Which telescope is right for an amateur user?

Question

I'm buying my parents a telescope for Christmas, but could use some advice on what would be right for them. They live down in Arizona in a small retirement community, so I don't think light pollution is much of a problem. Their backyard has a concrete slab that the previous owner used for a bolted-down telescope, so there's a level surface to place the scope. They won't be moving it much other than in and outside the house. I'm debating between a Zhumell Dobsonian Reflector (8 or 10 inch) or a Meade DS-2130LNT Reflector. My parents are not tech savvy, so I want something that is easy for them to set up and not too difficult to use and view planets/stars/galaxies, etc. I'm looking to spend $300-500, but don't have a clue as to the difference between these types of scopes. Any recommendations or explanation on the difference between them would be appreciated (8 vs 10 inch, motorized vs not, etc). Other scope recommendations are also welcome. Thanks.

Answer 1

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Answer 2

The Meade DS-2130LNT has one advantage over the Dobsonian and that's that is has GoTo, which locates objects for you, provided you can get the scope properly aligned to a reference star. Being in such a dark area, your parents may actually enjoy finding things themselves though. The Meade is only 5" in aperture (the diameter of the primary mirror) and this will greatly limit their viewing to planets and just a few deep space objects.

A telescope with 10" of aperture would be excellent. I recommend the Orion SkyQuest XT10 IntelliScope & Bonus Accessory Pack. This is a 10" Dobsonian with a navigation system. It doesn't point the telescope to the object but it tells you which way to move the telescope to point it yourself. This telescope is $779.95 which I realize may be out of your price range. They do have another one called the SkyQuest XT 10 Classic, which is a 10" Dobsonian without the navigation system for $529.95

Dobsonians are the simplest type of telescope which was designed to be the cheapest per inch of aperture, easy to set up, and is primarily intended for live viewing. They cannot do any long exposure astrophotography unless special modifications are made so if your parents would be interested in embarking on that hobby (which is very technically oriented!) then a Dobsonian would be a poor choice. If they want to just look through the eyepiece, a 10" Dobsonian is an excellent choice.

You can see the Orions on http://www.oriontelescopes.com
There is a website here which explains different types of telescopes:

http://hometown.aol.com/siriusbc/telescopes.htm

Answer 3

The Zhumell dob would be a better choice if your parents are fairly knowledgeable and/or enthusiastic about astronomy. These are totally manual telescopes that require the user to know his way around the sky in order to locate things. A book such as The Backyard Astronomer's Guide, or something else appropriate to their level of knowledge would make a nice companion gift.

The Meade DS-2130LNT is a smaller, computerized scope that will find objects on command. This type of scope is better for someone whose knowledge of the sky is minimal and who isn't apt to want to put any effort into learning more. The computerization may be off-putting, though the level of complexity, assuming it works correctly, is low.

Of the two scopes, the Zhumell dob will show more things and is also better built and more durable. Low-end go-to scopes such as the Meade sacrifice some quality to bring you computer control at that price point.

The Yahoo telescope group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/telescopes/ ) or the discussion forums at Cloudy Nights (http://www.cloudynights.com/ ) are good places to ask more questions if you feel the need.

Answer 4

I would think your retired parents would appreciate the convenience of the goto Meade more than the optical superiority of the Dobsonian. They want to see things, but seeing them a little better is probably not a priority. And they're unlikely to want to look a whole lot at dim deep space objects which is where the Dobsonians advantage is greatest. They're more likely to look at the moon and planets, and maybe star clusters and double stars.

Answer 5

Geoff's answer is astonishing. Take his suggestion heavily. i might additionally propose a e book observed as "The outdoors Astronomer", by employing Terrance Dickson. it particularly is a splash expensive, yet will shop you some time and funds later. Meade, Celestron and Orion are the main suitable manufacturers for novices. regardless of telescope form, i might propose a minimum aperture (lens/reflect length) of 8 inches. in case you intend to income the sky and consider superstar charts etc., then a Dobsonian telescope is astonishing. they're many times unguided, yet a miles less complicated layout permitting super apertures at decrease value than different varieties of telescopes. a extensive "Dob" of 10-12 inches will many times value concerning the comparable as another telescope types that are a million/2 the dimensions in aperture. in case you're no longer fascinated in superstar charts and want a computerized "GOTO/Guided" telescope, then Meade or Celestron are stable, yet something above the 8 inch aperture starts off to particularly strengthen the value. additionally, attempt to purchase from a community save as adversarial to the internet. you will locate the fees are no longer that diverse, yet a community save provides you extra help (and lots quicker help) than an internet save 2,000 miles away. community astronomy golf equipment are an astonishing source of innovations, and could be a sturdy source for a used, yet nevertheless stable high quality, telescope. do no longer purchase A "SIGHT UNSEEN" TELESCOPE FROM EBAY. those are many times older, out of date telescopes in questionable working subject with areas being perplexing to locate. If a telescope is on Ebay for inexpensive, there's a explanation for it! the two maximum obligatory factors of a high quality telescope are the optics and the mount. international classification readability and optics are ineffective with a bad mount. My suggestion for a Dob is a ten inch. verify the 1st link under. in case you like a computerized GOTO, i p.c. to propose a 6 or 8 inch minimum, verify the subsequent link out.

Answer 6

those which are cheap, and made from china!