What is the lowest(cheapest) kind of telescope I would need to see the andromeda or other galaxies?

Question

telescopes andromeda galaxies

Answer 1

Go to mead telescopes and click on their refurbished products site. You need what is called a "light bucket." It should be six or eight inches. But get the biggest one you can afford. I got an eight inch light bucket for my granddaughter last year from the refurbished section. Normally, the scope sold for around nine hundred bucks. I paid 150 for the refurbished one, and it was just like new.

Answer 2

If you really want to get a good look at it, get 50 miles away from any lights and look up. It is naked-eye visible as a little smudge. Even the view thru cheap binoculars ain't bad. As far as telescopes, the best views would be thru something fast and small, something like a 6 or 8-inch f/4, with a low-power eyepiece in the 25-40mm range. The reason for the fast/small need is that Andromeda is HUGE, actually about 6 or 8 times the diameter of the full moon, but it is very faint, so to get a good look at it you need very dark skies and, as mentioned above, the "light bucket" approach at very low power.

And for such a need, refractors are practically ruled out. A reflector will give FAR better results per dollar.

Answer 3

You can see the Andromeda Galaxy with most 7x50 binoculars or a 4.5" reflector telescope.

It's even visible to the naked eye from very dark locations if you have very good eyes. Another galaxy which you might be able to see in 7x50 binoculars is M33. You probably won't be able to see M33 in a telescope though because it covers such a large portion of sky. Most galaxies really aren't all that small, so they don't need to be magnified, but they are dim so you need something that can collect a lot of light to see most of them.

You can see a few galaxies with a telescope as small as 4.5" in aperture but people who dedicate most of their observing to galaxies, or "deep space objects" usually use large telescopes that have at least 10" of aperture. These are usually dobsonians because they can be made big and cheap. Zhummel is selling one for around $500. You will be able to see hundreds of galaxies with a 10" dobsonian under dark skies.

Sometimes you can also find a used 10" Meade Starfinder for around $300. This is a good deal as new telescopes that are much smaller usually go for that price.

Answer 4

You can see Andromeda with binoculars. Keep in mind that even with a moderate sized telescope like an 8 inch, and even with Andromeda being so bright, you'll only see the central core. It'll look like a ball of cotton. You won't see the spiral arms like you do in photos.