Best telescope for beginner

[Jania]

I’m a beginner in astronomy and want to buy a telescope. But the more I learn about stargazing the more confused I get. I don’t have any specific requirements, but I definitely don’t want a telescope that’s too complicated. I live in the city where there’s a lot of light pollution so I probably need something portable to be able to take it with me to the countryside. Which telescope would you recommend for around $200-300? I’ve seen several adverts of Celestron, Meade and Levenhuk brands.  There is a lot of information on the first couple of brands but I couldn’t find much information about Levenhuk. Some of their telescopes look pretty much the same to me as compared to the other two manufacturers’ models. Could you help me understand which one would be best for me?

[happy-kat]

Hi

How portable, do you need to be able to carry everything in one go? Or will you be setting up by the car?

[Grotemobile]

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/maksutov/skywatcher-skymax-127-supatrak.html

These are very popular.

Very easy to set up & use.

Steve

[russ.will]

Hi and welcome. You are probably absolutely right about them looking the same and being the same. Most scopes come from 2 or 3 big optical houses in the far east and generally offer superb value for money. Generally the groupings go Meade-Explore Scientific, Skywatcher-Levenhuk-Celestron & GSO-Revelation. There is of course some confusion as Brands like Meade used to manufacture in-house and source from a variety of manufacturers including JOC. Skywatcher/Celestron have models that have little more than sticker changes, whilst Skywatcher have the Dobs and Celestron the SCTs.

Your nearest dealer appears to be Skies Unlimited in Pottstown, but I don't know if they have a brick and mortar store - That's easily the best way to see and handle the size of these things, which I seriously do recommend.

No matter; The traditional recommendation for beginners, is simply to buy an 8" Dobsonian and learn you way round the sky using a star chart, or as is more likely these days, one of the excellent free/cheap phone/tablet apps like Stellarium. The Orion XT8 Dobsonian is probably the default US solution to this. If that seems a bit mighty or you fancy more of a GOTO solution, then the Celestron Nexstar 127 SLT is a capable scope and will still deliver excellent views of the planets in areas of light pollution.

Brand new, both bust your budget, so I'd also recommend having a look on Ebay, Astromart and the classifieds of the Cloudy Nights forum. A lot of beginners 'progress' on from these scopes, so they can be had for a lot less. Despite this proliferation of second hand examples, the XT8 could last you a lifetime of observing. A lot of more experienced astronomers often find they end up buying another 8" Further down the line, because they are so damn versatile.

Russell

[ronin]

You could try a call to 609-530-9877

That is if you are in Trenton in NJ.

That  is a number for the West Trenton Astro Club, but they do not seem to have a running web site, either not up and running or dead and gone.

Try this for alternatives: http://www.go-astronomy.com/astro-clubs-state.php?State=NJ

If you are Trenton ON then ignore the Astro club reference.

What scopes - refractor, reflector etc are you considering?

A refractor is a good first option the problem is they do everything pretty well but in individual aspects others are considered better. The Luvenhuek 72mm is a nice small refractor and similar to many others that are available. As RW said they are effectively mass produced and then branded with small differences (perhaps). If they did an 80mm (think they do) and it is within budget then think about that. 80mm refractors tend to cover a lot of the requirements.

[Jania]

I' ll be setting up by the car. What are the main features in the telescopes for beginners I should be lookong at?

[ronin]

To me ease of use is the most important.

If transporting then small enough to pick up and move round.

How are you with an equitorial mount?

Do you prefer or want a goto? Likely to be over $200-300 however.

One that people often get going with over here is the Skywatcher Evo Star 90.

It will come in names other then Skywatcher, the spec is basically 90mm dia, 900mm focal length.

It is a refractor but that means little/no maintenance which is useful.

With the focal length it is you can easily get 80-100x for Jupiter and 120x for Saturn.

A 6mm should give 150x, and I would not try for anything above that.

If a reflector I suspect it means a 6" Orion dobsonian - not exactly sure of the cost of them.

You will need a collimator to check  and set collimation, especially if it is transported a reasonable amount.

SCT/Maks are OK but I suggest only if they are goto.

They tend to be a long focal length and that means finding objects can be a little difficult and then keeping them in view is difficult - hence the goto and the tracking.

Does the $200-$300 include additional eyepieces?

[Jania]

Thanx 4 help guys. I would like to meet the sum of $250 if it's possible.

[andyb505]

As a complete beginner I bought myself a Skywatcher Heritage 130p for around UK£135. I think this is available in the US (but maybe under a different name?). This is a very simple telescope to use and can easily be carried and transported as it "collapses". I have already used it to see planets, constellations and a few messier objects.  I have been very impressed with it as it is so easy to use and provides very good viewing for the money. It is manual, so you do need to know how to find things in the night sky, but the red dot finder is easy to use. Using a sky map or a programme like "stellarium" i am beginning to be able to find my way around.

Whatever you buy I guarantee you will get hooked on astronomy

Andrew.

[beka]

Hi Jania,

I think a 41/2 inch f8 reflector can make a very good first scope. My own experience was with an equatorialy mounted Celestron Firstscope but I have seen good reviews of the 41/2 inch SkyQuest XT4.5 dobsonian by Orion (the UK site seems to start with  the 6inch model). I have been able to see the GRS on Jupiter and the Cassini division on Saturn with this scope with the stock eyepieces (10mm and 20mm). For deep sky the brighter Messier objects like the Beehive Cluster(M4) and Ptolemy's Cluster(M7) are very good. Globulars like M13 and M22 are resolved to some degree. It is a good all rounder.

Good luck!

[happy-kat]

On my pc I have a book mark to the US company who are doing the heritage 130p equivalent. If I find it later I will share it.

[happy-kat]

Found it so thought to add it to this post.

Asuming the image is current ooks like the first version of the heritage 130p as the secondary mittor shield was added later on.

http://store.astronomerswithoutborders.org/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=4&zenid=8tkgg81tvkfms99sqi9le1n5h3