best telescope?

Question

I'm looking for the best telescope under $200. I've been seeing people say that Meade sucks? and Orion is better?

Answer 1

Meade and Orion both make quality telescopes, as does Celestron.

But, Meade and Celestron both have a "economy, department store" line scopes which they offer for $200 or less and they skimp on quality to allow those who just want to "see something dammit!" without spending over $200, have a telescope. These telescopes typically have flimsy mounts and are bought by people with unrealistic expectations of what they will be able to see in the telescope.

Most of these lower end telescopes produced by Meade and Celestron are refractors or reflectors of small aperture on flimsy tripods and mounts. Orion produces a lot of Dobsonians though. These telescopes have simple but sturdy, ground based alt-azimuth mounts, are cheaper to produce, and thus can be made larger for the same price as a low end Meade or Celestron. They are easy for beginners to use and since they are larger they can see more and better meet the user's expectations. Perhaps this is why you've heard people recommend Orion.

The best telescope for under $200 depends on what you want out of it and if you want to buy it new or used. If you want to eventually do astrophotography with it you'll need something with a sturdy equatorial mount or something that comes with tracking capability already to follow the object. If you want to see a lot of galaxies you need a lot of aperture (diameter of the primary mirror or lens) and you will probably have to sacrafice astrophotography potential and buy a Dobsonian. I would not buy a refractor in your pricerange because you won't be able to afford a decently sized apochromatic one. If you buy used things are cheaper.

I recommend making of list of things you want out of the telescope and then doing some more research and going to a few star parties to try out different telescopes.

Answer 2

Meade's mid and upper range telescopes are fine, but in the $200 neighborhood, you will find better deals at Orion.

Sky and Telescope reviewed under $200 telescopes in the December '05 edition, and their well-rated telescopes (in order of preference) were:
Orion SkyQuest XT4.5 Dobsonian
Orion StarBlast Astro Telescope
Orion SpaceProbe 3 Altazimuth
Orion Observer 70mm Altazimuth Refractor
Scientifics Astroscan

At the bottom of the list, a Bushnell model rated as close to unusable, and four Meade models and the Celestron PowerSeeker 76 had "noticeable problems".

Answer 3

I would suggest the Orion StarBlast. Intended as a kids telescope but good for beginners and even for advanced users as a second "grab and go" telescope. All the Sky and Telescope magazine editors liked it.

Orion is more beginner oriented. Meade does not suck but they are more into advanced expensive scopes.

Answer 4

In the Under $200 they are basically all the same and probalby come from the same plants in China.

Meade, Orion, Swift all make "decent" little telescopes.

You really need to get closer to $1,000 for a better Meade made in the US or Japan.

Answer 5

look, people will inform you that this is a infant's toy, and in assessment to telescopes some people have used or geared up, this is. in spite of the undeniable fact that this is plenty extra desirable than the bare eye. i might say while you're questioning a pair of telescope that length, you will possibly evaluate a pair of binoculars. i do no longer know what budget you're speaking approximately, yet you need to be waiting to discover some good 2d-hand ones with a minimum of 50 mm lenses for an identical fee. verify it out on e-bay some time. I relatively have considered numerous them there.

Answer 6

i posted an answer on this very same subject a week or two ago
my answer was to join a astronomy club were you will find a wide range of users and different scopes and brands. $200.00 is
kinda low end but you can get one that may serve your purpose.

Answer 7

the greatest telescope is the hubbler space telescope