What telescope do I need to see other galaxies?

Question

I want to buy a telescope that will help me see other galaxies from earth. How much would this kind of telescope cost?

Answer 1

You can. But you'll need a telescope with at least an 8-inch aperture, and you'll probably only be able to see M81 and M82, and M31 (Andromeda).

EDIT: And whatever you do, DON'T buy a telescope at a department store. Start at a hobby shop, they're more likely to have the (more expensive) telescopes with good-quality optics.

Answer 2

You don't need any telescope to see another galaxy. Andromeda is visible with the naked eye and it is rather large (roughly the size of the full moon). It is also very faint, so it can best be observed in completely clear, moonless skies WITHOUT any artificial light source around. City lights and any glare from a porch light etc. will completely kill the experience. Get yourself a sky chart and start hunting for the "nebulas" of the early astronomical catalogs! It is a fun game to learn all the things that are visible in the sky without any technology.

If you want to buy a beginner's telescope, I would suggest to look at at least 4" size in the $500 and above range (the sky is the limit...). Any less than that and you will be disappointed.

I don't have a telescope myself because there is no dark spot anywhere within 40 miles of where I live and I don't like to drive that far at night. If you are in a similar pickle, save your money on an instrument... it will collect dust in the closet, not light from the stars. Join a hobby astronomy club and go out with them. You will meet people with really large instruments and probably be able to peek through a telescope that costs as much as a car, an investment you might not be able to afford for a while.

I also like to take images of the sky with my digital camera whenever I am in places with dark sky conditions. I have gotten fuzzy but pretty typical images of Andromeda and a few comets with 30 second exposures on a simple tripod. It's a bit of a "working with a handicap" kind of sport but I love doing it over and over and over again and I keep getting ever more interesting results.

And if you get a ghostly palm tree into the shot, as well, you have a wonderful nighttime shot that looks like as if it was done by a professional.

Good Luck and HAVE FUN!

Answer 3

You need to buy a telescope with the largest aperture you can afford. All but a few galaxies are very faint so the bigger the mirror in the telescope, the better. Dobsonian telescopes provide the most aperture for the money and some even come with computerized locaters although that ups the price of the telescope. Meade and Orion Telescopes offer some great Dobsonians so check out their online catalogs. We are talking about scopes from $400 on up depending on size and accessories.

Answer 4

No telescope can show you any galaxy as you see them in pictures in books and on the web. Those pictures are made with long exposure photography and a human eye cannot ever see them like that live, even when looking through the largest telescope in the world. To your eye a galaxy looks like a dim, colorless, featureless blob. Every beginner is massively disappointed at how galaxies look in a telescope.

Any telescope can show at least some other galaxies. You can see the famous Andromeda galaxy with no optical aid at all, if the sky is dark. And binoculars are enough to show a few other bright galaxies, if the sky is dark. Any small telescope, if used at low magnification, can show quite a few galaxies, if the sky is dark.

Most people think that since galaxies are really far away that they look small in our sky and you need need high magnification to see them, but that is wrong. Galaxies are so large that even at their extremely far distances they still look pretty big. Many galaxies appear quite large in our sky. Most appear larger than the planets. Some appear larger than the Moon. The famous Andromeda galaxy appears 5 TIMES larger than the Moon as seen in the sky. See the source. So why don't we just see them when we look up? Because they are REALLY DIM. Even with a good telescope you need a really dark sky to see galaxies. Dark enough so that the Milky Way looks bright in the sky. From any modern city, outdoor lights make the sky background so bright that you cannot even see the Milky Way at all!

Answer 5

I concur sweetie, any telescope will do. Some of the stars in the heavens aren't stars, but actually other galaxys.

If you want to see in greater detail, well,... thats the catch.
You can either sell your house and your parents house, run a few scams, and then buy one of those antiques that universities keep in their observatories on campus.

Or,... you can build one yourself.

It is possible to build from scratch your own optical refracting telescope. The only really expensive part to obtain is the mirror.
I read an article on Homemade Telescopes in Popular Science Magazine some years ago.
Also the father of the large homemade telescope passed away just last year. I'm terribly sorry I can't recall his name.
But you could visit the Popular Science 'zine site and search for the article. I'm sure it will give you the specifics to obtain all the information you need as well as sources to components that are not easily obtainable.

Good luck sweetie on your first light night!!!

mahalo!



*** giggles; this is one case of "bigger is actually better" hows that for lifes little ironies.

Answer 6

any telescope will do...however the bigger the better when trying to veiw dim faint galaxies. i would suggest buying a big reflecting telescope. orion telescopes sells big "dobsonian" telescopes at a great price. anywhere from 500-1000 bucks. if you dont have that much money, then buy a small refractor telescope, they are easy to move around and use, and give you very crisp images. and you can view alot more than just galaxies. but if galaxies are your thing then just buy the biggest reflecting telescope you can with the amount of money you can afford. good luck!!!!

Answer 7

Well, you don't actually need a telescope to see galaxies. The Andromeda Galaxy is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky, and many other galaxies are visible in binoculars.

For serious observation of galaxies, I'd recommend a scope with an aperture of at least 8 inches, such as these:
http://www.telescope.com/jump.jsp?itemType=CATEGORY&itemID=9

Generally, the larger the aperture the better, for galaxies. You will also need to observe from a dark sky site; light pollution in cities really kills all but the brightest galaxies.

Don't expect to see galaxies as bright starry objects like you see in photographs. Through even a large amateur telescope they appear as ghostly pale wisps of light with very little detail and no stars visible. It's the fact that their light has travelled for millions of years to reach your eyeball that's really exciting, that and the fact that you can see them at all.

Answer 8

the 1st element you will desire to understand is that the Hubble is in area, this permits it to be plenty plenty smaller than floor telescopes, and would see plenty farther. Now think of you're gazing a million guy or woman 10m away and 10 human beings 1000m away. the guy near to you will look plenty bigger than the ten human beings some distance away. Now think of an analogous element yet with a action picture star performing because of the fact the a million guy or woman and galaxy performing as 10 human beings and intensely of 10m and 1000m make it 10 mild years and 1000 mild years. the gap a single action picture star takes up interior the sky as seen by way of the bare eye must be an analogous area seen by way of a telescope gazing 10 galaxies.

Answer 9

You can see other galaxies with your own eyes! But they are just fuzy blobs (and small ones at that.)

But any telescope will help. The greater the aperature and magnification, the better you will be able to see them. Most of the close ones you will be able to see with any store bought telescope are the Messier objects labeled M1, M2, etc...

Find a good telescope review site, and choose a telescope in your price range.

A good option before buying is to join an astronomers club (they are in most cities) and join them on an excursion one night and check out their telescopes and see which kinds you prefer.

Answer 10

for a good one it would be from 300 - 800

http://www.telescope.com/jump.jsp?itemID=369&itemType=CATEGORY&path=1%2C3&KickerID=921&KICKER