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 Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
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 Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! 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 Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! 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 Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!. 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/p...e=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 Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! 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 Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!. Thanks for the addresses Xevious. I should order one next month (after my course on stars Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! )
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 Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! 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.
Well even on the normal price it's still a hell of a lot cheaper then here in europe Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! but since i have to buy a new router and modem i do not currently have the $ Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
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 Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! 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 Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! . So i understand the ST 80 is a good scope. Is the 90mm version much better (ie worth the extra $ )?