What is a good telescope for viewing more than just the moon but for a good price?

Question

Is a "Konus Motor Electronic 500 Newtonian With RA Motor Drive" a good buy for $159? any info will be helpfull, i dont know much about telescopes.

Answer 1

I tested some Konus telescopes for a telescope store a while back. Initially they were of good quality, but then Konus switched to an off-brand supplier in China and the quality on all their scopes became dismal, and the dealer dropped the line as a result. This is one of the newer Konus scopes, so I would avoid it, espcially since there are many better brands available.

Just about _any- telescope will do a decent job on the Moon, provided the optics are decent and the mount solid. Unfortunately, many of the less expensive scopes, while they have good optics, have terrible mounts, very shaky and hard to use. But I aso wouldn't want to limit my telescope to just the Moon, as there are so many fascinating objects within range of small telescopes, notably the planets and deep sky objects (star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies). Your best bet will be a reflector telescope on a Dobsonian mount, with the largest size of mirror you can afford. Here are some examples from one dealer, Orion, which I've ordered many things from over the years:

http://www.telescope.com/jump.jsp?itemType=CATEGORY&itemID=9

Be sure you buy from a telescope store, either locally or online, as the scopes sold at Wal-Mart and on eBay are real junk.

Answer 2

That's a 4.5 inch scope and will blow away the 2+ inches (60mm ) someone else is recommending, which is well meaning advice, and true in that many people started that way. But people started that way back in the 60s because they couldn't afford better. You're on the right track, 4.5 inches is a good aperture to start at. 60mm is tiny, it's not much more than the finder you will find on most "serious telescopes."

My only problem with your Konus is that the mount "looks good in the picture" but in fact will be rickety and a probably to be frank, a piece of junk. The joints on the mount will probably not turn smoothly and the legs on the tripod will probably have a lot of play. That means it will be very wobbly. It's very frustrating to use a telescope that won't point where you want it to point, and doesn't stay pointed there when you let go of the tube. A 4.5 inch Dobson mount is probably the easiest way to get started. You can get the Orion XT4.5 or their wonderful Star Blast, which is a "wide field" telescope.

The Konus is "imitating" the good quality German equatorial mounts. To the uninitiated it looks OK. But a well made German equatorial--one that doesn't make you want to kick it--looks like this:

http://www.company7.com/vixen/mounts/gpdxgem.html

If you choose a Dobson design you will get a different design to hold the telescope, but it will be solid and stable: the Dobson is designed to be solid and cheap. So more of your money will go into things that you're not thinking about in your post, like the focuser, which in fact is important.

Some folks will get on here and say get a six inch or eight inch dobson telescope. I won't say that's wrong. If you can do the $300 go ahead and get the six inch. But if you just want to have something to haul out of the house and see if you like it for a while, see more than just the moon, and don't want to keep outlay around $200, then a 4.5 inch or six inch XT is probably the way to go.

So your best bet is to try Orion Telescopes (see link below) which specializes in getting people started. Get on their catalog list and see what else you might do down the road.

Be sure to spend $12.00 and get on Astromart. That is a one-time-only registration fee. For $200 you can pick up a used telescope cheap that could be much better quality than what you'll get new for the same price. Avoid ebay (lots of ripoffs) and buy from an Astromart person with at least half a dozen good ratings on his record. Sometimes Konuses are sold there used.

Answer 3

The Moon, being big and vivid, is an effortless goal for a telescope. Planets, showing a lot smaller, are extra annoying - you want a really big aperture to remedy element, and a steady mounting so the scope does not shake at bigger magnifications. The average advice of a 6 inch Dobsonian telescope could as a result look like a well one, they are well all rounders and well significance-for-cash. But in the event you wish anything extra transportable, you would take into account a smaller Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope.

Answer 4

It's not a bad telescope for the price, but it may be a bit un-sturdy due to the tripod, which you can replace.

I think personally though I'd get something with a longer focal length. A longer focal length will make it easier for you to reach higher magnifications which comes in handy for planets. For a telescope of this size, I'd want a focal length of around 700mm. It will also be easier to collimate.

However, the shorter focal length will give you a wider field of view and reduce the exposure time if you want to do astrophotography.

You can learn more about telescopes here:
http://members.aol.com/siriusbc/telescopes.htm

Answer 5

Many advanced amateur astronomers began the study of astronomy with a 60mm refractor. Meade 60mm-diameter telescopes (Models NG-60 and NGC-60) are perfectly suited for a person at an introductory level of interest. But if one's interests are maintained, he or she may want a larger telescope, such as the Meade ETX series or DS 2000 series. Larger Meade telescopes enable the study of much greater detail in all observed celestial objects, and the ETX Astro Telescope and Model 4500 are excellent choices for the serious beginning amateur astronomer.

your looking at no less then $250-400

Answer 6

I bought a good telescope for my Granddaughter and was disappointed as the problem was that they live in the edge of a very large city ,and the lights would blind us.