telescope recommendation?

Question

is there a telescope that you would recommend for a begginer who just wants to observe for the fun of it? i would like something below $300, or even a cheapy that can at least focus on jovian planets? any recommendations would be appreciated!

Answer 1

Small (around 4") reflectors are recommended for beginners because they are good for looking at planets as well as deep sky objects. They are easy to use and cheaper than refractors of the same aperture.
Refractors of around 2" aperture need less maintenace and are better for beginners who mainly want to look at planets.
You will also need a mount for the telescope. Beginners' telescopes tend to come with mounts, look out for an altazimuth mount- these are the easiest to use.

Answer 2

For $300 you can get a 4.5" on a german equatorial mount or maybe even a 6" Dobsonian.

You will just barely be able to make out cloud bands on Jupiter with most 4.5" telescopes.

If you get a Dobsonian I recommend a Zhummell or Orion. Check out http://www.oriontelescopes.com

You also want two quality eyepieces and a quality 2x barlow. You should have a 25mm or 32mm eyepiece and maybe a 9mm eyepiece.

For seeing things in general, the bigger the better so i really recommend a 6" with a long focal length if you can afford one.

DO NOT buy a refractor (you can't afford a decent one) or anything from a department store. If you want to buy something with a german equatorial mount, make sure the mount is metal, not plastic. Don't buy anything with a rack and pinnion type mount. In fact, if you don't want to do astrophotography, then just buy a dobsonian. They're cheap and simple.

Don't buy a telescope that emphasizes power. The practical power or magnification you can achieve is generally given by multiplying the aperture of the telescope by 50. For example, if you have a 4.5" telescope then the maximum practical magnification you can use is 225x

Magnification depends, in part, on the eyepiece so you can actually put in an eyepiece that may give you 900x magnification but you won't see anything but a fuzzy, distorted image.

Answer 3

Likely there is some astronomy club near your location.
Find out when meetings are and go along.
Try out the various telescopes and ask questions.
Probably you will have some fun and meet new people.
If you are still interested after several observing nights, then consider buying your own telescope.

There are more telescopes gathering dust in the attic or basement than are in use.

There is not a general "best" telescope. Be guided by advice from enthusiasts near where you live.

Answer 4

Any of the telescopes in the source would be good. The SpaceProbe™ 3 Altaz Reflector for $99.95 would probably be fine for your first telescope. I would recommend it over the Observer™ 60 Altaz Refractor for the same price because it has a bigger objective. Reflectors usually are cheaper than refractors of the same size, and size is important in telescopes. They is why most professional telescopes are large reflectors.

Answer 5

You can get a decent 4.5" reflector with a motorized drive from Walmart for about 300. The drive makes a big difference. Without it, the object drifts out of the field of view pretty quick.

Answer 6

Hello I Am An Astronomer ...

If you really want some deep & correct help so you won't be disapointed with the wrong scope. please email me at my services email, I can get you started and started right. I run a program on this at our observatory .

Email : [e-mail]

I can get files sent to you from our observatory.
and help after you buy it getting to know it and teach you basic telescope care and help you search for galaxies etc .