I want to buy a telescope but since i'm a beginner i have no clue what i should look for. Diameter etc wise. Could someone advise me on it?

Nevermind there is a telescope near my house where visitors can drop by (for a small fee). Better look there 1st :)

yep I could. I have two self-built telescopes myself.
What kind of telescope you should uy depends mainly on two things:

- what you want to do with it (objects)
- your budget :)

also it matters how dark your skies are; if you live in a city you'll need a bigger telescope to see the same as on the countryside with a smaller one.

Furthermore you might think about building one on your own. This'll save you loads of money (ie. I have a 15 cm f=1200 Nexton telescope for about $350, while it might cost $1000 in a shop), but if you have no-one to guuide you through the building process it might be difficult.

Anyway. If you want to use your telescope mostly for deepsky (galaxies, nebulas), see that the diameter is big relatively to the focus distance. If you want to look more at planets and the moon, with large , it's more useful to have a long focus point. A value can be given to a telescope that can be conducted by the following formula:

F= f/d

where f is the focus point (e.g. in my case 1200mm) and d is the diameter (in my case 150mm, so my telescope has F=8). This is quite average. Minimum is about F=4, and useful maximum will be around 12 or so.. dunno that exactly.


It's also good to look at the tripod, or whatever the telescope stands on. A simple tripod as sold with low-budget telescopes is actually far worse than making something yourself with wood :) Tripods with aliminium bars of just a centimeter thick won't stand ferm on the ground anyway (kinda of a ~duh~). Remember that using 180x zoom will also magnify the vibrations of the tripod and telescope with 180x...

well this should give you a start, don't mind to ask more!

I live outside of a city so it should get dark enough. I'm a beginner and making one would be far to difficult for me (now atleast) since none of my friend are interrested in stuff like that. Pretty nice advise though. As for what i want to use it for is mostly near earth object (planets and maybe a close star) And bugetwise i'd say for start about €300 (if that is too less please say so). I think i'll go to the observatory near my place to check that out (just saw they even give courses and such :). Entrance fee is only €3 so that is a fair price i think. Thanks for the advise.

My serious reccomendation is the SpaceProbe '3 from Orion. It is a '3 Newtonian Reflector telescope, with good quality optics, and the price is unbeatable. I used to tutor Astronomy for San Antonio College, and this was to be my public demo telescope. I left my job before I was able to use it for it's intended purpose.

They are currently On sale for $88 including shipping. (They are normally $130).

It didn't break my bank, and the optics are unbeatable. It weighs only 16lbs, so it goes where I want. You can get a clock drive for it for no more than $40. Parts and accessories for it are inexpensive. You might laugh at me, considering this telescope is meant for younger people, but it beats the PANTS off of Tasco, Jason, Galileo, and other telescope companies which put products out in the same price range. Orion is well known and respected brand. There is nothing better for an adult novice than this little gem!!

For More information and to order:
http://www.telescope.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=379&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=4&iSubCat=8&iProductID=379

Orion ships to the US and Canada ONLY. If you will tell me which country you are in, I will be glad to find a dealer for you which carries the telescope.

They only ship to the USA and Canada :( I live in the Netherlands Well atleast for now.

Orion lists a dealer in the Netherlands. I am also going to include the dealers in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, and France. Even assuming that the telescope I suggest is one they do not normally carry, they will probably be able to obtain it for you, since they carry Orion insturments.

The Netherlands
Aquarius Optical Instruments
Betuwe Singel 14
4033 KN Lienden
info@aquariusoptics.com
http://www.aquariusoptics.com
Phone: [31] 034-460-4340
FAX: [31] 034-460-4437

Belgium
Urania Diensten
J. Mattheessensstraat 60
2540 Hove
astroshop@urania.be
http://www.astroshoponline.com
Phone: [32] 03-455-2493
FAX: [32] 03-454-2297

United Kingdom
Broadhurst, Clarkson & Fuller
63 Farringdon Rd.
London, United Kingdom
telescopehouse@telescopehouse.co.uk
http://www.telescopehouse.co.uk
Phone: [44] 017-140-52156
FAX: [44] 018-195-39909

SCS Astro
The Astronomy Shop
1 Tone Hill
Wellington, Somerset TA21 OAU
scsastro@mail.eclipse.co.uk
http://www.scsastro.co.uk/
Phone: [44] 1823-665-510
FAX: [44] 1823-661-545

Germany
O.S.D.V. Gottker/Pietsch GMBH
Munsterstrasse 111
48155 Munster, Germany
Phone: 02-506-2900
FAX: 02-506-2912

France
Le Chasseur D'Etoiles
130, Avenue De Versailles
75016 Paris
Phone: 01-45-20-09-99
FAX: 01-42-88-00-92

ey bachus where do you live? I live in the netherlands aswell so...
I live near Hilversum in a smallish village

I live near Amsterdam :). Thanks for the addresses Xevious. I should order one next month (after my course on stars :) )

Why is it $88 in the USA and €234 in europe?

It has to do with retail middle-men, international shipping, and the like. I can buy it for $88 because I am buying it from the manufacturer AND it's on sale. The telescope's normal price in America is $130. If I was buying this same telescope from a retail shop, it would cost me $155.

In your case this is a special-order item (assuming the dealer does not normally carry them), imported from overseas by an importer. They take their share, to say nothing about expensive international shipping.

Hey, maybe if we look into it I could obtain one for you and ship it. It might be cheaper...

That would be a perfect solution :) I am planning to buy one around this time next month so i'll keep in touch.

That's fine with me, buddy. I need to let you know however that I can't guarentee that it will sill be $88 next month.

Originally posted by Xevious
That's fine with me, buddy. I need to let you know however that I can't guarentee that it will sill be $88 next month.
Well even on the normal price it's still a hell of a lot cheaper then here in europe :) but since i have to buy a new router and modem i do not currently have the $ :(

I've been looking on the site mentioned earlier, is this a good one too?

http://www.aquariusoptics.com/cat/tele/st80.html

Ah yes, Bachus! A short tube rich-field Refractor. This would be a nice telescope to have as well. If you can get it and your happy with it, by all means!

The ST80 is a decent little beginner scope. It's going to have significant chromatic aberration, which will make it unusable for photography. If you find the violet halos bother you visually, you may want to consider a minus-violet filter.

- Warren

got a mail from the company who sells the stuff that to see both the planets and far away objects i should consider buying a "normal" telescope :confused: Strange cause on the site it says that far away objects are this scope's favorit and you can see the planets good aswell. So now he's sort of saying the complete opposite then what it says on the site.

Websites are all about marketing. The guys you probably talk to are the Telescope techs themselves. It does sound like you have one compay talking out of both sides of it's mouth because it really is. You have the marketers trying to push that little scope, and the techs who will tell you "how it is".

I personally wouldn't mind having that ST80 telescope. It's a nice little spotter, portable, goes where you want to, and unlike the SpaceProbe 3 I suggested, you can use it for terrestrial viewing as well. So, it's really 6 of one and a half-dozen of the other. Both telescopes (Spaceprobe 3 and ST80) each have there own advantages and disadvantages.

yeah i liked the portable bit since i have to travel a few miles to be in a really really dark place :) . So i understand the ST 80 is a good scope. Is the 90mm version much better (ie worth the extra $ )?

Well,

I don't usually hear much chat about the 90mm version. It seems the 80mm version is the "sweet spot" that many people find the best price/performance ratio.

If I were you, I'd use those extra $$ to buy a good eyepiece or a nice mount. I believe the Orion EQ-1 or EQ-2 will do well, and you can outfit them with an RA drive for another few bucks. I would not buy the Paragon tripod (it's just a normal camera tripod). Orion actually sells an ST90 + EQ-2 mount combo for $389. (Check it out at www.telescope.com) This is an excellent beginner package, all in one price. Don't forget, you can also motorize the mount for another small price.

Some excellent, cheap eyepieces are the Celestron Ultima series and the Meade 4000 series Super Plossls. Both are around $75 per eyepiece.

- Warren

well it comes with a EQ mount (the scope with extra's package), On the site they say some additional items are good to get also with the scope like:

2x Barlow
sunfilter

And offcourse a bag

Seeing that the 90mm version would cost an additional 252 euro i'd better buy the extra stuff :)

Thanks for the info all

Bachus,

True, item #21305 is an ST80 mounted on an EQ-1 for $289. I don't know why I didn't see that before. The ST90 mounted to an EQ-2 (which is a sturdier mount) is $389.

Personally, I would skip the barlow lens, since I suspect it's going to be of rather poor quality. Invest in some real eyepieces. The Ultimas and Meade 4000 series are both excellent price/performance eyepieces.

- Warren

Originally posted by chroot
Personally, I would skip the barlow lens, since I suspect it's going to be of rather poor quality. Invest in some real eyepieces. The Ultimas and Meade 4000 series are both excellent price/performance eyepieces.

- Warren

Ok i will look into those eyepieces. Should i also order filters for light?

Bachus,

You can look at those eyepieces on astronomics.com or buytelescopes.com, by the way.

Some people swear by filters, some swear at them. You can buy a set of good color filters for planetary work very cheaply. I personally don't like filters, and don't use them.

You also won't need a moon filter on a 3" refractor. You do need one on my 11" SCT, though.

The solar filter may be very interesting to you -- I don't know. I personally would only buy a genuine H-alpha filter, like the Coronados. The neutral-density solar filters just show the sun's disk in plain white light, which I find rather boring.

You can also buy a light-pollution filter, like the Lumicon UHC (if you can still find one -- Lumicon is defunct) or the Orion UltraBlock. These help substantially in bringing out faint objects, but they're rather expensive.

It ends up that you have to choose what type of observing you'd like to do, and pick the equipment that best enables you to do it. :)

- Warren

Originally posted by chroot
You can also buy a light-pollution filter, like the Lumicon UHC (if you can still find one -- Lumicon is defunct) or the Orion UltraBlock. These help substantially in bringing out faint objects, but they're rather expensive.

It ends up that you have to choose what type of observing you'd like to do, and pick the equipment that best enables you to do it. :)

- Warren

I ment light pollution filters (couldn't figure out the english name :) ) Since i would like to see the nebula's i think they would indeed come in handy. As for the sunfilter you mentioned i think i'm getting an orion one (according to the dutch site they give natural color when watching the sun). Does anyone know a site with a pic of the sun trough a telescope?

You might want to save up the money for a good Zoom eyepiece. Rather than buy a dozen or so eyepieces, why not get one that does it all? Sure it's more expensive up front, but it saves you a lot of money from buying say four or five eyepieces when this one eyepiece will do anything all five of them will.

I do want to comment however, that you said you want to go after Nebulas. That is a good idea! However, if you want to go after such a target, I personally would rather have a reflector telescope. There is really no reason a refractor can't do it, it's just a personal preference of mine.

Xevious has one good point: aperture is king. If you're trying to do deep sky, a light bucket (big reflector) is the best instrument around.

Xevious has one bad point: I'd rather have two good eyepieces than one zoom eyepiece. Every zoom eyepiece I've ever tried has been a piece of shit (TeleVue zooms included). No zoom eyepiece made yet has been worth buying.

- Warren

I've personally have never had a beef with my Orion zoom. It's always given me good views, and I have had no complaints. I am useing the Zoom Explorer II, if you are curious. I'll hand you I'm a small telescope user, and that might make a difference. I imagine Chroot, that you use something much larger than my little '3 Spaceprobe.

Okay, well look I really want a telescope and I'm checking out the 130 EQ Reflector. I'd really like one that could see planets and nebula, stars, galaxies etcetera, but I can't find any images of what you can actually see through the scopes. Could someone make a comparison as to how much you can see through whatever they use? Like--Orion's nebula is about as large as a quarter, or Saturn is the size of an apple--I dunno, I'm a newbie, but very curious. Thanks for your help.

A 3" or larger telescope will show you excellent details on the planets and moon. You will be able to see about 30-40 Messier objects.

A 6" or larger telescope will additionally show you all 110 Messier objects and about 100-200 NGC catalog objects.

A 12" or larger telescope will show you the entire NGC and IC catalogs, plus more... if you're a little patient.

A 16" telescope is essentially research-grade.

A good suggestion would be to attend a star party before you buy anything. Take a good long look at many objects in many different 'scopes, then make a decision on what you want.

Generally, "aperture is king," meaning bigger is almost always better. Of course, you have to pick the sweet spot between aperture, portability, and features.

- Warren

How much, roughly, would you say each class costs? I can't really attend any star parties or whatever, they don't have them up heeya. Thanks.

Originally posted by Pollux V
How much, roughly, would you say each class costs? I can't really attend any star parties or whatever, they don't have them up heeya. Thanks.

Where are you? There are star parties just about everywhere -- you just have to know where to find them.

Let's see... roughly:

A 3" achromatic refractor would be around $200. A 3" apochromatic refractor, about $1000.

A 6" newtonian reflector, dobsonian mounted, would be around $400. EQ-mounted, about $500-$600. A 6" achromatic refractor, about $600. A 6" apochromatic refractor, about $4000.

A 12" dob-mounted reflector, about $900. A 12" SCT, with drive/computer, about $3000.

A 16" dob-mounted reflector, about $4000. A 16" EQ-mouned SCT, about $6000.

A 18" dob-mounted reflector, about $4500.

- Warren

Hey Bachus, please E-Mail me if you still want me to help you get a good telescope. It's been a month :) I'll help you get whatever you are interested in

Xevious,

Thanks for the offer but i found some stores in my area :) Our observitory also sells them. They sell dynosomething scopes. Or dyna something. Anyone know if those are good?

I recently became interested in buy a telescope as well. Any of you know any sites that do not sell telescopes so that I can learn a little bit before I buy? I'd rather have an unbiased source.

www.scopereviews.com
www.cloudynights.com

- Warren