First telescope advice please

[Butterfly Maiden]

At the moment I tend to be favouring the look of the ST80. Following various links provided so far, is the ST80 also known as the Skywatcher Startravel 80?

If it is then it is out of stock at most places locally. Obviously a very popular model.

If this is the same telescope then I am prepared to wait for new stock to arrive. Amazon.co.uk and Firstlight sell it, so I have options here for whoever gets it back in the quickest.

[turboscrew]

I'd like to know too. There is also Orion ST80 (ShortTube).

[ARock]

Yes the StarTravel 80 is an Orion ST80 clone. The Orion ST80 is the most famous of these scopes, but they are sold under different brand names, Meade Adventure 80, Meade Infinity 80, Omegon etc. They are all made in China by one company, Synta I believe. These have a metal focuser.

If you can find a 80/400 refractor try to compare pictures with the known ST80 clones to see if they match. There are some 80/400 s (including some sold by Orion) which have a plastic focuser instead of metal, which are best avoided. Usually these have the finderscope mounted on the tube, rather than the focuser. The plastic focusers sometimes have a metal drawtube and claim to be metal focusers.

The StarTravel 80 comes with rings and a dovetail, that is worth the extra price. A lot of scopes are out of stock at the moment. Maybe check with FLO as to when they are expected to be in stock.

[Gfamily]

There are two of the larger ST102 Scopes available at FLO on the AZ GTe mount.
This mount is slightly less accomplished (as it doesn't allow you you to manually move the mount), but it's excellent value still for the scope, mount and tripod combination

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/startr ... z-gte.html

[Butterfly Maiden]

Below is the one I have been looking at on the Amazon.co.uk website.

Is this the particular model that has being mentioned? If so, are the specs good enough for my current requirements?...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Skywatcher-Sta ... B00G53UQQY

[Gfamily]

Below is the one I have been looking at on the Amazon.co.uk website.

Is this the particular model that has being mentioned? If so, are the specs good enough for my current requirements?...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Skywatcher-Sta ... B00G53UQQY

Yes, that's the scope.

Probably most of us here would say please consider buying from a dedicated astronomy retailer rather than from Amazon though.
The specialists are the companies that really support us as an amateur community. Most of them will be very happy to take a phone call and give advice if you have any questions. Not only that, but as you go further, it's the specialists that will be able to provide the more advanced pieces of equipment you want.

In addition, if there are any problems, Amazon won't be able to give you any support, whereas any of the good retailers will try to make sure you're ok.

[Butterfly Maiden]

Below is the one I have been looking at on the Amazon.co.uk website.

Is this the particular model that has being mentioned? If so, are the specs good enough for my current requirements?...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Skywatcher-Sta ... B00G53UQQY

Yes, that's the scope.

Probably most of us here would say please consider buying from a dedicated astronomy retailer rather than from Amazon though.
The specialists are the companies that really support us as an amateur community. Most of them will be very happy to take a phone call and give advice if you have any questions. Not only that, but as you go further, it's the specialists that will be able to provide the more advanced pieces of equipment you want.

In addition, if there are any problems, Amazon won't be able to give you any support, whereas any of the good retailers will try to make sure you're ok.

That is very good advice. Thank you.

Firstlight Optics was another company mentioned, who I am familiar with, so I will probably head over there and make enquiries for current availability and really study the specifications of that particular telescope.

That model seems to be a good contender right from the start, so I will most likely follow my instincts and hone in on the one (at least for now.)

[Bigzmey]

Vanessa, is that a 82mm ED spotting scope in your signature? If so you already have a nice ED refractor which is better quality than short tube 80mm achro you are considering.

[Ylem]

You can't go wrong with a ST-80, it's my most used scope

They excel on wide field of course, they also do relatively well on the Moon.
Planetary is their weakness of course, being a fast scope showing CA on those targets.

They are also pretty darn good daytime spotting scopes for nature

[Butterfly Maiden]

Vanessa, is that a 82mm ED spotting scope in your signature? If so you already have a nice ED refractor which is better quality than short tube 80mm achro you are considering.

Yes it is Andrey. Sophia and I have one each and we primarily use them for birdwatching.

We have looked at the Moon and nearby Constellations a few times with them and got some great detail.

I just assumed a telescope would give even better results, so it is interesting what you have just said :veryconfused:

[Ylem]

Vanessa, is that a 82mm ED spotting scope in your signature? If so you already have a nice ED refractor which is better quality than short tube 80mm achro you are considering.

Good catch Bigzmey!

[Bigzmey]

Vanessa, is that a 82mm ED spotting scope in your signature? If so you already have a nice ED refractor which is better quality than short tube 80mm achro you are considering.

Yes it is Andrey. Sophia and I have one each and we primarily use them for birdwatching.

We have looked at the Moon and nearby Constellations a few times with them and got some great detail.

I just assumed a telescope would give even better results, so it is interesting what you have just said :veryconfused:

Yep, you already got a good quality 80mm refractor. I don't believe anything in the entry range of astronomical scopes will beat that. To step up you will need to go for larger aperture scope. At this point however just start observing, under reasonably dark sky hundreds of DSOs will be within the reach.

[Butterfly Maiden]

Vanessa, is that a 82mm ED spotting scope in your signature? If so you already have a nice ED refractor which is better quality than short tube 80mm achro you are considering.

Yes it is Andrey. Sophia and I have one each and we primarily use them for birdwatching.

We have looked at the Moon and nearby Constellations a few times with them and got some great detail.

I just assumed a telescope would give even better results, so it is interesting what you have just said :veryconfused:

Yep, you already got a good quality 80mm refractor. I don't believe anything in the entry range of astronomical scopes will beat that. To step up you will need to go for larger aperture scope. At this point however just start observing, under reasonably dark sky hundreds of DSOs will be within the reach.

Thank you Andrey. You have potentially saved us from spending a lot of money for no better results than we are already getting with our current equipment.

Maybe at some point in the future we might decide to look for something a little larger and a more permanent fixture for home use, but for now I think we will be putting our spotting scopes to more night-time use :smile:

[Refractordude]

http://www.opticalvision.co.uk/astronom ... 0_az3.html

https://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/sk ... scope.html

[Bigzmey]

Yes it is Andrey. Sophia and I have one each and we primarily use them for birdwatching.

We have looked at the Moon and nearby Constellations a few times with them and got some great detail.

I just assumed a telescope would give even better results, so it is interesting what you have just said :veryconfused:

Yep, you already got a good quality 80mm refractor. I don't believe anything in the entry range of astronomical scopes will beat that. To step up you will need to go for larger aperture scope. At this point however just start observing, under reasonably dark sky hundreds of DSOs will be within the reach.

Thank you Andrey. You have potentially saved us from spending a lot of money for no better results than we are already getting with our current equipment.

Maybe at some point in the future we might decide to look for something a little larger and a more permanent fixture for home use, but for now I think we will be putting our spotting scopes to more night-time use :smile:

You are very welcome! Summer is a good time to start, there are plenty of bright globular clusters, which are easier to find than most other targets and they will showcase nicely in your scopes.

[mikemarotta]

Vanessa, is that a 82mm ED spotting scope in your signature? If so you already have a nice ED refractor

Yes it is Andrey.

Wowsers. It is this one:
https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-produ ... 20-60.html

Very nice! We look forward to your reports on DSOs, binaries, and planets.

[Butterfly Maiden]

Vanessa, is that a 82mm ED spotting scope in your signature? If so you already have a nice ED refractor

Yes it is Andrey.

Wowsers. It is this one:
https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-produ ... 20-60.html

Very nice! We look forward to your reports on DSOs, binaries, and planets.

Not quite that model Mike. We have an earlier version (still an 82ED) which we picked up second-hand a few years ago.

As we wanted two scopes, the newer versions were too expensive, so we compromised. I suppose the optics won't have changed that much. We get brilliant clear images with our older versions

[turboscrew]

Yes it is Andrey.

Wowsers. It is this one:
https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-produ ... 20-60.html

Very nice! We look forward to your reports on DSOs, binaries, and planets.

Not quite that model Mike. We have an earlier version (still an 82ED) which we picked up second-hand a few years ago.

As we wanted two scopes, the newer versions were too expensive, so we compromised. I suppose the optics won't have changed that much. We get brilliant clear images with our older versions

No pressure...

[Lady Fraktor]

Hello Vanessa,
Personally I would love to rid the world of ST80s but that is just my opinion.

Since you already own 10x50 binoculars, using two eyes you have a basic equivalency of a 70mm refractor.
You already own a good 82mm refractor in your Nikon so no need for the ST80.
For the eye/ brain to see a significant difference you need around a 20mm jump in aperture so you should be looking at a 100mm-102mm refractor.
If you want a sky sweeper then a short tube will do well, if more for planetary/ lunar/ double stars I would be looking at f/7 or slower.

For a EQ mount I would suggest a Skywatcher EQ-3/2 or Celestron CG-4 (They are the same mount)
As a light/ medium EQ mount there are many accessories available for it. single or double tracking motors, pier if wanted and even a goto kit if desired later.
Others can recommend az/ alt mounts.

For a binocular holder I would avoid the plastic ones that have been shown previously and look at one of these: https://agenaastro.com/farpoint-far-sig ... acket.html
A bit more expensive but will handle any set that you want to mount on it as well as a red dot finder.
It will also last a lifetime of use.

[sdbodin]

OK, delete my previous post on getting that 80 frac, since you already got a quality example good for all that wide angle viewing. What I would suggest, since portability was a concern, is a small Cat, 100-150mm range. This would be a strong planetary and moon scope as well as double stars and bright planetary nebula, the Ring and the like.

My small 100 Meade is plenty portable, been down under twice, under an airline seat. Useable mag range 30x to 150x. A 120 frac is three times the weight and twice the length. You should see my sketch of the Tarantula nebula with that scope from a dark site in New Zealand.

Equatorial mount of the CG-4 range is quite usable, but maybe too heavy to call portable, I will let others comment.

Just additional suggestions,
Steve

P.S. 90degF outside at 11:30pm, no, I'm not going out to the scope in that!