Best telescope to buy for science teacher wife?

[Brad B]

My wifes 50th birthday is rapidly approaching as well as our 20th anniversary.  She doesn't wear a lot of jewelry but I was going to get pearls, BUT I've talked to 2 of her friends and they both think I should go with something more practical.  She loves stargazing, but has never had even a decent telescope.  She's taught our kids where all the constellations are, what their names are and that sort of thing.

She would likely never spend the money on herself to buy a good telescope so I want to be her knight in shining armor and buy here something she wouldn't buy herself.  

When I suggested a telescope both her friends thought that would be perfect.

My max budget is around $600.  I'd like to get her the best bang for the buck.  

I have done some research but I really don't know enough about what I'm researching to know if I'm on the right track.  So far I am looking at something like the Celestron Nexstar 5SE. Although I know nothing about telescopes I like the thought of computerized controls and auto tracking.  It seems like you would have more time to star gaze and take less time to set up.  It would likely need an external power source because I don't think 8 AA batteries are going to last long.

Buying a power source will put me over the budget also.

I have also read that you really need a 6" or larger scope and don't want to have to upgrade later.

So would I be better off to get a larger, non computerized scope?  I really want something easy to use so keep that in mind.  We could buy some accessories as needed but I want something that will work well and wow her, right out of the box.

What's the best bang for the buck?

[Brad B]

I wish I could figure out how to edit my post, because it's our 20th anniversary, not 50th.  That would be pretty disturbing for a 50 year old.  LOL

[happy-kat]

Hi

You will in time just need more posts under your belt, 50 years :-)

[damnut]

Hi There,

I have found for big birthdays the best telescopes are diamonds.

[Bizibilder]

For ease of use a computer controlled goto scope as you suggest.  For best "bang for your buck" the largest Dobsonian you can afford.  A Dobsonian refers to the mount - the scope itself is a standard Newtonian reflector mounted on a simple "push to" mount invented by John Dobson.

PS  Correction made to your marriage years. 

[Brad B]

Hi There,

I have found for big birthdays the best telescopes are diamonds.

If you'd seen how excited my wife got when I captured her a specimen Black Widow spider, you'd know how big a hit a telescope will be.  

[happy-kat]

Will you be doing it together or do you think your wife would want to take what ever you chose outside each time herself?

If the latter then might want to keep in mind weight and size, the most bang for buck as a dobsonian mounted reflector as more money is spent on the mirror/optics rather than the mount and/or electronics but if it is large and heavy it may not get used as much.

Will you be observing from your back yard or having to travel away from home each time to use.

[Brad B]

For ease of use a computer controlled goto scope as you suggest.  For best "bang for your buck" the largest Dobsonian you can afford.  A Dobsonian refers to the mount - the scope itself is a standard Newtonian reflector mounted on a simple "push to" mount invented by John Dobson.

PS  Correction made to your marriage years. 

Thank you.  Are there any brands to avoid or any better than others?  I am looking at an Orion Skyquest xt8i right now.  That thing is huge.  

I should also mention that she has become a shutter bug too so she will want to take pictures.  

What options are "necessary"?

[Brad B]

Will you be doing it together or do you think your wife would want to take what ever you chose outside each time herself?

If the latter then might want to keep in mind weight and size, the most bang for buck as a dobsonian mounted reflector as more money is spent on the mirror/optics rather than the mount and/or electronics but if it is large and heavy it may not get used as much.

Will you be observing from your back yard or having to travel away from home each time to use.

I'm sure we'll do some of that together, but primarily it will be her and the kids.  We live out in the country so most viewing will be from the back deck.

[Dom1961]

+1 for the DOB, I guess if your wife knows all the constellations, then she shouldn't find it too hard to navigate the sky. Also it may take longer to set up, doing alignment etc. If you want to do astrophotography of deep space objects, then an equatorial mounted scope would be needed, which , for a decent set up, can cost quite a lot.

[Bizibilder]

Orion or Skywatcher are OK.  To be fair most brands are OK - just avoid those awful "toy" telescopes that the big chain stores sell for kids.

If you are interested in taking pictures then for Deep Sky objects like Nebulae and galaxies you will need some pretty expensive kit that would be way over your budget. It can become a real money pit.  However you can do planetary imaging using a webcam type camera or a dedicated astro high speed movie camera.  For the Moon you only have to put a camera to the eyepiece and click to get a result - or get an adapter to securely mount the camera instead of the eyepiece and you can get some very good Moon pictures.  A DSLR is ideal but simpler cameras can be used with some success.

You can also photograph the Sun as long as you use the correct filters!!!!!!!!!!  (Baader Solar film in a home made filter holder is quite safe for both visual and photographic work).

[Dom1961]

Orion or Skywatcher are OK.  To be fair most brands are OK - just avoid those awful "toy" telescopes that the big chain stores sell for kids.

If you are interested in taking pictures then for Deep Sky objects like Nebulae and galaxies you will need some pretty expensive kit that would be way over your budget. It can become a real money pit.  However you can do planetary imaging using a webcam type camera or a dedicated astro high speed movie camera.  For the Moon you only have to put a camera to the eyepiece and click to get a result - or get an adapter to securely mount the camera instead of the eyepiece and you can get some very good Moon pictures.  A DSLR is ideal but simpler cameras can be used with some success.

You can also photograph the Sun as long as you use the correct filters!!!!!!!!!!  (Baader Solar film in a home made filter holder is quite safe for both visual and photographic work).

Just as an idea as to what you can get of the moon with a phone held to the eyepiece, this is mine taken with a 8" DOB and an S5

[happy-kat]

I'm sure we'll do some of that together, but primarily it will be her and the kids. We live out in the country so most viewing will be from the back deck.

Then tracking would keep the object in the eye peice when telescope sharing with the children. Though depending on age they could manage to manually track it possibly.

[Joseki]

Maybe you could suggest attending a star party - then see what she's interested in - unless you think she'd get suspicious.

[samgray128a]

Hi.

I am a 43 yr old woman who relatively new astronomy but always been interested. I took the plunge 2 years back and bought a Tele Vue 85mm refractor and can honestly say it has changed my life. Easy to use as bought alt az mount and no collimating. Expensive but well worth it. If looked after will never degrade etc. Light to move/carry. Can set up in under 10 mins. Wonderful crisp views as quality optics. Seen so many beautiful night sky sights.......can even use for birdwatching etc if wanted. If you dont want to sprnd this much money maybe go for a Williams Optics small refractor? Hope this helps.

Ps. Totally addicted to stargazing now and so glad discovered astronomy. :-)

[ronin]

Hate to say it but ask what she would prefer.

A Newtonian on a dobsonian base is the biggest aperture per $, however I like refractors and if someone bought me an 8" dobsonian I would suspect they had lost their marbles. If they happened to find me a Megrez 72 I would be happy, one heck of a difference.

There are basically 3 "types" Cat's of one or another, reflectors and refractors, they are all scopes and all different. Each have points for and against and you will I guess get told what each person here likes and that may not be what your wife likes.

[damnut]

Hi BradB,

In which case I concur with above for the Dob, you will get a decent scope for your budget. also if you do not know your way round the sky download a copy of stellarium. Its great and free to be found here ;-- http://www.stellarium.org/ . A couple of books to get started are :- 'turn left at orion' and 'sky&telescope pocket star atlas'.

Have a great birthday & congratulatios, my wife's 50'th is in 3 yrs time (oh lordy start saving), and our 30'th anniv next year..

[ollypenrice]

This is tricky.

Your wife has learned the constellations and shared that knowledge with your children. She's a science teacher, too. Wanting to do that via a computer and automation is a bit of a man thing and I'd beware of it. You can end up spending a night faffing with IT gizmos and forgetting the stars. (I'm a man and I use hugely IT based kit because I'm an astrophotogrpher but when I want to look at the sky I love to leave everything IT behind and just look. Also, any money spent on IT is subtracted from the bit you look through, the glass, and it is the glass that should always come first.

If you go for a simple Dobsonian reflector you will get the biggest visual bang for buck but it may need some tweaking to get the best result. This won't frighten a science teacher.

You need to learn to collimate a scope but that is not too hard.

If you followed samgray and went for a refractor you'd get all she describes but have less light on faint stuff. But you could use the refractor for daytime as well. Personally I'd go for a simple refractor on alt azimuth mount or Dobsonian reflector which is also alt azimuth. I'd ditch all the IT gizmos. This is about the stars.

The Celestron SCT you mention has a long focal length which means lovely wide field star vistas are out. It has tunnel vision. Personally I'd say no.

Olly

[awestruck]

An option to think about is to buy a slightly less expensive telescope such as the above mentioned skywatcher dob (6 inch) and spend the remaining budget on a few decent quality eyepieces. The common phrase is the best telescope is a telescope thats the most used. With more options for view and magnification of better quality then the stock eyepieces you can make up for in versatility what you lose in aperture.

[Brad B]

Thanks for the replies, but I have NO idea what most of you are talking about.    What the heck is an alt azimuth?

Feel free to use links to pictures.  LOL

[Brad B]

BTW, I'm pretty sure she has that stellarium programs on her laptop.

[Brad B]

What about this one?  http://www.amazon.com/Orion-8974-Dobsonian-Reflector-Telescope/dp/B00D2LDZLK/ref=pd_cp_421_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0CKF6JQKDWKFSM5RGB08

Pros and cons please.

[Dom1961]

An alt azimuth is a simple mount where it is up down side to side, I think that is a good scope , but normally people advise to stick to dedicated astronomy retailers as their after sales will e better.

[happy-kat]

The size and weight is quite a lot for that telescope is that going to be an issue to it being used. The 200mm mirror is quite popular but I don't personally want to lug two items both weighing over 10 kilos outside.

If you bought a smaller quality refractor it would always be a grab and go and travel option.

[ollypenrice]

What about this one?  http://www.amazon.com/Orion-8974-Dobsonian-Reflector-Telescope/dp/B00D2LDZLK/ref=pd_cp_421_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0CKF6JQKDWKFSM5RGB08

Pros and cons please.

That's a good scope on a simple Dobsonian mount. It is what several members have recommended.  A Dob mount moves side to side and up and down, which is intuitive and all you need for visual observing. Astrophotographers need a more complex system but I'd ignore that. (Astrophotography is a complex and expensive minefield. At this stage I'd stay clear of it because it  instantly muddies the waters you are already finding murky...)

Whether that constitutes an over-large scope or a perfectly portable one is entirely subjective. I consider it fairly portable but the 6 inch version would be more so. By far the best thing would be to see one in the flesh. In a vertical position such scopes have a remarkably small footprint for storage.The advice to buy from an astronomy outlet and no other kind of store is totally sound. Camera stores, Department Stores, unknown internet outlets - no, never.

Olly