Which telescope to buy?

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18 Oct 2009 - 2:04 AM

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tepot (e2 Member)

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18 Oct 2009 - 4:04 AM

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It would cetainly show the craters on the moon and lots of other detail, it would also show the 4 largest moons of jupiter and the rings of saturn, at that cost however the images arn't likely to be magnificent but it would be a good starting point for your daughter to decide if she wanted to pursue astronomy as a hobby......you may want to consider a nice pair of binoculars instead at that price?

Terry.

dazzaman

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18 Oct 2009 - 9:07 AM

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thanks for the advice you 2, i.ve got a pair of 10x 50 binoculars. with carl zeiss lenses.they are from the seventies, and the clarity is amazing. yo can see the moon, but not close enough, to make out any craters etc. my other daughter has got the national geographic one at £134 from argos. and that is pretty good.i dont want to buy a cheap one, and it be rubbish. but also i dont want to spend the earth on one. (no pun intended there. lol.)

dazzaman

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18 Oct 2009 - 9:51 AM

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thanks for that stu, some very helpful advice there. made me think twice about getting one now.???????????
daz.

tavm

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18 Oct 2009 - 3:34 PM

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Never get a scope that is marketed by magnification. Philips produce a really good book. 'stargazing with a telescope' it explains focal lengths and optics very well. Also what you can expect to see.
Having access to a telescope is great but explaining to people that you don't see colour images of nebulae and galaxy often removes the interest. The moon, jupiter, saturn and a few star clustrs are the main things a small scope will show.
Telescope planet is a good place to start but there are loads of great suppliers who offer great advice. There is a producer called Skywatcher who make their optics in china. I have had 2 of therir scopes and they are great for the money. Do not worry about a computer guide as this just adds to the cost and will never get used.
My son is 6 and he is just really getting into the night sky.
Best of luck

Cristian (e2 Member)

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18 Oct 2009 - 5:01 PM

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Also thinking about a telescope and have been looking around.

Found this site, which I thought was pretty informative as it was pretty clear with each telescope as to what to expect from it.

Pulsar Optical


Cristian

MrGoatsmilk

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18 Oct 2009 - 7:51 PM

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All this talk of telescopes has made me want to join another Astronomy Society it will get me out more with mine as I don't get out often enough with them at all.

Cheers

Stu

bigalguitarpicker

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18 Oct 2009 - 11:04 PM

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I've had a bit of an interest in astronomy for the last 40 years but never been able to follow it up properly. I do know however that cheap telescopes are a waste of time. Two years ago Lidl had a telescope on offer for £400. I didn't have £400 to spare and missed it and I've been kicking myself ever since. As far as I can remember it was a Meade with GOTO capabilities. (Self centering, type in co-ordinates on the keypad and the scope will go to the feature you want to view) Can't remember the model number now, but at the time I checked out the ads in the BBC Sky at Night mag and did a bit of online research and found the same telescope on offer at prices ranging from £899 to £1299. Cheapo telescopes suffer on various counts, optics being one, but the lousy tripods are a real pain. A cheapo might be useable if it was mounted on a decent tripod. I once saw a couple of Jupiter's moons through the telescopic sight on an air-rifle. Good rifle, Weihrauch HW80 with a good sight. Can't remember the make but it was a variable magnification 10x-40x and I had the rifle jammed in between the boards of the garden fence to keep it steady. Best astro viewing session I ever had was in Lanzarote during the Lunar eclipse of 2001 (I think!) We were sat at a table in an outdoor restaurant with my Fuji S7000 with the tele lens convertor on it and the tripod all set up beside the table. The waiter was interested in the eclipse too and gave us a table in the best spot in the restaurant to get an unobstructed view. Unfortunately the clouds closed in and the view of the eclipse was poor, but the freshly baked Dorada with local herbs made up for the lack of photos and we bought the waiter a drink!