New Telescope need some help

[murph_man99]

I am a beginner and want t purchase a telescope.  I was told to buy a 50X to view planets.  I am looking on amazon.  Can anyone help?  Thanks so much.

 

Brian 

[mikeDnight]

Hi Brian,

Be careful about buying from Amazon. A safer place to buy from would be an established astro vendor such as First Light Optics. There you will find sound advice, be able to buy a good telescope, and have the security of knowing the service you get is second to none. If you scroll to the top of this page you can click on First Light Optics and window shop to your hearts content. Perhapse even send them an e-mail asking advice on any scope that catches your eye.

There are three main types of telescope to choose from: 1) a refractor, which uses a lens to focus the image. 2) A reflector, which uses a mirror instead of a lens. And 3) a catadioptric, which is a combination of lenses and mirrors. All are able to show the planet's, but each also has its own speciality. Telescopes are generally measured by aperture. As a general rough guide, a 4" aperture refractor, a 6" aperture reflector and a 5" aperture catadioptric such as a 127mm Maksutov would all be very capable planetary telescopes. Each would show you many more things too!

The magnification to view the planet's well would need to be around 150X and over. This is determined by the eyepiece you use with the scope. Have a chat with FLO to see what's most suitable for your budget. 

[Moonshane]

Also do some research on the size of planets in the eyepiece. Even with a top quality scope and at 150x Jupiter would be about the size of a 10p piece at arms length.

[DaveL59]

as Moonshine has said, take a read of this post which will give you an idea of how things will look in a telescope

It'll save disappointment when you do buy one and the planets are tiny rather than popping out of the eyepiece  Even small they are an amazing sight, very much a wow moment when you see Jupiter and Saturn any time you see them not just the first.

[murph_man99]

p

I have been doing some reading and  I have  little better idea of what I should be looking for in a telescope.  I will continue to read but I have a quick question.  I will be using the telescope mainly in the backyard ti view planets.  As a beginnner What should the aperture and magnification be?  I believe aperture of 5-6 would be good.?

 

[DaveL59]

13 minutes ago, murph_man99 said:

p!

I have been doing some reading and  I have little better idea of what I should be looking for in a telescope.  I will continue to read but I have a quick question.  I will be using the telescope mainly in the backyard ti view planets.  As a beginnner What should the aperture and magnification be?  I believe aperture of 5-6 would be good.?

 

 

down to what you can afford in your budget, what you can manage in terms of lugging it out and space to store it really. For a reflector if you look in the 6 to 8 inch range (150-200mm) you'd get good views I expect, for a refractor 4-inch (100mm) would be the low limit ideally and they get heavy above that requiring more expensive mounts.

Magnification will depend on how good the seeing is (clear sky etc) but 150-200x for planets is reasonable on good nights. 

You'll likely need to budget for better eyepieces in the long run as the supplied ones with most scopes are ok but not fantastic. Say £50 each for BST Starguider which are well regarded as an upgrade option. Which would depend on the scope you decide on but first get used to the scope as shipped before sinking more into the hobby you're just starting out on.

[murph_man99]

Thanks How do I calculate the magnifcation?

[DaveL59]

under astronomy tools at the top of the SGL page there's a calculator which should help  

[murph_man99]

thanks

[Ricochet]

28 minutes ago, murph_man99 said:

Thanks How do I calculate the magnifcation?

Divide the focal length of the telescope by the focal length of the eyepiece. 

[John]

The planets will look a lot smaller than you expect through a scope. 50x is considered low power for observing them. Generally 100x and more is required. They look pretty small even at 300x !

 

 

[RT65CB-SWL]

20 hours ago, murph_man99 said:

I am a beginner and want t purchase a telescope.  I was told to buy a 50X to view planets.  I am looking on amazon.  Can anyone help?  Thanks so much.

 

Brian 

Hi @murph_man99 and welcome to SGL. 

My first ever telescope I owned had a had a max. of 40x. I could just about discern Jupiter and see the rings of Saturn. Whoever told you 50x is talking rubbish from their backside.

The late Sir Patrick Moore is often credited with saying: “50x per inch of aperture.” - and that was for a refractor.

Forget online places like amazon, eBay, etc. Please use a dedicated astro-dealer such as SGL’s sponsor FLO, or have a look at RVO and 365astronomy. Some EU astro-dealers are very good too, such as Teleskop-Express/TS Optics.

[murph_man99]

I think I am going to buy  AWB OneSky Reflector Telescope it looks like a good start. 

[cletrac1922]

22 hours ago, murph_man99 said:

I am a beginner and want t purchase a telescope.  I was told to buy a 50X to view planets.  I am looking on amazon.  Can anyone help?  Thanks so much.

 

Brian 

 

Brian

This same question gets asked every week

First of all, you have to decide what you want to use the scope for

Purely observing, then cannot go far wrong with a Skywatcher 10" flex Dob

If want to venture into AP, then you need a scope with GoTo  function using a SynScan controller

Then you need ED80, ED100 or ED120 on a EQ5pro or HEQ5 mount

Have attached pic of both my 10" Dob, and ED80 on a EQ5pro mount

The pic of the ED80 was taken at my club solar viewing day last year, and the 10" Dob, public viewing night with my club as well

John

 

 

 

[John]

6 minutes ago, murph_man99 said:

I think I am going to buy  AWB OneSky Reflector Telescope it looks like a good start. 

That is the same scope as the Skywatcher 130 Heritage. It is a good choice as a starter scope.

 

[murph_man99]

I just checked and the AWB OneSky Reflector Telescope is out of stock till August.  Should I buy the Skywatcher 130 Heritage?

[murph_man99]

19 minutes ago, John said:

That is the same scope as the Skywatcher 130 Heritage. It is a good choice as a starter scope.

 

 just checked and the AWB OneSky Reflector Telescope is out of stock till August.  Should I buy the Skywatcher 130 Heritage?

[murph_man99]

32 minutes ago, cletrac1922 said:

 

Brian

This same question gets asked every week

First of all, you have to decide what you want to use the scope for

Purely observing, then cannot go far wrong with a Skywatcher 10" flex Dob

If want to venture into AP, then you need a scope with GoTo  function using a SynScan controller

Then you need ED80, ED100 or ED120 on a EQ5pro or HEQ5 mount

Have attached pic of both my 10" Dob, and ED80 on a EQ5pro mount

The pic of the ED80 was taken at my club solar viewing day last year, and the 10" Dob, public viewing night with my club as well

John

 

 

 

Wow thats awesome

 

[Cosmic Geoff]

9 hours ago, murph_man99 said:

just checked and the AWB OneSky Reflector Telescope is out of stock till August.  Should I buy the Skywatcher 130 Heritage?

Obviously yes, unless you live outside the UK and can't find a supplier/importer. Buy from an astro specialist, not Amazon.