what telescope should I get?

Question

I am considering buying a telescope. This will be my first one.I want to get a good quality scope that will give me nice views of deep sky objects and preferably be under $500. I was thinking about a 100mm go to refractor telescope made by celestron but i dont know if this aperture is big enough for deep sky objects

Answer 1

You will certainly be able to see many popular deep space objects with a 100mm refractor, and a scope that size on a goto mount in the $500 range is a good deal, and a good starter scope.

Of course, with more aperture you can see more. There are lots of fainter objects out there that you will not be able to see well in a 100mm scope. And you will get lots of replies to your question telling you to get a larger reflector instead of the refractor. However, my advise is to buy the refractor and get started observing. This is a good starter scope because it is easy to use (you don't have to collimate the optics, like you do on a reflector); it's small enough that it's easy to transport and set up; and, if this is a new Celestron, the goto system is easy to learn and use.

One of the most popular telescopes among serious astronomers is an 80mm Astrophysics Traveler, so 100mm is plenty of aperture for great viewing.

Answer 2

If you want nice live views of deep space object then you'll have to go with a reflector as you will be able to afford a larger aperture that way. 100mm is not enough. The larger the aperture, the more light the telescope can collect and the brighter the object will appear. The same effect can be produced by collecting light over a period of time, which is what astrophotography does. In fact, the camera can see more than the eye and even small telescopes can get nice deep space images with the right setup and quality optics.

I would buy a used Celestron 8" Schmidt Cassegrain if you want something to eventually do astrophotography with, and live viewing. I've seen them for around $400 for some of the older models.

You may also want to look for a 10" Meade Starfinder. This is the second largest newtonian telescope which was mass produced on a german equatorial mount so it has astrophotography capability.

If you don't care about astrophotography and just want a big giant light bucket then you may be able to find a larger than 10" Dobsonian in your price range. If this is the case and you do some looking around you might be able to find an older 13.1" or 16" Coulter Odessey (though the optics are a gamble on those ones) or a 16" Meade DS-16 on a Dobsonian mount, hopefully close buy because shipping for those costs $$$

Try looking in the classifieds on www.astromart.com or even browse www.craigslist.com as sometimes people get lucky.

Answer 3

Generally, on a $500 budget, you probably want a reflector, and you probably want to skip GOTO. Any money spent on GOTO is money NOT spent on either aperture or a solid, steady mount. Also, inexpensive GOTO may not be all the reliable or accurate (although they seem to be getting a lot better lately).

Get a few books: Nightwatch by Dickinson, Turn Left At Orion by Consolmagno and Davis, Star Watch by Harrington; and good starter atlas like The Cambridge Star Atlas. This will go a long way to teaching you to find objects, which I think is far more fun than GOTO.

If you do want some form of GOTO, at this price level I recommend the Orion Intelliscopes. The 6-inch dob with intelliscope fits in your budget. These are "push to" scopes - they aren't motorized, but the computer control tells you which way to move the scope until you're centered. A 6inch f/8 dob is a very capable scope and is a substantial improvement over a 100mm scope.

Omit Goto altogether, and you can get an 8inch dob easily and have money left over from $500. The views will blow away a 100mm scope! Use the extra money for books and maybe a good 2x barlow to use with the standard eyepieces.

That said, a 100mm refractor from Celestron will likely be a decent scope, but for the money, and for deep sky, you can't beat an 8inch f/6 dobsonian.

Finally, the best thing you can do to improve deep sky views is to be under dark skies! I'd rather have a small scope under wilderness or country skies than a big light bucket from bright suburban skies. From very dark skies, a 100mm scope can show quite a bit - some of my most memorable deep sky views are with a 112mm scope from pristine New Mexico skies.

Added by edit: I disagree with an answer below that you *need* a clock drive. Yes, a manually moved dob requires you to repeatedly nudge the tube, but this is easy to do, easy to learn. You can always later buy an equatorial platform for the dob (not super cheap, but doable) which will give you tracking ability.

I also disagree that a reflector is "better" - indeed, at equal apertures, a refractor is often slightly better. However, refractors become prohibitively expensive at larger apertures.

Answer 4

You won't take my advice, but I'll give it anyway. Don't buy a telescope!!! I own a $5000 scope so I'm not anti-scope. I believe that the first optics purchase of any would be astronomer should always be GOOD quality binos' Orion has some in the $300-$500 range with 80mm-100mm optics. Binos' have many advantages over a scope especially for the beginner

Answer 5

For deep-sky viewing, a reflector is better than a refractor. Reflectors have better light-gathering capabilities and that's what you're after when viewing objects like distant galaxies.

NOTE:
Make sure that you get a telescope system that has a clock drive incorporated into it. Without that, you'll be constantly manually moving the telescope tube to keep objects centered in your view. A clock drive and a properly aligned telescope eliminate that hassle.

Answer 6

Do you mean refractor or reflector?
I would imagine that you could get a better deal on a reflector for $500. Either way, what you should go for is aperture size.
Although it's tempting to get something with inbuilt drive that will let you programme your target, you're better off with a bigger aperture and no computer, as not only will you gather more light, you're more likely to learn the night sky.

Answer 7

Call me old fashion, but I am not sure computerized goto is what you should get. Real men find celestial objects with star charts and brains. Also, the computer system adds several hundred dollars to the cost.

Answer 8

My personal opinion would be first join a local astronomy club. Once a memeber, you might be able to sample other memeber scope which should give you a feel of what kind that you are interested in.

Answer 9

Meade go-to models are good, LX-50 or thereabouts/

Answer 10

preferably one that fits your eye