Comments on: What telescope should i buy, where, and how strong?

By: JulieD

JulieD — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 01:41:11 +0000

Ebay has a good selection of telescopes for under $50=&icep_uq=telescope&icep_sellerId=&icep_ex_kw=&icep_sortBy=12&icep_catId=&icep_minPrice=&icep_maxPrice=50&ipn=psmain&icep_vectorid=229466&kwid=902099&mtid=824&kw=lg

By: Boatman1

Boatman1 — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:05:17 +0000

Find a local Astronomy club and attend their meetings and go to several star parties– you get to look through their telescopes and ask questions.

Binoculars and a star chart can get you started– but if you MUST buy a telescope don’t worry at all about magnification — and don’t buy any telescope that proclaims 650X on the outside of the box– with a color picture of the Orion nebula!

Here is a nice beginner’s telescope, it’s call a DOB — which is shorthand for Dobsonian.

By: eri

eri — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 10:56:01 +0000

Daryl is right - you’re not going to get a decent scope for less than about $400, and even then you’d not getting much. If you’re planning to spend less than $200, a good pair of binoculars is the best way to go - you’d see just as much as you would with the telescope of that price and wouldn’t be paying for the mount (that part is expensive).

I suggest you join a local astronomy club. They have them all over the place, and those guys have some pretty cool telescopes. They often hold star parties where they’ll let you try out their scope, or at least look through it, so you can get a sense of what it’s like in real-time (not like Hubble pictures) and what size of telescope you’re looking for.

Do NOT buy a telescope at Wal-Mart, and do NOT buy a telescope that advertises ‘100x’ or any magnification. Telescope magnifications change based on what eyepiece you’re using, so it doesn’t make sense to advertise anything but the crappiest scopes this way. Go by the size of the primary mirror. You’ll need at least a 4.5 inch primary to see most of the stuff you want - 8 inches for the brighter galaxies (not including Andromeda, which you don’t even need binoculars for).

By: Gerry

Gerry — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 09:04:54 +0000

The best scope is the one that you will actually use. It is not about big magnification it is about quality of optics. The best bang for the buck is a good pair of binoculars.Start with the basics of learning about the stars and where they are located.Do a search for astronomy clubs in your area. Any fellow astronomer would be glad to help you avoid mistakes that would frustrate you and discourage you from the hobby.With a telescope a good solid mount that doesn’t wobble is almost as important as the optics.

By: borntothink

borntothink — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:01:43 +0000

Yea true,don’t jump into buying one.but if you were to be rich enough,go buy the hubble telescope or rent it as a matter of fact.

By: Daryl S

Daryl S — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:29:26 +0000

I don’t think you have a chance in the world of finding a good, quality telescope that will give you good views of planets and nebulae for fifty bucks. Add another zero on the end and you’ll come up with something pretty decent. Please don’t make the mistake of buying a scope because it has these wonderful pics on the box and promises huge magnification. Trust me when I say that you will be really disappointed. Selecting a telescope should be done carefully and not in a department store. First you need to research what type of telescope best suits your needs and budget. Dobsonians offer plentiful aperture, but lack portability. Newtonians offer good portability, but are not good for astrophotography. SCT’s offer good optics and features, but tend to be expensive. You really need to know what types of telescopes are there and the differences. I usually recommend a the site in the source below. Also, you need to perhaps visit a local astronomy club and grab a book on astronomy that is recommended reading for beginners. Don’t just jump into buying a scope.
Books:
“Turn Left at Orion” by Guy Consolmagno
“Nightwatch” by Terence Dickinson
“The Backyard Astronomer’s Guide” by Terence Dickinson

I did leave out one thing: If you buy ANY scope and expect to see those wonderfully colored nebulae in the eyepiece, it isn’t going to happen. Your eye cannot pick up those colors and you will see basically in black and white. Still quite beautiful, but just not in color.