Telescope for a newbie: Smart app enabled?

Submitted ⁨⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨imminent_nebula@lemmy.ca⁩ to ⁨astronomy@mander.xyz⁩

I’m starting my journey into astronomy and looking for a beginner telescope to start. I’ve found a few on telescopescanada.ca that fit my budget between $350 and $400 CAD but noticed a lot have “smartphone app-enabled” as a feature.

Over the last few years I’ve found that smart connected tech just complicates things and have been reverting my tech back, often to the point of wired over wireless. What’s the consensus when it comes to telescopes?

Is app-connection a feature you use? I’m looking at the Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ but wondering if I’ll be paying for smart features that aren’t necessary.

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Cyclist@lemmy.world ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Not the answer your want. Start with a dumb telescope and learn to navigate the stars. You’ll get better optics if you aren’t paying for all that other stuff.

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- imminent_nebula@lemmy.ca ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Generally I would avoid any smart features if possible, just not sure if they’re actually a benefit for telescopes. I’m definitely leaning dumb
  
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Kichae@wanderingadventure.party ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
imminent_nebula@lemmy.ca I would personally avoid anything that is app reliant. Companies in general have been absolute dogshit about supporting their companion apps over the years. If you’re looking for a telescope with a go-to system, find one that isn’t app based.

Also, I would start looking at the second hand market before looking at a new scope. There is a surprising number of people out there who buy a scope, use it once, and then box it up and eventually sell. You can get really good deals on good-as-new second hand equipment.

The thing you really want to look for is a telescope with a motorized mount. The sky moves fast under motorization. In the span of a minute, whatever you’re looking at can move out of view. Go-to systems are convenient and all, and are motorized, but if you ever want to learn to use celestial coordinate systems, a computerized auto-slew system will get in the way (source: MSc in astronomy, have been an operator at multiple public observatories across Canada; I have no internalized concept of right ascension or declination, because these have all been computerized systems. But if you don’t care about learning coordinate systems, a used go-to scope with no app is the best bang for your buck.

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- imminent_nebula@lemmy.ca ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Yeah I’m already looking for similarly priced telescopes without smart connection features. I didn’t even think of second hand, I’ll check out my area!
  
  Will most new telescopes will be able to connect to a laptop though? Looks like Stellarium has an option to display directly from a scope and I see most scopes make mention of software so I’m guessing they all pretty much have a connection option?
  
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  - Kichae@wanderingadventure.party ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    imminent_nebula@lemmy.ca Most go-to telescopes should connect to a computer. Older ones might use a serial cable instead of USB, but anything made within the last 10 year likely uses USB cables.
    
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kbal@fedia.io ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
I'm not a telescope expert by any means but I do have a little one which I use occasionally. As with any other device that works perfectly well without them, "smart" features involving an app are something I would go well out of my way to avoid.

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- imminent_nebula@lemmy.ca ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Yeah that’s where I’m leaning. It’s a situation where I can’t see how smart features would be a benefit, and could just be something extra to break. That said, I don’t know much about telescopes yet so I wanted to get some real-world opinions.
  
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Klanky@sopuli.xyz ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
My first scope was a 10” Dobsonian with no special features. I feel like it was a great way to really get a feel for the hobby and teach yourself the fundamentals. I felt very connected to what I was doing since it was all stamps and manual control.

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- imminent_nebula@lemmy.ca ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  I’m very much a tactile person so I’m thinking of going this route.
  
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  - Klanky@sopuli.xyz ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Keep us updated on how it goes! Another option might be a nice pair of astronomical binoculars to see if you want to invest more in the hobby. Also will helps you get a feel for the sky.
    
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FishLake@lemmygrad.ml ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
The only “smart” feature that I find useful is an equatorial gear/mechanism. It turns your telescope with the rotation of the earth (or fancier ones can be set to turn with the earth plus another movement so you can track objects like the moon). Just look for that.

Camera mounts, specific lens, and filters can be great additions. None of those things are “smart.” Here’s a photo I got of the lunar eclipse the other night. I didn’t use an equatorial mount or filters because I was rushing and didn’t want to set it all up, just a camera mount, so I apologize for the quality.

Image

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