Best telescope to purchase

[Malko Marchio]

Hello all,

I am crazy about the universe and would like to purchase a once off telescope to view it more closely.

i was thinking about the C8 telescope. I would like to see planets, galaxies as clearly and closely as possible. Budget is not really an issue as I just want to buy once and enjoy viewing. What’s your thoughts on the best telescope for a beginner who will study how to use it properly but want to see everything out there. Thank you for any feedback.

[Sunshine]

Oh yes, I remember my "once off" telescope, I bought it about 12 telescopes ago, wait a minute, I swore they would all be the last one!. If I were sent off to an island with only one scope forever more, I may just pick a 9.25 Celestron Edge SCT on an equatorial mount. There is no such thing as a do it all telescope but, the 9.25 Celestron falls nicely in the large enough to show the fuzzies yet still manageable as I age, a great scope for planetary also, and, if imaging is in your future, with an EQ mount, you'll be off to the races. tomorrow, I may choose another, there are so may options it boggles the mind, I am basing my choice from scopes I have used before, others may have completely different choices. The point I am getting at is this, one can only make such a choice after having had experience with many types. 

There will be many different options suggested to you and, I guarantee, if you are crazy about this hobby, the term "once off" is, respectfully, humorous to those of us who many times have thought "that's it, no more scopes"

Edited February 21, 2020 by Sunshine

[johninderby]

One thing experience in this hobby will teach you is that no one telescope will do it all. There are scopes that are planetary specialists such as Maks or long focal lenth refractors and wide field scopes that are better at DSOs.

The C8 is a very good scope and a good starting point in a scope collection and a good all rounder but being an all rounder not as good as more specialist scopes are at their specialties. 

You will get lots of recomendations for an 8 inch dobsonian telescope which is a great starting point for a beginner as they are simple to use and will show you more for the money than any other type. 

Edited February 21, 2020 by johninderby

[bsdsgl84]

2 hours ago, Malko Marchio said:

Hello all,

I am crazy about the universe and would like to purchase a once off telescope to view it more closely.

i was thinking about the C8 telescope. I would like to see planets, galaxies as clearly and closely as possible. Budget is not really an issue as I just want to buy once and enjoy viewing. What’s your thoughts on the best telescope for a beginner who will study how to use it properly but want to see everything out there. Thank you for any feedback.

Hello, 

I remember someone telling me this when I first started out::

The "best" scope - is the one you have available to use. 

When you have one scope, that's the best  scope - and if you're lucky enough to have multiple , the best is the one that gets you going the fastest.., 

In the end, don't stress too much about the purchase. As others have said, the c8 is a pretty good option whether you're a beginner or someone with years in the hobby.., 

Hope that helps.., 

Best., 

bsdsgl84 

 

 

[Cosmic Geoff]

The C8 is a good choice, as it has a relatively large aperture but is light enough to be portable, and has a large focusing range (useful for attaching various accessories.) You still have to choose a mount for it, and the bundled options vary greatly in convenience, cost, portability and weight.

No doubt you will receive advice recommending all sorts of telescopes at all sorts of prices.  It is not possible to buy one telescope which does everything well, which is why there are 57🙂 varieties of telescope on the market.  Occasionally new designs appear, hence we have apochromats, SCTs, GoTo mounts, and very recently 'classical Cassegrains' which were not available to Victorian astronomers.

[sloz1664]

Hi Malko, and a very warm welcome to the Lounge

There alots & lots of telescopes out there to tempt you. Some big & some small and all made to view at different ratios. I personally would purchase a good pair of binoculars and a sky atlas and experience the night sky. Get an understanding of what your preferences are and select the telescope for your needs. Or, look for a second hand Tal 1 or Tal 2. You should pick one of these pretty cheaply, built like tanks and good otics too. 

Steve

[Ruud]

A C8 is not a bad idea, but as it won't show you wide views you might want to complement it with a small refractor.

A 70-80 mm APO would be nice to observe larger targets and  scan thousands of pinpoint stars against the Milky way.

[Raph-in-the-sky]

Have you considered an 8'' or 10'' dobson? This is a very good starting point for many of us. And many keep it as it is a great balance between aperture and transportability/setting up time.

Regarding the "once off", I think you should accept that it won't happen. As you learn more about the hobby, you will want something extra.

[Dave Lloyd]

Hi Malco, welcome. As already said it will NOT be a one off purchase.😁

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @Malko Marchio and welcome to SGL. 

SCT's & MCT's are very good for lunar and planets. Though they do have a few downsides...

• notorious dew magnets, so a dewshield is a must have accessory.
• require a minimum 30-60 minutes to reach ambient temperature.
• narrow field of view.

I have a habit of saying, quote: "No 'scope does all in this hobby." ...which is probably true. If you are happy just to put a 'scope anywhere, without the fuss of alignment, etc., then a 'Dobsonian' i.e.  https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians.html

You have to look/think at the logistics; i.e. storage, transportation, can I manage to assemble it by myself - (attach the telescope to mount), etc.

If your town/city has an astronomy club/society, visit it and find out when they are having a star-party/open day and go along. It will give you an idea as to the physical size and types of telescopes that are available. 

Do buy from a specialist outlet... not ebay, amazon, high street department/camera store as the staff may/will have limited experience of the product.

[laudropb]

Hello and a warm welcome to the SGL. Lots of good advice given already. 

[Z3roCool]

A C9.25 Edge HD would be great as recommended above. That with a sturdy EQ Mount. Then for Wider Field with the same scope, could get HyperStar. Best of both worlds? Couple of good cameras - I would be in heaven!

[fwm891]

9 minutes ago, Z3roCool said:

A C9.25 Edge HD would be great as recommended above. That with a sturdy EQ Mount. Then for Wider Field with the same scope, could get HyperStar. Best of both worlds? Couple of good cameras - I would be in heaven!

Problem there is that you have to re-collimate both ways when you add/remove the secondary assembly.

[Z3roCool]

2 minutes ago, fwm891 said:

Problem there is that you have to re-collimate both ways when you add/remove the secondary assembly.

How long does it take to collimate, on average if you have done  a few times? I have never had to do yet. Presume it depends on scope and a number of other factors?

[Malko Marchio]

Thank you all for the warm welcome and all the valuable information. The C9.25 sounds like the best choice. I also like what everyone was saying about the C8. My only concern is I would like to get the best option for now. I hear you when you say it won’t be the last one but it’s like if I was buying my first iPhone and money isn’t an issue I’d want to get the iPhone 11 and not the iPhone 5. Technology these days progress so quickly that I want to start with a good one so in a few years when the next best telescope comes out that will be an upgrade. The question I now have is the difference between the C8 and C9.25 with the extra expense. Will I eventually be able to see objects much closer and clearer with the C9.25?

Thank you so much for helping me choose the best one guys. I live in an area where in a good night the sky is so clear and just gazing into the heavens is amazing so now I need to just sit in my garden and explore the heavens but want to get as close as possible and have as clear an image as possible. Thank you all once again. Looking forward to starting this hobby/voyage. Best regards,

Malko

[Yawning Angel]

Welcome Malko!

Have a look at this thread, before parting with any cash - it may well save you a fortune and some disappointment : 

 

[johninderby]

Yes it’s a good idea to do some research before buying. So many choices out there to confuse you. 😁

I have owned a C8 but now have a TS 8”:Classical Cassegrain which I find better on planets and as it dosen’t have a corrector plate doesn’t suffer from dew and cools down a lot faster. Big advantage also is it uses a refractor type focuser on the back with a fixed primary mirror. Paired with a wide field refractor makes a great combination. 😊

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p10753_TS-Optics-8--f-12-Cassegrain-Teleskop-203-2436-mm-OTA.html

Edited February 21, 2020 by johninderby

[ronl]

Hello and welcome to SGL, see you around the forums.

Clear Sky's.

[Raph-in-the-sky]

2 hours ago, Malko Marchio said:

Thank you all for the warm welcome and all the valuable information. The C9.25 sounds like the best choice. I also like what everyone was saying about the C8. My only concern is I would like to get the best option for now. I hear you when you say it won’t be the last one but it’s like if I was buying my first iPhone and money isn’t an issue I’d want to get the iPhone 11 and not the iPhone 5. Technology these days progress so quickly that I want to start with a good one so in a few years when the next best telescope comes out that will be an upgrade. The question I now have is the difference between the C8 and C9.25 with the extra expense. Will I eventually be able to see objects much closer and clearer with the C9.25?

Thank you so much for helping me choose the best one guys. I live in an area where in a good night the sky is so clear and just gazing into the heavens is amazing so now I need to just sit in my garden and explore the heavens but want to get as close as possible and have as clear an image as possible. Thank you all once again. Looking forward to starting this hobby/voyage. Best regards,

Malko

Actually, I do not beleive that the technology in this field is advancing very fast. Newtonian telescope is a 400 year design while Schmidt-Cassegrain is a 90-years old design... Obviously newer ones are better than the originals but many astronomer use telescope that are 20 or 30 years old. 

Also, you stated that you wanted to see objects as close as possible (ie. high magnification). You will quickly realise that this is not what you should be looking for. Getting the image as crisp and as detailed as possible is really the main goal.

 

 

Edited February 21, 2020 by Raph-in-the-sky

[Pete Presland]

Hi welcome to SGL from Pete in Bedfordshire 🙂