Can you tell me which telescope is the best for home use?

Question

I'm lookin to purchase a telescope but not quite sure which one I should get or if one brand is better than the other. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Consider reading this site. The gentleman who has put it up is a relative newbie, too. Please, pay close attention to finding a club near you where you can go and get an opportunity to see what other non-professionals are using for casual observations.

http://www.memphisastro.org/Mounts.html

You will note that most of the discussions on the site are about reflectors. That's because you get more light gathering power for the money you spend buying a reflector. Refractors have their place, but for casual viewing reflectors are a better bet. A Newtonian reflector in a dobsonian mount is hard to beat for the home astronomer. You get a big aperture with a very stable mount, a combination that is hard to beat. You will have to learn to "star" hop since you won't have setting circles that can take you directly to an object; but getting an equatorial mount properly aligned to do that can be time consuming.

You might also consider getting a GOTO set up. These are available with dobsonian mounts, too. With a little set up time so the hardware knows how you have oriented the scope, these setup can walk you from object to object.

Be aware, however, that most objects will not rival their photographs. The eye just doesn't work like film, so the colors of deep sky object (to say nothing of the detail) just ain't there. However, if you go on the hunt for all the Messier object, for example, a dobsonian mounted newtonian might make you very happy.

I know that isn't much help, but keep web searching and you'll quickly find the resources to help you make a good decision.

HTH

Charles

Answer 2

It all depends how much money you have to spend on this. If you have less than a hundred pounds (say $250) I think you'd be best off with a good pair of binoculars rather than getting one of the very small refractors you find in toy shops.

You will also have to take into account how portable you want the telescope to be - some of the cheaper reflectors are quite long tubes and difficult and fragile to transport.

If you can afford it, a reflecting telescope, made by a company such as Meade, will serve you very well. If money is tight, I'd hunt around for a carefully-used second-hand reflector, but never buy one without seeing it in operation first!

Answer 3

Here's a good place to start --

http://skytonight.com/howto/basics/3304616.html

It all depends on how serious you want to get. What ever you do, don't go out and get a hundred dollar department store telescope. You may want to look around for a local astronomy club in your area. They'll have loads of tips.

Answer 4

http://www.astronomyforbeginners.com/

Try this link.