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Beginner Telescopes
EWom
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So I've been tasked by my sister to try and help her find a beginner telescope for a christmas gift this year.
This is what she told me somewhat:
Cheap but not too cheap, it's not for a child, I get the impression it's for an adult who's really into "space" but can't afford a telescope themselves, but she also doesn't have thousands of dollars to spend here.
Basic function would be to look at stars, planets, and comets.
Preferably have a companion "starter book" or something of the like, to make it easy for the user to find specific things.
I'm completely out of my element here, as I've never had an interest in space or telescope at all. Not sure where to look for quality items and good deals. And they'll be in the Seattle Washington area if that helps at all for finding stores.
This is what she told me somewhat:
Cheap but not too cheap, it's not for a child, I get the impression it's for an adult who's really into "space" but can't afford a telescope themselves, but she also doesn't have thousands of dollars to spend here.
Basic function would be to look at stars, planets, and comets.
Preferably have a companion "starter book" or something of the like, to make it easy for the user to find specific things.
I'm completely out of my element here, as I've never had an interest in space or telescope at all. Not sure where to look for quality items and good deals. And they'll be in the Seattle Washington area if that helps at all for finding stores.
Whether they find a life there or not, I think Jupiter should be called an enemy planet.
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http://www.scientificsonline.com/astroscan-plus-telescope.html
but i was one of those guys who never actually pulled the trigger and purchased one
Registered just for the Mass Effect threads | Steam: click ^^^ | Origin: curlyhairedboy
http://www.amazon.com/Celestron-21024-FirstScope-Telescope/dp/B001UQ6E4Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287532920&sr=8-1
Refractors are another consideration but they're more expensive and generally have a much smaller aperture. The scopes themselves are simpler than a reflector but the equatorial mounts are quite complicated.
For Brand, Orion is a good value and they're usually well reviewed. You can find them at telescope.com.
For books if this person really wants to get into the hobby then The Backyard Astronomer's Guide is a textbook sized tome full of excellent information that will tell them nearly everything they want to know. A copy of the latest Sky and Telescope is also a good idea as it will have a star chart for that month.
By the way, dobsonians are usually manual machines. You push them to where you want to go. That means they have to learn the sky. A star chart and a pair of eyes is a good place to start. Binoculars are very helpful but they add to the cost of the hobby. The viewfinder on the telescope can be used as well but it's not as flexible and due to the magnification of the telescope itself you won't be using the telescope much for searching the sky.
If you give me a budget and tell me more about the situation I can give you more specific advice.
One last recommendation is a website. Cloudynights.com is a review site and community that is full of useful knowledge and very helpful people.
I bought a couple of these galileoscopes as gifts last year for Christmas, the recipients love them and you can't beat the price. It makes a great starter telescope.
So I have decided to tell my parents that I would like a telescope for Christmas. I went to the Sky Watch event held at MOSI here in Tampa last night and WOW! Basically, since neither I, nor my parents, know anything about telescopes, I figured I would turn to the all knowing H&A.
Here is what I want to be able to see:
Orion Nebula
Rings of Saturn
Great Red Spot
Of course, I also don't want them to buy me a $500 scope either.
Any suggestions?
He recently passed away, but check our Jack Horkheimer's Stargazer program. Its a five minute series on naked eye astronomy that PBS carried for decades. Youtube has a fucking ton of them.
Those cheap crap refractors aren't completely awful, they're ok for the moon and the brighter planets, but anything else you'll want a quality telescope for. You'll exhaust your options for good viewing in a few months once you get some experience with them.
1) Dobsonian models are the best for somewhat serious beginners. They are sort of the "cheapest" serious telescope, for if you actually want to view awesome
2) Aperture size = distance and clarity. Bigger the better.
I don't think you're really going to see much with a 30 dollar telescope from Amazon. I had one as a kid and I remember not being able to see very much very clearly.
I think if you shop around you can find Dobsonians starting around 200?
Celestron 127EQ PowerSeeker
Big aperture but it's a Newtonian Reflector.
I would say that that may be too complicated for a beginner, depending on what they want. I would recommend a telescope with a computer GOTO system.
They make finding stuff a hell of a lot easier and (from my experience with Meade) provide a lot of interesting information on what you're actually looking at.
Having a telescope track what you want to look at removes a lot of the hassle from the hobby.
I use a 4 inch meade etx mostly and while I can see/make out Jupiter's spot, don't be expecting to see Hubble level of detail.
Another thing I found out is it is better to have a small scope you can use easily and move/store than to have one so large it is no longer convinient and doesn't get used.
Celestron Nexstar 60GT