Which telescope?

[vhbelvadi]

Could someone suggest a good telescope for me, who has just gotten into stargazing? [i prefer buying it online]

[jgs001]

Can you give an indication of the sorts of things you want to look at and do, and a budget ?

Something to consider, especially as you indicate you're just getting into stargazing, do you have a pair of binoculars ? There's nothing faster to setup or easier to use for looking around the sky, they help you learn you're way around and can show a lot of very interesting targets, some of which are actually too big for some scopes to show all of the target. If you don't have a pair, then you could do a lot worse than the Bresser 10x50's that are available, sometimes from Lidl, but they can be had from Telescope House for £25. I use my Binoculars a lot.

[philsail1]

Hello "V.H.Bevaldi!" - and welcome to "Stargazers Lounge Astronomical Forum."

If you are just starting out, I would echo Jonh's sentiments in suggesting you buy a decent pair of binoculars - 7x50, 8x40, 8x42 or 10x50's.

These are great for "grab-and-go" to have a quick scan across the heavens on a clear night. They will help you get to know you way around the sky, and learn the names and positions of several of the major constellations. When you do buy a telescope, your binoculars will be of great value in supplementing your scope in helping locate objects to point your scope at.

There are literally hundreds of different telescopes one can start off with. As John says, it is a help if you have an idea what you think you will be mainly looking at. Planets? or Stars? - or do you think you will want to study "deep Sky" objects more.

Some good starter scopes might include:-

Skywatcher 127mm Maksutov.

Skywatcher 130mm Newtonian Reflector.

Skywatcher 100Ed Refractor.

Skywatcher 200mm Newtonian or Dobsonian Reflectors.

Another maker "Celestron" makes similar scopes. Also Meade have a range of good scopes of varying designs.

Then there are Russian "TAL" scopes, which are excellent in their own right.

Where does one end with so many available scopes and companies who make them!

I'm sure you will get plenty of help from others on here.

Best wishes,

philsail1

[The Warthog]

Depends what you want to do, and what you prefer looking at. Also, do you want to take photos, or just look at stuff?

If you want to take photos, you will need an equatorial mount, to follow objects long enough to take a picture without the corkscrewing effect that alt-azimuth mounts have.

If taking photos is not that important, you can choose a Dobsonian reflector (the least expensive choice), an alt-azimuth mounted refractor or reflector, or a single arm fork mount with goto, to find stars for you.

A Newtonian reflector, however mounted, is the cheapest aperture for your £. Aperture, the width of the objective lens or mirror, is the most important factor, as it determines both magnification and resolution.

You can get an 8" dobsonian scope for the price of a much smaller equatorially mounted refractor, and if you are interested primarily in looking at stuff, this is an excellent choice. It will perform well on the Moon and Planets, and excellently on Deep Space Objects. An equatorially mounted 8" or 10" scope can be a handful and a half, however.

A refractor is considered best for looking at planets and the Moon, but can also be used for looking at DSOs. It is more expensive than similarly mounted reflectors, and tends to be much longer.

A catadioptric (Maksutov or Schmidt Cassegraine) is usually the most expensive in any size (except for the very expensive apochromatic refractors) but is a good all-round scope, and much less bulky than the other types for their aperture.

I don't suggest getting a reflector of less than 5", or a refractor of less than 90mm. Anything smaller will wear thin quickly. If you can afford more aperture, go for it.

Hope this helps demuddify the obscurification a bit.

[Ghost66]

i got a skywatcher 130pm and find it a good scope. its not too heavy can lift the whole thing.

[Tiny]

A lot of people start with a 130pm. It is relatively cheap but is real value for money. From that you can get a good idea of where you want to go next - to imaging, light buckets or whatever - though many just keep their 130s.

[philsail1]

"V.H.Blevadi"

iYou could read the excellent guide to choosing a telescope, which "jahmanson" found. It's just above your question on the "Beginners Help & Advice" section.

Regards,

philsail1