Telescope amatuer?

Question

Hello I'm looking into buy my first telescope. Could anyone please tell me of an easy to use, yet multi functional telescope. Any price range is ok. Thanks!

Answer 1

I would say that any telescope you may buy for yourself is a step in the right direction!
Remember simple guidelines... The best telescope you can buy for yourself is the one that you will use often. Stay away from department store scopes advertising massive amounts of power. That's a marketing ploy used to disguise poor optics, spindly tripods and mounts, and generally poor craftsmanship.
Consider what you'll be using your telescope primarily for. What do you plan on observing most? If you're into planetary observation, a refractor is the scope for you. If you plan on looking at the Milky Way's starfields or wide vistas of clusters, a wide- field reflector may be your choice. If you plan on general observations of everything up there, your choice may be a Schmidt- Cassegrain.
Remember, too, that it's all about aperture. The larger the objective lens (or mirror) is, the more light- gathering power your instrument will have.
Probably the best deals on user- friendly scopes can be found at:

www.orion.com

Other reliable manufacturers include Meade, Celestron, Takahashi, and many, many more.
Research before you buy in order to get 'the most bang for the buck'.
Realize, too, that you'll need to get eyepieces to go along with you new telescope. I would recommend Plossl oculars, because they have above- average views a pretty reasonable prices. Also remember that nothing good in this life come cheaply, so be prepared to spend decent money on these, too!

I wish you the best of luck with your new telescope, and that it provides you with years of awe- inspiring views of the heavens!

Answer 2

Stay away from those junk scopes sold at wallyworld or other discount stores.

I personally prefer the Orion products and they have some great dobsonian scopes to offer plus great customer service.

Join a local club first and go to a few of their private star parties so you can try out several different kinds of scopes available to you and see what your own eyes favor. The club members can also help you to learn about your scope and about the things in the sky once you make your purchase.

Dont try to learn it all at once or you will be overwhelmed and discouraged. I try to learn one new thing each night I go out. That way what I learn will stick with me.

Be sure that you can easily lift your new scope and transport it in your vehicle. If you cant easily transport it, you wont use it. Also can you still reach all the knobs when you are looking in the eyepiece? I got a big scope once and my arms were too short to reach all the knobs at the same time while looking in the eyepiece. That was not good.

Answer 3

I have swung on the pleasure end of the scope on myspace.com/logic1812. I totally disagree with the answer of stay away from department store scopes.

Look for a telescope that has:
setting circles or electronic positioning aids
clock drive or computer run motorized movement
(above is needed for finding objects and tracking them for photography)
Look for a scope that is lightweight and moveable, unless you are building a backyard observatory.

Remember that the higher the magnification, you may loose brilliance and resolution (ability to see bright and clear). For example a scope with a 700 mm focal length 150x mag is about the limit.
My first and only personal scope was a 100 dollar from k mart, made by Jason Empire. This was in the late sixties. Galileo's scope was of smaller design and no where near as powerful and look what he did. With my scope, I did my own plotting of the moon phases, sketched lunar points of interest, followed planets etc.

Answer 4

A good pair of "astronomical" binoculars and an adapter for mounting them on a tripod should be your first telescope. These can show you a lot of things, it's not a big investment, they're not too big, and you'll learn if you really enjoy doing astronomy. Also, join up with a local astronomy club and look through other people's telescopes.

Answer 5

Hi. Par attention to your first answers, but I would suggest a good pair of binoculars first. This way you can learn the sky. Once you know your way around a good Dobsonian will bring you tears of enjoyment. But not for photography. They do not usually track the sky. Good luck!

Answer 6

A Dobsonian reflector will fill the bill for most amateur astronomers:
http://www.telescope.com/jump.jsp?itemType=CATEGORY&itemID=9
http://www.skywatchertelescope.net/swtinc/product.php?class1=1&class2=106