astronomy. This is a great deal, a great price and Celestron are good quality but as I speak, there are 2 coats hanging over my telescope, that's an expensive coathanger. I'd use my scope once a month but my binoculars are used weekly.

If you don't need a coathanger then buy binoculars.

Edit, I gave heat for the price.

As a new starter scope, the review posted above, is a fair description I think. There has to be a starting point somewhere and this price is very good as an intro, Like everything, it will lead to kindling the fire of interest before you move on to something better, for not much more money. Read the review, look at the price and you wont go far wrong. Heated for the price.

The review posted should be considered with the very reduced price - this is an excellent price and will meet the needs of many. Heat added

Utter rubbish value and spend are not always equivalent, my Dobsonian cost way less than £100, works great on a garden table, and we (me, the wife and the kids) were able to see Saturn's rings, whilst viewing from a site quite close to the relatively small city of Manchester, so not likely to have much light pollution.

I purchased my scope from a dedicated store, where I asked their advice, maybe that's a good bet rather than buying off the internet.

I wouldn't buy this particular telescope, but equally well I think it's a bit unfair to judge based on price, because there are good 'scopes out there without breaking the bank.

mike

here's an honest review of this scope..
https://10minuteastronomy.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/cheap-scope-review-the-celestron-firstscope/

true
true, if you're lucky enough to have a garden, what about if you want to use away from home? but if you're using it in your garden, then one would assume you will be suffering from light pollution too, as not everyone lives out in the sticks

check the reviews, as I stated, well made but disappoints with craters on the moon even appearing blurred... get some binoculars instead, far more practical and portable

if you're spending less than £100 on a scope, you genuinely are throwing money away... you can get celestron 25×70 bins plus a tripod (as they can be heavy when holding for long periods) for around £80, get a much bigger field of view and no disappointment

honestly, this is a waste of £34... it'd be better to buy binoculars, even the reviews say it's well made but ultimately disappointing - it's the kind of scope that will put you off astronomy, low price though it may be

also, are you going to be taking a table outside?

I guess it is probably better than most refractor type first telescopes.