Amateur Astronomy for Beginners: Buying a Telescope

A little advice on purchasing that first telescope.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• astronomy
• telescope
• buying
• buy
• purchasing

[bodna03]

@truemartian hey! i was looking to buy my first telescope and wanted something to use for planets as well as deep sky objects. i also want something that's portable. I was thinking the Orion Starmax 90mm table top? although here in the UK it costs much more (£200) than in the US ($180). Or maybe the Celestron Astromaster 130EQ-MD (Motor Drive) which is £150. which one, if any of them, is best overall in terms of seeing planets and nebulae/star clusters as well as being portable? could u rec 1?

[truemartian]

@bodna03 Thanks for watching and writing in. In general all telescopes will show you what you want to see. Also in general a larger scope is better at resolving details than a smaller. For general backyard purposes I recommend a minimum 4" diameter reflector, dobsonian if you can find one. Dobsonians are just easier to handle, setup, and use. These are the only recommendations I currently make when it comes to choosing a telescope. I hope it helps.

[tommarsh1984]

Thanks for your help

[truemartian]

@tommarsh1984 You're welcome! Thanks for watching!

[tommarsh1984]

Ok, thanks for your advice I will have a think and go from there. What makes setting up a goto scope hard? I no you have to align it but is there anything else to take into consideration

[truemartian]

@tommarsh1984 Polar alignment is actually pretty easy once you get the hang of it. It becomes more difficult depending on the model when you go to align the goto computer. Some scopes today though are so good at doing this automatically that all you have to do is set it on level ground and press a button. Prepare to pay big bucks for that though. To be honest I've managed to orient the computer on my own goto just once since I've had it. Keep in mind though I have an older model scope and mount

[truemartian]

@tommarsh1984 My first recommendation is that you begin learning your constellations. That will give you some indicator as to how hard it may be to find objects in the sky manually with a scope. While you will become much more intimate with the sky using a dob and finding things manually, a goto scope offers a huge number of preprogrammed objects in its data base to choose from. Some of them you might never think to look for. However, a goto scope can be far more expensive and complex to set up.

[tommarsh1984]

Hello mate, just wanted to ask a quick question. I'm hoping to buy my first scope soon and can't decided between a dobsonian or a goto scope. I'm a complete beginner and don't no my way around the sky and worry I will find it hard to fine deep sky objects and also find it hard to track things in the sky. Would I be better getting a goto scope or is a dobsonian better to learn my way around. Would prob be an 8 inch dobsonian ? Thanks

[truemartian]

@goofiegoofball You are welcome! Thanks for watching!

[goofiegoofball]

Thanks for the helpful advice friend :)