beginners telescope

[devon goldblum]

Hi Guys! i’m looking for a beginner telescope online and have a few different telescopes lined up but i wanted to know what’s the BEST beginners telescope out of the few. 

 

1. Meade ETX-105

2. Skywatcher Explorer 130M

3. Meade ETX-125

Skywatcher Explorer 130 EQ2 

[Spile]

In my opinion the ideal telescope for visual astronomy is the Dobsonian. It combines simplicity, performance and value for money. I explain more at https://astro.catshill.com/why-did-i-choose-a-dobsonian/

[devon goldblum]

4 minutes ago, Spile said:

In my opinion the ideal telescope for visual astronomy is the Dobsonian. It combines simplicity, performance and value for money. I explain more at https://astro.catshill.com/why-did-i-choose-a-dobsonian/

thank you so much!! i’ll have a look into them

[Cosmic Geoff]

12 hours ago, devon goldblum said:

Hi Guys! i’m looking for a beginner telescope online and have a few different telescopes lined up but i wanted to know what’s the BEST beginners telescope out of the few. 

You will get a lot of different opinions.  

What kind of skies do you have? Urban skies will suggest a GoTo, so you can actually find stuff.

In an urban area, it would be a good idea to get something that will work well on planets and double stars.

Are you mechanically or computer minded? If not, maybe you should avoid the more complicated (equatorial) or Go To mounts. 

Are you interested (like many newbies these days) in imaging? Note that this is not as simple as you might think and could cost you a lot of money.

If you like gadgets and want some electronic aid, check out the Celestron Starsense smartphone-app telescopes. I have not seen one in action but people here write positively about them.

[Zermelo]

Hello, and welcome to SGL.

There are some useful links for choosing a first telescope contained in this thread:

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/378404-telescope-starting

 

This website also has a lot of useful information, but presented from a newcomers' perspective.

[Carbon Brush]

Hi and welcome to SGL.

Before jumping to the BUY IT button, a few words.

Whatever you buy, get it from a speciailist astronomy retailer. He can provide after sales support.
The specialist (in general) won't sell you the wrong scope - provided you talk to him.
Check out the site sponsor, FLO (top of page) they have a beginners scope guide.

Do not buy from the likes of Amazon, Ebay, Currys, department store, local selling sites, etc.
If you don't know what you are looking for, you can easily buy a lemon or something only fit for landfill.
Even if you buy a branded scope new from the likes of amazon, they can't help to resolve problems - only offer a return/refund in a short time.

HTH, David.