For those who own telescopes?

Question

I want to get one, but dont want it to be too expensive because im not sure how long i will be interested in it. lol thats the truth, once I get something in my head its all good, but I will probably get bored of it. But whoknows?

I just want to know what kind you would reccomend? I want one that will work good. If you have names of the tele and how much it cost that will be great

Answer 1

I would recommend a Meade ETX-90. That's about the lowest price scope you can buy with good optics. Don't waste your money on a $49.95 cheap 60mm scope - a good pair of binoculars are much better, you don't have to set anything up, and they go with you in your car's glove compartment.

The Meade ETX-90 is a Matsukov Cassegrain ("Mak-Cass") telescope. It comes with Autostar (computer guided "GOTO" feature that lets you view 1000s of celestial objects with the push of a button). It also comes with a very sturdy tripod, motor drives, and push-button focus.

Retail price about $750.00 with everything included. As I said, if that's too much money, binoculars are a better option. A good pair (10 x 25) will run about $60 to $100. With good binoculars you will be able to see craters on the moon, the Andromeda Galaxy, and star clusters. You wil also be able to make out Saturn's rings and Jupiter's main moons and equatorial bands.

The nice thing about a telescope with a motor drive is you can stay focused on an object without constantly having to adjust the telescope. The art of astronomy is not something you can pick up in a day. Most people looking into a astronomical telescope for the first time won't be able to make out even one tenth as much as somebody with experience. So, if you plan to spend some time with your new toy, it's well worth it to get something that will hold your interest.

The other nice feature about this particular telescope is that it doesn't flip things upside down (like most reflector scopes do), which means you can also look at land objects. It does flip them horizontally, like a mirror image, but that's not a big deal.

One last thing: For astronomy, magnification is the least concern. You want light gathering ability. No matter how powerfully you magnify a star, it's not going to get any bigger. You want to see as big a field of the sky as you can. Magnifying it just narrows the field to a few stars, which is highly uninteresting. By the same token, if you view the Moon, magnification helps somewhat, but it just makes things bigger and fuzzier, not any clearer. A tiny detail in sharp focus is much better than that same detail made large and fuzzy.

Answer 2

And if you aren't completely sure that you want to invest in a telescope, there may be some other options. Many communities have local astronomy clubs. Some clubs have their own observatories, others simply rely on the 'scopes of their members. Try checking to see if/when they have public observation nights. That can give you a taste of what it's like. It can also help you see first-hand what some of the different types of telescopes there are. That could assist you in narrowing down what your needs/wants are when you make your purchase. But yes, for many of us, owning a telescope can be very worth it.

Answer 3

I researched for several months, learning about optics and telescopes, before I bought my first one, a 6" Celestron Starhopper. It is a Newtonian telescope mounted on a Dobsonian mount, and is definitely the biggest bang for the buck. A Newtonian telescope uses a simple parabolic mirror, no fancy expensive lens, yet produces a virtually perfect image. The mount is very low cost, but very usable and durable, leaving most of the value where it belongs, i.e. the optics.

Do not at all make the mistake of paying any attention to "magnification" power. By far, the most important comparision is aperture/objective/primary diameter. A 6" primary, such has mine, has 4 times the light-gathering capability of a 3", which has 4 times the light-gathering capability of a 1.5". I have a lot of experience with telescopes and used to be a boardmember of the Los Angeles Astronomical Society. Feel free to email me with questions, there are many to ask in astronomy. Short answer, go for a 4-inch Newtonian, excellent first-scope and not too expensive at all. Best wishes.

Answer 4

My first telescope was a 5 inch reflector and i got that when i was 16 years old. It is a perfectsize for the beginner. It is awesome to look at the moon, jupiter and saturn. The moon is unbelievable. With a 5 inch scope you can zoom in on individual craters. Jupiter is very cool also.

You can clearly make out the bands of gases going around the surfave aswell as its 4 largest moon, Io, Europa, ganymede and callisto. Saturn is just spectacular. Obviously it isnt going to be in the same detail as the images taken by the voyagers. It really isnt that big, but the beauty of it is that you can make out its rings. Its so cool because you can see the rings in 3 dimentions and see the shadow that it casts on the planet.

So for a beginner i wouldnt go for anything larger than 5 inches. Even something smaller will get you started, but I still use my 5 inch scope and ive had it for 10 years. I believe it was around 250 or 300 dollars (aussie)
Have fun :)

Answer 5

If you are not sure if you are gonna be interested in astronomy, i would recommend a good pair of binoculars. If not, you can get a simple reflector telescope, with a stand so that you can support the telescope for long periods.

Answer 6

Owning a telescope can be somewhat disapponting unless you live in or close to, a "dark" area. Light pollution is a major problem in serious astronomy.

Check out Edmund Scientific's AstroScan (http://scientificsonline.com/product.asp?pn=3002001&sid=edsci&cm_mmc=edsci-_-link-_-na-_-astroscan&bhcd2=1164152193 )

Go join a local amateur astronomers club. The mebmbers will be able to give you all kinds of technical advice.

Answer 7

Two things to keep in mind:
1. Make sure it's big enough.
2. Make sure it's small enough.
If it's not big enough (CTT, Christmas Trash Telescope, one of those smaller telescopes), you'll lose interest because you 'can't see anything'. In that case, a pair of binoculars is better.
If it's not small enough, you'll lose interest in it, because it's a huge pain to carry out and set up every time you want to use it.
So, my suggestion is to get something like what I got last year for christmas from my parents. It's a 6" newtonian telescope. Small enough to move around, yet large enough diameter to see stuff in the sky. The one I have is nearly identical to this one, except for mine is black. http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-DARK-GREEN-6-REFLECTOR-ASTRONOMICAL-TELESCOPE-NIB_W0QQitemZ130050758944QQihZ003QQcategoryZ28181QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

There's dozens of them for sale on ebay, you should be able to find one for under $75 (shipping included). http://photography.search.ebay.com/6_Reflector_W0QQcatrefZC6QQcoactionZcompareQQcoentrypageZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQfgtpZQQfposZQ5AIPQ2fPostalQQfromZR2QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ2QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQlopgZQQpriceZ1QQsacatZ28181QQsadisZ200QQsaprchiZ100QQsaprcloZQQsargnZQ2d1QQsaslcZ2QQsatitleZ6Q22QQsbrftogZ1QQsofocusZbs

Answer 8

If u live near a large city the lights will blind your ability to see much.

Answer 9

Get one that you can use many ways... ;)