How I can find best Telescope to use from home, I will like to basically observe few Star and moon.?

Question

I am not genius; this is just for passing time.

Answer 1

Good answers so for, but not really helpful that I can see.

First, everyone is correct, stars look like, well stars, regardless of what you use. This was even true when I got to use the 61" Telescope on Mt. Bigelow in Arizona. What a telescope will show you over your naked eye is better colors in the stars and you can see stars you can't see with your naked eye. There are stars too faint to see with the naked eyes, but one of the more fun things to see is binary stars. These are stars that look like one star to the naked eye, but in reality are two or more stars. Albireo (Beta Cygni) is one of the prettiest and easy to find.

Now then, if you don't know your way around the night sky it can be frustrating for beginners and they often give up. There are several books that are good for learning the night sky, but you need to learn the position of some of the major constellations with your naked eye before you will be able to find anything with a telescope.

A great book to start with is TURN LEFT AT ORION which is available from most Astronomy outlets as well as AMAZON and bigger book stores (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0521781906/sr=8-1/qid=1156131874/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-0411736-5500808?ie=UTF8)

The best tool to start with is binoculars. They are generally cheaper and easier to learn the night sky with, because you just aim and look. Start with a decent pair of 8x50 or 10x50 binoculars that you can get at WalMart, Fry's or even Target. They shouldn't cost you more that $30 and you can use them for other things if you turn out to not like star gazing.

Lastly, if you want to get a telescope you need to know how much you want to spend and what all you want to do with it (Transport it, just set it up at home, use it for astrophotography, etc). As someone earlier mentioned ORION telescopes is a great place to start. They have a guide to help you pick out a telescope for your own personal needs and wants (including budget). They can be found at http://telescope.com/jump.jsp?itemID=0&itemType=HOME_PAGE
(I own the 127mm Mak of theirs)

A good place to try to find deals is ASTROMART, which has quality used scopes. http://www.astromart.com/Default.asp?

Last word of advice. Check your local area for an astronomy club, of even just enthusiasts, as they will let you try your hand at star gazing without spending any money to begin with.

Answer 2

It takes a certain amount of skill and good knowledge of the heavens to use a telescope effectively. Without these, it will most likely be a frustration for you, and your telescope will gather dust in the cupboard.

Trust me on this. If you think that you will be looking at stars, then already I know you haven't the foggiest idea. In all telescopes from the smallest to the biggest, stars still look like stars.

If you do not know your way around the sky, not only will you not be able to find anything of interest, you will simply ooh and aah about the moon (that is usually impressive even in a small telescope), and then everything else will be a disappointment.

On the other hand, when you know what you are doing, it is the most rewarding hobby in the world.

But it cannot be indulged in casually, which is what I get from your comment "just for passing time" - that will just lead to disappointment.

Answer 3

It really depends on how much you want to spend. Look through this site to get an idea of prices: http://www.fine-telescopes.com/

Just so you know, stars wont show up any better in home telescopes than with the naked eye - although with most telescopes you will be able to see more stars (the ones than are too dim to see with the naked eye). If you really want to view stars, I'd go with a reflector type - they'll resolve dimmer objects better.

Also, if you want to be able to take pictures and you have the money, this is a good one:
http://www.fine-telescopes.com/meade/meade7lx200gps-smtmcuhtc.html

Answer 4

The best you can get for at home is a dobsonain.
about 8 to 12 inches . It's the best home scope for getting justabout as close as observatories do . If you reaaaaaaaaaly want to get as close 2o inch is the best !

Answer 5

search up orion telescopes they have a good way to find the one you need