What telescope should I get?

[Kind of Quantum]

Hi there,

I've been into this topic for about a year now, and have been looking at the stars outside for a long time too however I never actually considered getting a telescope until now. I am looking for a good telescope for beginners, that isn't crazy expensive. Does anyone have a suggestion as to what telescope I should get? Thanks a lot!

[skfboiler]

Here is an 8 inch DOB, the "Orion 8 inch SkyQuest XT8 Plus" I think you will like.  It is getting good reviews.  If you like planets, add a 2x Barlow and you are good to go.

http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/Dobsonian-Telescopes/Classic-Dobsonians/Orion-SkyQuest-XT8-PLUS-Dobsonian-Reflector-Telescope/pc/1/c/12/sc/13/p/102780.uts?refineByCategoryId=13

[Dave In Vermont]

If a Dobsonian Newtonian-Reflector interests you, I suggest taking a look at this one from Zhummel, available in the USA from a good outfit in Nebraska:

http://www.telescopes.com/collections/zhumell-z-series-dobsonian-telescopes/products/zhumell-z10-deluxe-dobsonian-reflector-telescope

This scope has great optics, and comes with many of the things that you'd likely wish to replace on most scopes being offered - already on it. Namely a good finder-scope with a 90° diagonal for easy viewing without needing yoga. A Barlow. A cooling-fan to help the scope reach ambient-temperature faster (more about this later). Even a laser-collimator! Free shipping. It really is a bargain. And no - I don't own the company!

But before you commit to buying any telescope, you might want to think about what sort of things you will be wanting to see. If it's for only planets and other things in our own solar-system, an 8-inch Dobsonian may not be the best scope. If you will be wishing to view Deep-Space Objects - DSO's - and planets, a good Dob will fit the bill. So without knowing what you're likely to want to observe, no one can really give you the best ideas to think about.

As you ponder this over, perhaps you'd like a planetarium-program to help you find your way around the cosmos. This being sort of like a very detailed road-map to the stars, galaxies, nebulae, and planets - of course. Stellarium is one such program that is excellent. Similar software-programs can easily cost you several hundred dollars. But Stellarium is 100% FREE. You start by setting it to your own location. The instructions are both on-line, and a downloadable Pdf. It can take you anywhere from 10 minutes to 10 days to set up as you like.

And here it is - you'll be amazed:

http://www.stellarium.org/
 
As for instructions, the most current one's are posted in Wiki due to their being new features & functions being created almost daily. There is also a Pdf. that's almost up-to-date. Here's the Wiki-Link:
 
http://www.stellarium.org/wiki/index.php/Stellarium_User_Guide
 
And the Pdf. is here:
 

http://barry.sarcasmogerdes.com/stellarium/stellarium_user_guide-new.pdf
 
This should help you to find just about everything under the Sun.

So do some thinking and let us know what you'll like to do.

Here's a screen-shot of mine:

Clear skies,

Dave

[MarsG76]

Another type of scope to consider is a Celestron SCT like Nexstar 8SE or a CPC800. If you want to get into astrophotography one day than consider a C800 CGEM... All are GOTO types.

A SCT being closed up is less maintenance than a Newtonian and it's easier to collimate, with a added bonus of a large mirror for light gathering compared to refractor.

[kendg]

Lots of things to consider. What it inexpensive for some is crazy expensive too others.

If the scope isn't permanently set up then the heavier it is the less it will get used.

Goto or not. I tend to lean to a Goto scope, but that's just me.

I would tend to a 6SE or 8SE. If these are crazy expensive to you then a smaller SCT would OK or a reasonable DOB.

If not crazy expensive then a larger SCT with a good solid mount would be in order or a good quality 100mm refractor.

I tend to lean away from NewtonIan scopes as they seem to need a bit more TLC.

The best scope is the one you will use.

But that's just my small opinion

[seo]

If you ask a lot of us who have at least some experience by our involvement in Astronomy you'll see that almost none of us has only one scope and there is a good reason for that. This reason was explained enough by Dave so as you may understand now all different types of scopes are only very good for different types of "jobs" . 

Also a scope needs a mount to put it on mostly for tracking and stability reasons. Alt-Az and GEM mounts are also tracking in a different way. Alt-Az is basically for viewing. GEM mounts are the ones for the best tracking and AP (astrophotography) and of course they can cost from a logical amount up to a very serious amount of money !

So basically it's either find out what exactly you want to do with astronomy and of course your money before you experience it a bit so to be able to come to a first conclusion...    or decide to spend a not so fancy amount of money, to buy an "all-around" telescope + equipment  to start in a way you'll most probably not regret it - I didn't and its almost 20 years...

If you stay in astronomy long enough you too will end up with more than one scopes. Actually an "all-around" scope good for everything does not exist but for someone who starts astronomy, does not know what he/she wants from it and don't want to pay a serious amount of money IMHO he/she has to get a decent Dob. With such a telescope you can start your exploration, for example a 10" one, and... 1) you'll easily see a lot and different things (the moon, star clusters and DSOs, comets etc). SCTs and in general scopes with long/very long focal length are the proper instruments to view planets and in general small targets in the sky, as of course others said before me, but with the use of a good barlow you can also see enough of these with a Dob too  2) You don't have to pay too much to get your self in action... and 3) When and if you go for your next scopes its going to be there for you for all the the times your eyes will miss a good old friend's treatment...