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Hello

I got my astronomical binos a month ago and it didn't take long to desire a telescope. I'm a beginner sky gazer. Any suggestions on a telescope for beginners. I know myself pretty well. I know I'm always going to want see to see further and clearer. So without spending 10k+ but awesome. Haha

Any suggestions? Thanks!

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Hi and Welcome so SGL. I've always found the guys and gals on here to be very helpful so hopefully you'll get lots of help and advice.

The best scope to recommend will depend a lot on what you want to look at, how much space you have for storage etc and how much you're willing to spend. There are plenty of options out there. I'd suggest finding a local astonomical society/group and having a chat with them about what they think will be best for you.

I bought a Skywatcher 8in reflector last year and have loved it. It's a great all-rounder, giving fantastic views of the moon, planets and brighter deep sky objects. The downside is it's quite large so takes up a fair bit of space when not in use and the mount is quite heavy to move about (I have to lug it to my car to go star-gaze) but it's well worth the effort.

Whatever you choose, tho, I'm sure it'll bring you many enjoyable nights.

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Hi There,

Warm welcome to SGL. Great way to start with binos a you learn where things are in the sky and how to star hop. I would say before splashing out dollars, go to a local astro group meet and see what kit others have and what may suit you best.

Else post your budget here and we will gladly spend it for you in recommendations.. :grin:

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Thanks everyone!

The BFJ- can you see galaxies? How clear are the planet images?

And groups! I must find these. I didn't even think of that! Thanks!!

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Thanks everyone!

The BFJ- can you see galaxies? How clear are the planet images?

Hi there Spacegurl! Galaxies can be very difficult objects to observe as they're so faint, for this you would need good light gathering capabilities in a scope, and that's where "aperture " comes in

A good 8"-12" reflector scope would manage this well, but don't expect Hubble type images you see in a glossy magazine, and a good value option is to have it mounted on a dodsonian. The only downside to a dobsonian is that it's purely manual and requires nudging every so often to keep targets in the field of view, you can get a motorised mount to track objects for you but are generally more expensive.

Getting clear views of planets is down to the quality of the optics in both your scope and eyepieces, also atmospheric conditions and magnification play a large part in the quality, too much magnification can degrade the views.

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Thanks everyone!

The BFJ- can you see galaxies? How clear are the planet images?

And groups! I must find these. I didn't even think of that! Thanks!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Spacegurl...

the planets look lovely thru my 200PDS. On a good night you can get clear colour banding on Jupiter and the rings on Saturn stand out beautifully. As with most small-mid sized scopes, Galaxies like Andromeda just appear as a diffuse bright-grey cloud-like area as they as so far away they aren't that bright but the scope is more than good enough to image things like that. I'm in the process of getting a properly modified camera so I can make a start on taking pics. The 200PDS is certainly good enough to show lovely detail in things like the Hercules Cluster, the Ring Nebula (looks like a giant donut) and the Orion Nebula. I have yet to find anything that really disappoints thru it. I'm sure there are better scopes out there but in terms of value for money and nights of enjoyment I can't fault it. I did have to spend a bit of money on better eyepieces tho. The ones it came with weren't up to the job.

I'd def find your local astro club and have a good chat with them before you buy anything tho. They'll be able to show you what kind of set-up you can get for your budget and how to make the best use of it.

Keep us all posted as to what you decide to do. If you have any more questions before or after you buy, this is the place to ask them. LOADS of folks here who'll be willing to offer suggestions and advice. I ask questions here quite often and have never been disappointed by the quantity or quality of the advice on offer. The one thing I would say, tho, is it's worth spending a little extra to get a mount that will take the weight of whatever 'scope you choose with ease. When I bought mine I had the choice of the basic mount or the more expensive, heavy-duty mount. I went for the basic one as my budget was a bit limited at the time. I've just upgraded but it would have been cheaper, long term, to have just spent the extra when I first bought the 'scope.

Good hunting and clear skies!

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Take your time and pick a scope that you will use. It is too easy to look at the biggest aperture or the greatest magnification.

I have read several times that "You need at least 150x to 180x to see Jupiter."

My best view was at 40x on a small 70mm refractor, so you do not need the largest mirror possible either.

For all the talk there is the saying that your best scope is the one you use the most.

Do you intend to put a camera on a scope and get images?

If so then you need an equitorial mount, with motors (better with goto).

For imaging the scope really should be short and fast not the visual bias which is big and not so fast.

Do not make the fairly common mistake of presuming a good visual set up is also a good imaging set up, it is not.

Clubs or groups: http://www.go-astronomy.com/

They list one in Sacramento: http://www.svas.org/

Althiough I have no idea if any of the other places for Cal are close to where you are, I would half expect more then one around Sacramento.

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Keep an eye out on the second hand market as well, but try to stick with the second hand sections of dedicated astronomy websites as you can be sure that they have been treated well.

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