which telescope is best?

Question

among these two telescope which one is best?
a). Orion SkyQuest XT6 Classic Telescope with Bonus Accessory Pack Crayford-Style Focuser
b).Orion SpaceProbe™ 130ST EQ Reflector
what are the good and bad points of those telescope....
what accessories kits do i need for both...
can u suggest me any other nice telescope below 300$
i want to learn astronomy seriously help me!!!!

Answer 1

Orion SkyQuest XT6 Classic:

Pros:
1. It has more aperture than the SpaceProbe 130ST (6" as opposed
to 5") and will collect roughly 1.44 times more light.

2. It has a stable, easy to use Dobsonian mount.

3. It can be upgraded with Orion's Intelliscope navigation system
to help you find things if you want.

Cons: Since it's a Dobsonian you will not be able to do timed
astrophotography with it. At least not an any easy, cost
effective manner.

Orion SpaceProbe 130ST EQ:

Pros:
1. It has a somewhat stable german equatorial mount which you
may be able to do some degree of times astrophotography
with if you equip it with a motor drive.

2. Even if you don't equip it with a motor drive you will be able to
do some self guided short exposure astrophotos if you're
skillful enough.

Cons:
1. It has less aperture than the SkyQuest
2. German equatorial mounts can leave you contorted into odd positions to look through the eyepiece.

Generally, if you don't plan to be doing astrophotography, I'd say go with the 6" if it were between these two telescopes. If you do plan to do astrophotography you can get a lot out of a little scope like the SpaceProbe but I'm not sure how stable the mount with this model actually is. It says it's an EQ2 so it's probably fairly stable but you may want to eventually get a more solid tripod.

The accessorie pack with the SkQuest consists of a collimator, which is useful, and a right angle finder scope which, in my opinion, isn't useful unless you can take the right angle attachment off. The reason is, it's actually alot easier to find things with both eyes open and looking at the sky, though one eye through the finder scope.

Another option is for you to buy a used telescope. For $300 or $400 you may be able to buy a used 8" with some accessories if you look around on places like
http://www.astromart.com
http://www.cloudynights.com
http://www.astrobuysell.com

Accessories I recommend is at least one good low powered eyepiece, such as a 25mm. One good high powered eyepiece, such as a 10mm. And one very good 2x barlow by a company like Orion or Celestron.

Answer 2

From experience: if you want to start astronomy I would suggest you get a good set of binoculars first. A decent set is generally cheaper than a scope and is more universal. This way you can try standing outside (late) in the cold at night (usually in winter) and give it a try. Many objects worth seeing are very visible with a good set of binoculars. Also finding objects is much, much easier. If you still want to start with a telescope I would suggest 2 VERY important things:
* get the best mount you can find, this is more important than the optics
* get the largest focal length eye piece you can find (20mm or up, forget the 6 and 10mm eye pieces, they are useless unless you spend $1000 and up on the optics and as much on the mount).

Now about the telescopes you mention:

The skyquest is a dobsonian which means you have to point and keep track of an object by moving the scope in a plane. This type of scope (actually its the mount) rules out the use of high magnification because you will not be able to track the object.

The spaceprobe has an equatorial mount, this means you can keep track of an object (once found of course) by turning just one knob (assuming the scope is aligned to the rotational axis of the earth, which is relatively simple). This makes keeping an
object in view much easier than with the dobsonian. When viewing planets at higher magnification this is a must.
HOWEVER I strongly advise to NOT spend any money on this particular telescope. The optics are probably OK but the mount is terrible (I can not stress this enough), the telescope is just too big and heavy for the stand and mount.

In conclusion: if you want to see nebulas and galaxies (don't expect anything like the pictures you see in the news) then the skyquest (dobsonian) is probably OK, as long as you use long f eye pieces (20mm or longer), the skyquest would be better suited for planetary viewing because of its equatorial mount (nebulas and galaxies will work just as well), however expect the picture to be VERY sensitive to vibration. As mentioned before try (or borrow) a set of binoculars 1st.

I need to keep this short for now (I'm on work time), but if you want to continue this conversation I will be more than happy to go on, there is a lot more to discuss, my email is: [e-mail].

Answer 3

I'd go for the XT6. Its main advantages are 1) more aperture and 2) a more stable mount. Those low-end equatorials tend to be shaky.

For accessories, a red flashlight for reading starcharts by (red light is less damaging to your dark adaptation, the adjustable LED kind are the best), and a book to help you find your way around - Nightwatch, Skywatch, Turn Left at Orion, and Backyard Astronomers Guide are all good.

There are some online groups that you might find helpful - the Yahoo Telescopes group for equipment discussions (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/telescopes/ ), the Yahoo Starry Nights group for observing (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/starrynights/ ), and the forums at cloudynights.com (http://www.cloudynights.com/ ). Also, check out your local astronomy club, if there is one - go to http://skytonight.com/community/organizations to search.

Answer 4

Reflector is best for night sky viewing but you will want to have an autotracking system with it. Unfortunately, they cost a tad bit more than $300.00.
-Good luck

Answer 5

Its ofcourse , old but gold Gallileo's Telescope

Answer 6

Get the Hubble space telescope....it works for me.