• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Celestial Viewing

Celestial Viewing

  • Home
  • Buying Guides
    • Telescopes
  • Reviews
    • Telescopes
  • Blog

Blog

GoTo vs. Manual Telescopes: Which Should I Choose?

October 11, 2018 by Joe Leave a Comment

If you’re looking to buy a new telescope, you might be wondering whether you should invest in a computerised GoTo mount, or stick to a traditional manual mount. There are advantages and disadvantages of both types. In this guide, I want to go over a few things you need to consider for you to make a well informed choice.

To give you the quick answer: if the most important thing to you is convenience and you have a large budget, GoTo mounts are great. If you plan on doing any astrophotography, a GoTo mount can be useful but isn’t necessary. If you want to get the most bang for your buck in terms of power, or if the satisfaction of locating objects on your own sounds appealing, go for a telescope with a manual mount.

Alt-azimuth vs. Equatorial Mounts

When your deciding on which telescope mount to choose, it gets a little bit more complicated than simply choosing between GoTo and manual. Both of these types of mount can come in an alt-azimuth or equatorial style.

Alt-azimuth mounts are much simpler than equatorial mounts. They have two axis and can move left and right, and up and down. They work in the same way as a camera tripod. Alt-azimuth mounts are easy to setup and use, but they don’t track objects like equatorial mounts do.

With equatorial mounts, one of the axis is parallel to the earths rotational axis. This means that the image will always stay consistent and not rotate. The downside is that when the object you are viewing passes the meridian line, you will need to flip the mount which interrupts valuable viewing time when the object is at the optimal point. As the mount moves, it can also put the eyepiece in awkward positions, particularly if you have a reflector telescope.

Whether you choose a GoTo or manual mount, alt-azimuth mounts are generally preferred for simple viewing. Compensating for rotation won’t be that important and alt-azimuth mounts are much more convenient. However, for astrophotography, you will definitely want to consider an equatorial mount which will allow you to use longer exposure times. This is especially true for taking photos of deep space objects.

I know this doesn’t really help you decide between GoTo and manual mounts, but it is important to consider when choosing a mount.

How Do GoTo Telescopes Work?

You’re probably aware that telescopes with GoTo mounts are computerised and automatically find objects in the sky for you, but you might be wondering how they actually work. (This is a very brief explanation of how they work.)

The first thing you do is input some details into the computer. This is usually your location, time, and the date. Some mounts with built-in GPS can do this for you. Next, you point the telescope to a known star on the computers database, and center it in the eyepiece.

Now the telescope knows its orientation and you can easily have it point to thousands of objects stored on the database with the push of a button.

Manual Telescopes Will Give You More Power

The biggest advantage of a manual telescope is that they will give you much more power for the same price. Computerised telescopes don’t come cheap and the extra money spent on purchasing a GoTo telescope could be put towards a telescope with a larger aperture. A telescope with a larger aperture will be more powerful and allow you to see more objects with higher magnification and in more detail.

To give you an example, the Celestron 114LCM GoTo telescope (check price on Amazon) has a 4.5″ aperture, and is around the same price as the Orion SkyQuest XT6 (check price on Amazon) which has a 6″ aperture. The mount on the 114LCM isn’t great either.

Although you can get some great quality GoTo telescopes at the higher end, you will always be able to get a more powerful telescope for the same price if you go manual. If you want the most bang for your buck, get a manual telescope.

Are GoTo Mounts Necessary for Astrophotography?

If you plan on doing some astrophotography and you will only be taking photos of the Moon or planets, the type of mount doesn’t really matter too much because these objects are easy to find in the sky and you won’t require long exposure times.

If you want to take photographs of deep space objects like galaxies and nebulae, GoTo mounts are not necessary, but they do make things a bit easier.

For astrophotography, what’s more important is choosing an equatorial mount.

Because deep space objects are so far away, you want to use longer exposure times on your camera so you can gather more light. The problem is, these objects are moving through space and the earth is rotating which makes it difficult to keep the object still and in the same alignment. Equatorial mounts offset the earths rotation which allows you to use longer exposure times.

So if you plan on doing any astrophotography, don’t worry too much about GoTo, but do make sure you choose an equatorial mount.

Locating Objects Is Part of the Fun!

Something that often gets forgotten is that locating objects and finding your way through the night sky is part of the fun for many people. You get a great sense of satisfaction when you finally find that planet or galaxy you were looking for without the help of a computer.

Sure, many people don’t want the extra hassle and just want to hit a button and look at what they want to look at. And that’s totally fine, but it’s definitely something to consider when you’re deciding between a GoTo or manual telescope.

What Will You Be Viewing?

Another important thing to consider is what you will be using your telescope to view. If you will only be using your telescope to view the Moon, a GoTo mount is not necessary. Planets can be a little harder to locate but you still don’t really need GoTo.

However, if you’re interested in viewing more of those harder to locate deep space objects, GoTo mounts can be very convenient.

What’s the Light Pollution Like?

If you will be using your telescope in a heavily light polluted area, it can be very difficult to locate many objects. This is another time where you might want to consider a GoTo telescope.

What’s Your Budget?

Finally, you need to consider your budget. If you have a small budget of just a few hundred dollars or so, I would avoid telescopes with GoTo mounts. The quality simply isn’t there. Corners will have to be cut somewhere and you will end up with a telescope with a small aperture, bad optics, or unstable mount.

If your budget is over $500, you can start to find some good quality GoTo telescopes. But remember, they still won’t be as powerful as if you bought a manual telescope for the same price.

Conclusion

Neither GoTo or manual mounts are objectively better than the other. It all comes down to personal preference and what you will be using you telescope for. Take some time to consider the things in this guide and you’ll be well on your way to finding the perfect telescope mount for your own needs.

Filed Under: Blog, Telescopes

Fast vs. Slow Telescopes: What’s the Difference?

October 10, 2018 by Joe Leave a Comment

If you’ve been researching telescope, you may have come across the terms fast and slow telescopes. In this post, I want to go through what these terms actually mean and the advantages and disadvantages of both types of telescope.

What’s the Difference?

All telescopes have an aperture and a focal length. The aperture is the diameter of the lens or mirror that gathers the light, and the focal length is the distance between the lens/mirror and the eyepiece.

If you have two telescopes with the same aperture but different focal lengths, the telescope with the short focal length would be considered fast and the telescope with the long focal length would be considered slow. These terms are borrowed from photography where a lens with a longer focal length will require a slower shutter speed to get the same level of brightness as a lens with a shorter focal length.

The relationship between the aperture and focal length is known as the focal ratio or f/ratio. You calculate the f/ratio by dividing the focal length (mm) by the aperture (mm). So a telescope with an aperture of 130mm and focal length of 650mm will have a f/ratio of f/5. An f/ratio of f/4 or f/5 would be considered fast, above f/8 would be considered slow, and anything in between would be more balanced.

If you’re looking to buy a telescope, you might be wondering whether you should buy a fast or slow telescope. Now we’re going to look at the advantages and disadvantages of both types.

Fast Telescopes

Fast telescopes have a shorter focal length. They have a wider field of view and are generally better suited for viewing deep space objects.

Pros

  • More portable
  • Wider field of view

Cons

  • Requires more powerful eyepieces for high magnification
  • Shorter eye relief assuming same magnification
  • Aberrations are more pronounced

Slow Telescopes

Slow telescopes have a longer focal length and are generally better suited for viewing planets in our solar system and the Moon.

Pros

  • Higher magnification assuming the same eyepiece
  • Longer eye relief assuming same magnification
  • Aberrations are less pronounced

Cons

  • Not as portable
  • Not capable of wider fields of view

Filed Under: Blog, Telescopes

Primary Sidebar

Getting involved with amateur astronomy can be quite daunting at first. Telescopes and other equipment can get pretty expensive, and you want to make sure you’re spending your money wisely. Here at Celestial Viewing, we try to make it as easy as possible for anyone to get started exploring the night sky!

Buying Your First Telescope?

Buying your first telescope can be a daunting task! In our telescope guide, we break down all you need to know about telescopes, and we have some great recommendations that are perfect for beginners.

Categories

Recent Posts

  • GoTo vs. Manual Telescopes: Which Should I Choose?
  • Fast vs. Slow Telescopes: What’s the Difference?
  • Orion SkyQuest XT4.5 Telescope Review
  • Zhumell Z130 Telescope Review
  • The Best Telescopes: Complete Buying Guide for 2018

Legal Info

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

© 2023 · Celestial Viewing

  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. By continuing to use this website, you consent to our use of these cookies.Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT