I am looking for my first telescope. Any advice on what I should get that is half decent?

Question

This will be my first telescope and I want a decent one that will give me a good look at the sky.

What zooms ect should I look for?

Answer 1

try telescope house.com

Answer 2

Just in case it has not been emphasized enough, here are a few DONT"s:
Do Not buy your first Telescope from places like ebay, amazon, a department store or, heaven forbid, the shopping channel. Yes, you can find bargains there from time to time, but you need a lot of experience telling them apart from all the junk sold there.
Do Not buy any Telescope advertised by it's magnifying power such as "675X Power Refractor", run the other way, it is a sure sign of a junk Telescope.
DO buy your telescope from a reputable dealer or manufacturersuch as Orion, Celestron or Meade, sometimes referred to as the big three. Orion is my personal favourite, they have excellent equipment at reasonable prices.
The best advice of all is to attend a "Star Party" at a local Astronomy Club. These are free and open to the public, Youu'll learn more in an hour at one of these events than in a month of reading about it.
Just one word about size. While everyone would like to have a large Telescope, this is not always the wisest purchase. Scopes get bigger and heavier very quickly with increases in size. Make sure you can easily manage the scope you get. Otherwise it ends up in the closet instead of outside looking at the sky.
The best scope for you is the one you will use most often.

Adolph

Answer 3

Hello Gate...:

What a neat idea...You wish to join the thousands of other people who can observe the night sky on their own... Okay...

First let me teall you something that will become very obvious later on... To look at the stars and planets you need the largest hunk of glass (lens, or mirror)(as in refractor or reflector) that you can possibly afford. And, besides the largest size glass lens or mirror you can afford, you need that lens or mirror to have been manufactured to the highest possible optical standards that you can afford. Those are the two key elements in any decision you make about your new telescope purchase.

Now, having said that, there are three other issues to consider.

MOUNT
SIZE / WEIGHT
EYEPIECES

Any telescope worth having will produce a variety of magnifications of the night sky depending upon which size eyepiece you use (such as 50mm, 25mm, 10mm, 6mm, etc). As you change eyepieces (to the smaller numbers) you increase the magnification of your intended object in view.
When you do that, you also increase the vibration sensitivity and shakeyness of the picture you see through the telescope. So it is essential to obtain the best possible Mount for your new telescope, or you will be very upset with the views you obtain. Some mounts have motorized systems within them to track stars and planets as they move across the sky. Some do not. Extra features cost extra money. Your budget will show you the way...

I don't know how or where you will use this new telescope, much less where you live (rural area - dark at night, city area - bright with neon and outside lights at night) but the amount of night time illumination by nearby residents and businesses is very important when it comes to using telescopes. You want the least possible illumination of the sky by ground sources as possible. So you may have to drive out to some wooded or rural place to make good use the telescope to view stars and nebula, etc. Therefore the manner in which you transport the telescope, mount, and various accessories becomes important, as does the total weight of all of the apparatus if you are carrying it yourself. Some people do not own cars or light trucks. This will make the difference between choosing a really big telescope vs. choosing a small, rather light weight one.

The interface between you and your telescope is called an eyepiece. Eyepieces come in three formats: 0.965 Inch, 1.25 Inch, and 2 Inch. The 2 Inch eyepieces are used for the widest views and give the observer a look that is something like looking out the window of a space ship...truly astounding.
The 1.25 Inch eyepieces are the general astronomy size that most people use.
0.965 Inch eyepieces are more or less the cheapest made units, and often they are supplied with low cost telescope systems (package). Eyepieces must be chosen with great care and can, as is the case with all "good optics", cost a lot of money - each. Good eyepieces cost from $250 to $600 each. Lesser cost units work, and only you can decide which is right for you.

As a flat out recommendation I would suggest a six Inch or 8 Inch Dobsinian Reflector for your first telescope. You can probably get one used for about $400 to $600 with a few low to medium quality eyepieces from someone who is ready to move up to a higher quality telescope. Please join some local Astronomy Club where you can meet other Sky Watchers and benefit from their experiences, and avoid the problems they had. Often Clubs will have Star Parties where new folks can get an opportunity to look through various members' scopes and let you see what can be seen with this or with that. It is extremely hard to do the same thing with pictures in a catalog or magazine.

If you wish to see some neat stuff, go to:

www.telescopes.com
www.astromart.com
www.meade.com
www.orion.com

If you want to see some fantastic telescope views (this is a high cost telescope company - extremely good optics) visit:

www.takahashiamerica.com

They have some galleries that show true wonders out in deep space...Be prepared to notice the cost of some of that equipment.

Answer 4

Stay away from small refractors, as they won't satisfy you for long. Be sure to get a telescope on a solid mount, because you can't see much if every vibration is magnified 100 times. The best buys in beginners' telescopes are Dobsonian reflectors like these:
http://www.telescope.com/control/category/~category_id=dobsonians/~pcategory=telescopes/~VIEW_INDEX=0/~VIEW_SIZE=1000000
http://www.skywatchertelescope.net/swtinc/product.php?class1=1&class2=106

I'm not sure what you mean by "zooms." Zoom eyepieces are generally not as good as single focal length eyepieces. The scopes above both come with a couple of decent eyepieces to get you started...you shouldn't need to buy anything else for a while.

Buy from a telescope store, local or online, not a discount store or eBay, as all they sell is total junk.

Answer 5

I suggest that you join a local Astronomy Society or club first. That way you can go out in the field on star parties and actually look through a wide variety of scopes and choose which one is best for you. Many clubs have loaner scopes that you can check out and try first too. The club members will give you lots of advice and help picking the perfect fit for you then help you to learn about the scope that you buy.

Make sure you know the weight and dimentions of your choice so that you can easily lift and transport your scope. If you cant get it out in the field easily then you wont use it and you will lose interest. That would be sad.

I am an Orion fan. oriontelescopes.com

Answer 6

The bigger the Diameter the more light it is going to let in, the better the images you'll get. A Dobsonian is usually the best bet for first timers.
It also depends on how much you're willing to spend.

Check out the listings here. It gives you a slider for price range and you can get an idea on the costs and quality: http://www.telescope.com/control/category/~category_id=telescopes;jsessionid=6FB00AC1716C3EC0E8FEC72F8EE5DEA4.ivprod1

Answer 7

in case you opt for your telescope properly you'll discover a great deal of issues with a straightforward volume of element. i think an 8" Orion dobsonian is interior your funds. you'd be able to be sure lots of the planets, element exhibiting on Mars and Jupiter, and obviously you'd be able to be sure the earrings of Saturn. you'd be able to be sure some spectacular galaxies, many nebulas, and many many renowned human being clusters. Will or not it really is properly worth it? properly if you're a real astronomer, convinced. do exactly not assume what you word contained in the telescope to look like what you word in astrophotos. The human eye isn't as gentle as cameras and ought to't p.c.. up lots of the element in galaxies or lots of the colour in nebulas.

Answer 8

Find a local astronomy club. They will be happy to help you and let you look thru a lot of scopes. They will also help you avoid making any expensive mistakes. (Many clubs even have "loaner" equipment.)

I co-authored a slide set on this topic - reference provided. There are lots of similar presentations out there.

Please don't buy a scope at a "discount store" - I can almost guarantee that it will be difficult to use.

Answer 9

Get a 10" Pyrex mirror kit. Willmann-Bell and Newport Glass Works sell them.

Answer 10

try binoculers first (10x50) 25 pounds