Best $1000 telescope

[AaStro1]

Around a thousand dollar range what would be a good avenue for equipment?

[Guest]

I will come at this from a different angle.  You are about to be swamped by people willing to spend your money on the scope they would get based on thier preferences.  Before you spend a dime, find a astronomy club go look at telescopes, get some hands on time with them.  See what works for you and then the answer to your question will be very easy to figure out.   At a grand you will have a few nice options to pick from.   As far as where to buy.... If i were overseas, FLO would be at the top of my list. 

Edited February 5, 2023 by Mike Q

[dweller25]

Good advice from @Mike Q

[Owmuchonomy]

What do you mean by 'best'?  Go and look through some at an event first and see what works for you.

[Astro74]

10 hours ago, Mike Q said:

I will come at this from a different angle.  You are about to be swamped by people willing to spend your money on the scope they would get based on thier preferences.  Before you spend a dime, find an astronomy club go look at telescopes, get some hands on time with them.  See what works for you and then the answer to your question will be very easy to figure out.   At a grand you will have a few nice options to pick from.   As far as where to buy.... If i were overseas, FLO would be at the top of my list. 

 Excellent advice 

[Astro74]

11 hours ago, AaStro1 said:

Around a thousand dollar range what would be a good avenue for equipment?

Depends what you want to use it for - what’s your goal ? Will you want to venture. Into AP as I did in which case get ready to buy more than one ota as different scopes do different jobs 

[The Lazy Astronomer]

11 hours ago, AaStro1 said:

Around a thousand dollar range what would be a good avenue for equipment?

Welcome to the forum. 👋

This is a very common question from beginners, and unfortunately, the best answer is "it depends". The advice you've received above is excellent - you really need to get up close and personal with some different options to figure out what's going to work for you.

You also need to think about what you want to use it for, both in terms of what you want to see (e.g. moon, planets, DSOs), and how you want to see it (e.g. visual or photography - if photography, be warned that it is a bottomless money pit 😂).

Another very important consideration is where it will be stored vs where it will be used - no point in getting a massive heavy scope if you'll have to carry it down 4 narrow flights of stairs every time you want to take it out, for example.

[AstroGS]

All the above answers are from very experienced fellow SGL members and they are spot on.

By following people’s advice in here, my first scope was a 6” Bresser Dobsonian (circa £350 new) and then went down the rabbit hole of Astrophotography. I always recommend to people that want to get into astronomy, to start with a Dobsonian scope - a 6” or 8” will be the best choice in my opinion, that helps to get familiar with the night sky while, learning your way around stuff.

 

Since then, I moved to an SCT CPC925GPS, a WO GT81 refractor and today I’m the proud owner of a Redcat51 and a Stellamira ED51 Refractors + a SkyWatcher 150D. Every single telescope that I sold, I regretted it at some point as each was very good on different things.

 

The Dobsonian is my personal must to have, regardless the number or quality of refractors or reflectors someone has. Why? Nothing can beat the ability to view the planets or the moon through your own eyes. During the summer, while my AP rig images a nebula, I will always have fun with my daughters observing the moon or the brightest clusters. You do not need an expensive one - you can even get an 8” one for less than £250 in 2nd hand market.

I loved the CPC925 (SCT) as it was the best telescope I ever had to view planets and the moon. This type scopes provide high aperture at a reasonable price.

 

A short field of view refractor - like the Redcat51 - is very good and forgiving for AP. 
A medium FOV refractor - like the SM ED90 Triplet - is very capable for AP and visual.

 

My very last advice here though is the following - and something I’ve learnt the difficult and expensive way: is to spend more money on the mount than the actual telescope, if your aim is Astrophotography.

 

 

Edited February 5, 2023 by George Sinanis

[vlaiv]

Old saying goes: "Best telescope is one you use the most".

This clearly shows that major component in how good telescope is - is your willingness to use it, so it is tightly related to your preferences, needs and wants.

Instead of talking about best $1000 telescope - let's talk about what is the best telescope for you.

What do you want and expect?

(see why going to a local astronomy club is a good idea - you'll get to see things and it will help you form an opinion about what you want / need).