i am thinking about spending around 500$
I live in NY so the lights dont help with seeing they night sky.
2007-02-06 15:37:29 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
No the sky, I can get my own woman.
2007-02-06 15:44:35 · update #1
The first thing to look for is aperture, which is the diameter of the telescope's main mirror (or main lens). You can get as high a magnification as you want by switching to a shorter focal-length eyepiece -- but if you have a small aperture, all that does is change a small bright fuzzy blob into a big dim fuzzy blob. To make that blob less fuzzy, you need more light, which means more aperture.
The next most important thing is the mount. The cheapest kind is alt-az (altitude-azimuth), which is fine if you're happy adjusting the telescope every five seconds up-a-little, left-a-little, up-a-little, left-a-little. Can be tiring after a while.
For a bit more money, a better choice is an equatorial mount. Then you're just going left, left, left, which is much easier, especially if the object drifts out of the field entirely, you only have to go either left or right to find it again.
For a bit more money, you can get a clock drive and forget about adjusting the telescope at all. And top-of-the-line (which you might be able to reach, used, for $500) is a computer-guided telescope, which not only tracks the object, but slews around by itself to find the next object on your list. Ultra-cool.
2007-02-06 15:48:43 · answer #1 · answered by Keith P 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
That's a bit like asking "what car should I buy", because the options are so many and varied it's a matter of taste, but telescopes are like other precision instruments - there are no shortcuts and you get what you pay for.
Do not buy anything from a toy store, no matter how good it looks.
Try a local planetarium, observatory, or astronomy club - they may have a try before you buy deal.
For NYC, probably best to get something portable which can be hauled in a car out to a darker sky sometimes.
2007-02-06 16:06:52 · answer #2 · answered by Stargazer 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Check at one of the stores where they sell binoculars and telescopes, in the city you will not see stars but the moon and planets fairly ok. A good telescope is Meade, get the guys at the store to recommend something, they even might know of a used one for sale. Or with their recommendation look for it on EBay.
Luck
2007-02-06 15:47:58 · answer #3 · answered by Karan 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A light pollution filter can eliminate a lot of the glare caused by city lights. They attach to the eyepiece and don't cost very much. Other than that, a large aperature is good (8" or 10"), and a motor with a computer if you don't want to spend a lot of time trying to find a particular star based on its coordinates.
2007-02-06 15:46:42 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The following site may help some. Their top price is below your budget but the items they discuss will be the things that should interest you.
http://space.about.com/cs/telescopes/tp/tpbegscop300.htm
Good Luck, I hope this helps.
2007-02-07 02:30:49 · answer #5 · answered by gimpalomg 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Go to space.com, they have a big write up on choosing a telescope and what to look for.
2007-02-06 15:45:40 · answer #6 · answered by ? 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Why don't you try for ebay.com
2007-02-06 16:48:15 · answer #7 · answered by aditya 1 · 0⤊ 3⤋
you are going to try to look at women arent you?
2007-02-06 15:40:50 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 6⤋