My son wants one for Christmas. I have found tons on Ebay in different price ranges, of course-but I have no clue what is junk and what is good. I don't want to spend hundreds on his first one because I am not positive how far he will go with Astronomy. I need to get it ordered in the next couple of days so I can get it on time. Thanks for any ideas.
2006-12-13 13:25:52 · 5 answers · asked by ccisa3@sbcglobal.net 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
A regular astronomy store such as Orion (http://www.telescope.com/ ) or Astronomics' First Telescope (http://www.firsttelescope.com/ ) is a safer place to buy than eBay. There's a lot of junk on eBay.
A small refractor is easy to care for and can be used for terrestrial as well as astronomical viewing.
2006-12-13 13:31:24 · answer #1 · answered by injanier 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Unless you do spend hundreds, you will get junk.
Lucky for you kids know they are kids and usually expect junk when they ask for something like a telescope. Luckier for you that even a few "junk" telescopes can offer decent enough views for the casual observer.
I suggest you buy your son a telescope made by either Meade, Celestron, or Orion. The type of telescope should be a reflector that is either a Newtonian on a decent german equatorial mount (NOT a rack and pinnion mount) or a Dobsonian because you can get big ones fairly cheap.
The the telescope should absolutely be NO SMALLER than 4.5" in aperture. In meteric this is 114mm. Aperture is the diameter of the primary mirror in reflectors and the diameter of the lens in refractors.
Do not buy him a refractor. You will not be able to afford the proper kind he would need to get decent images and see enough objects.
I recommend you go to http://www.oriontelescopes.com or http://www.telescopes.com
You can order direct from the websites.
2006-12-14 01:03:26 · answer #2 · answered by minuteblue 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A good pair of binoculars is an excellent tool for looking at stars and even some galaxies ie. Andromeda. Telescopes can be very touchy. Keep it simple, you want to look at stars not fuss with a telescope. Once he's seen everything he can see with binoculars. Then try a telescope.
2006-12-13 21:30:47 · answer #3 · answered by Patrick K 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
As an astronomer we get this everyday at our observatory and this is what we reccomend ..
http://www.telescope.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=364&itemType=PRODUCT&RS=1&keyword=
Everyone who tried it loves it . The kids find it easy to carry around and use . Thry will see waaaaay out there and see deep sky objects really well . The long tube brings in the starlight better and mirrirs inside brightens the objects . We have done studies on this here at our observatory lab.
I can give you a list of emails to ask them direct if they are happy.
2006-12-14 00:35:07 · answer #4 · answered by spaceprt 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't know much about astronomy but I found some buyers guides
http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org/buyers.htm
http://home.inreach.com/starlord/
http://www.astronomytoday.com/astronomy/tbfaq.html
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/telescope_I.html
Hope this helps! Good luck! :)
2006-12-13 21:31:08 · answer #5 · answered by behindthesun011 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋