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I'm completely new to the game of astronomy of stargazing and would like to purchase a telescope. I looked everywhere and there's way too many selections and mechanical functions. I live in the city and the lights here are so saturated I wonder if it's worth buying. It would be my goal to see stars and comets and hopefully planets. Thanks.

2006-08-30 09:23:14 · 17 answers · asked by debernator11 1 in Science & Mathematics Astronomy & Space

17 answers

Hi there... I've been fascinated with astronomy for a while now, and just moved to the arizona desert... beautifully dark night sky almost every night. I wanted to start with a telescope too, but after some research, decided to get a good pair of binoculars first. Since you do live in the city, if you get an elaborate telescope, you'll have to transport it outside of the city everytime you want to use it. You may need software to hook up your telescope to a computer if your having trouble locating interesting objects. These things may be intimidating to a beginner. I think you could join an astronomy club and meet some people, get some feedback about what types of telescopes they like, they could help show you how to use them and you could make a better informed decision. I started with Barska Gladiator binocs, 25x125-80, mounted ona camera tripod. They were $200, and I can see moons of Jupiter and Saturn's rings. And the moon looks amazing. I can also see Vega pulsating. I included a couple of links to space.com, which is one of my favorite astronomy websites, and also to the ebay store where I got my binoculars... happy stargazing!

2006-08-30 10:05:32 · answer #1 · answered by dbs1226 3 · 31 1

Stargazing Telescope

2016-11-14 21:15:14 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

I would avoid zoom binoculars. I've been quite disappointed with them. I don't expect 80 mm binoculars to support 125x magnification. They might, but i don't expect it. 125x80 binoculars should behave something like a 4.5" telescope - though with both eyes. The brain is pretty good at adding up the light from both eyes. You should be able to see planets except Pluto. 25x binoculars can't be hand held - you need a good sturdy tripod. Really, i can hand hold 8x tops. My bogen manfrotto photography tripod was about $250. I've seen good spotting scopes and binoculars on very cheap tripods. It's quite unfortunate. My personal direction was very small binoculars - don't laugh - they're 8x21, and a substantial telescope - a 10 inch (254 mm). The 8x21 binoculars fit in my pocket and were about $50. The telescope can be had for $700, which includes computer locator. I'm not expecting to see much detail in 8x21 binoculars. I just want to find stuff. I'm not worried that the 10 inch scope takes too long to set up - it's under 3 minutes. But another approach is to get some 10x50 binoculars at a local sporting goods store for $25. Save your receipt and promptly check for alignment. If they're good, then treat them like fragile glass artwork - which is what they are, and they'll last. You still need a tripod. There's an observing chair that swivels and holds your binoculars that you can build in the $50 range, or buy for around $200. It folds for transport. They're good to about 25x binoculars. Above that, your heartbeat jiggles the image.

2016-03-18 03:51:26 · answer #3 · answered by Madeleine 4 · 0 0

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What's a good telescope for newbies in stargazing?
I'm completely new to the game of astronomy of stargazing and would like to purchase a telescope. I looked everywhere and there's way too many selections and mechanical functions. I live in the city and the lights here are so saturated I wonder if it's worth buying. It would be my...

2015-08-24 04:11:03 · answer #4 · answered by Setsuko 1 · 0 0

What's a good telescope for newbies in stargazing? The best place to buy cheap Telescopes online is at Amazon.com who have a massive collection to choose from at amazing prices from a website you can trust.

http://www.amazon.com/Telescopes/b?ie=UTF8&node=281063&tag=yah-toys-20

You will find nearly 1000 different telescope models at Amazon. You know you can trust them and their prices are are always amongst the lowest.

Amazon stock the three different types of telescopes, Catadioptric, Reflectors and Refractors across all the major brands such as Celestron, Tasco, Meade, Orion, Barska, iOptron and more.

http://www.amazon.com/Telescopes/b?ie=UTF8&node=281063&tag=yah-toys-20

If you are just starting out then remember that the most popular telescopes for beginners are 2.4 inch (60mm) and 3.1 inch(80mm) refractors and 4.5 inch and 6 inch reflectors.

2014-11-22 14:42:04 · answer #5 · answered by Rayne 3 · 0 0

If you're just starting out, or planning to purchase a telescope for a budding young astronomer, you might want to consider a 2.4-inch or 3-inch refractor, or a 4-inch or 6-inch reflector. These small scopes are well suited for exploring the moon, spotting Saturn's rings, finding the pinpricks of otherwise invisible light that are Jupiter's moons. At the larger end of these small scopes, a viewer will get a modest glimpse of details in Jupiter's clouds and on the surface of Mars.

USA : http://amzn.to/Telescope-Store

UK : http://bit.ly/Telescope-Store-UK

Astronomy is so rewarding!

2014-07-19 01:06:32 · answer #6 · answered by Mica 1 · 1 0

If you live in the city your sort of out of luck. I would suggest buying a good pair of binoculars like Fujinon 16x70 FMT-SX. Drive somewhere where the skies are better and learn the constellations. Don't buy a cheap pair of binoculars with the center focus because they won't last long. You will probably find a good place to observe and by the time you get comfortable with the sky you should know enough to make the right decision with your next purchase.

On your next purchase I would advise something with an eight inch aperture. Aperture is the most important part of the telescope. The more light you can capture the clearer and brighter objects will be. Dobsonians are the best bang for the buck when you think aperture. If your interested in refractors I would start with a four inch. If you think you will be eventually interested in astrophotography you will need a clock drive and a wedge to track the sky's. You will also need all the astrophotography gear. Camera or CCD, T ring, Filters, Laptop computer, Tele extender, etc.

I have read articles where some folks have pretty good luck in the city with a four inch refractor. They say since the aperture is smaller your looking through and magnifying less pollution and water vapor. I've never lived in a city so I cant say.

Whatever you decide to buy it wont be long before aperture fever will bite and you will want a larger scope. Just remember the scope that will be used the most will be the one that is easiest to move and use.

One last thing, don’t scrimp on eye pieces. They are as important as the quality of scope you buy.

2006-08-31 02:09:04 · answer #7 · answered by n317537 4 · 3 5

1

2017-02-10 01:31:58 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Buy a good pair of binoculars, at least 7x50.

I have been into astronomy since I was a small kid and I only use 15x80 binoculars. Get them mounted and look at the Milky Way. Wow.

It takes a lot of skill to find things with a telescope. If you don't know your way around the sky, it will become a 5 minute wonder. You will never see anything like what you see in the astronomy magazines unless you buy big and get into astro-photography.

Binoculars show you a wide field of view which makes it easier to spot things. You will never get the magnification of a telescope, but that comes with a price - it is hard to find things and harder to keep them in view without an expensive star drive.

For comets - all the world's amateur comet hunters use binoculars.

When after a year or so with binoculars you know the sky like the back of your hand, then think about a telescope.

2006-08-30 09:45:26 · answer #9 · answered by nick s 6 · 8 6

i recommend that you go to a reputable telescope store in your area and ask them what is the best and least expensive way to get started in stargazing i personally have a LX200 Meade Schmidt cassegrain but for a beginner a dobsonian or an inexpensive refractor are also good a desent telescope could run from $200.00 to $1,000.00 for a starter

2006-08-30 18:44:13 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 4 3

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