Which telescope to purchase? Up to $150 bucks

[goodnight1]

Hello all from Texas

 

Anyone have a idea for a good telescope to purchase?

 

Id like to purchase one from amazon.

 

ive been looking at the 80-600 models.

i know nothing except I wanna look at the moon.

 

any tips or thoughts would be much appreciated.

[AustenM]

Hi

The moon is a large bright object, so not too demanding on a telescope. But you may get hooked and want to look further into space!

A typical starter telescope has a 70mm lens and 700mm long tube (the focal length). The mount can be simple one alt-azi one, but try to avoid the pan-handle photo ones which tend to be wobbly. A SkyWatcher Mercury 707 or Celestron PowerSeeker 70AZ are two examples.

An alternative is a table-top dobsonian mounted reflector. These are shorter in length, which reduces their inherent magnification, but may suit a beginner with the moon as their focus. You'll find models by SkyWatcher and Celestron online. You need a stable table, wall or similar to use the telescope successfully.

Do buy a moon filter - these cut down the glare from the moon's reflection of the sun and make viewing more comfortable. The small filter screws into the eyepiece.

Hope you buy a telescope soon and get some clear nights to enjoy the moon!

[M40]

Hello goodnight1 and welcome to the site. 

The sponsor of the site, First Light Optics has a beginner telescopes guide together with a range of beginner telescopes, it would be well worth having a look just to find out what's out there. Have a good look through the reviews. They do ship to America but whether that would be cost effective is another matter. 

Personally I would go with one of the tabletop dobsonians, easy to use and best bang for bucks. All the best and let us know what you choose.

[jjohnson3803]

I'd suggest a short tube 80 (ST80) - an 80mm f/5 refractor.  They give reasonable views of the moon and other objects and are cheap enough that you're not out a lot of cash if you decide you don't like it.  They're also pretty easy to sell, but selling a used one might not be worth the hassle since they are pretty cheap new.

You will see some chromatic aberration when looking at bright objects - looks like a purple fringe on things - but a filter can cut that down quite a bit.  Actually, some people don't even care about it, so YMMV.

Take care to get a good, solid mount.  Even a scope with fantastic optics won't be any fun if your mount is wobbling / shaking.  I'd also be wary of Amazon.  They sell good stuff, but they also sell some junk.

I live outside Chicago and have ordered several things from First Light in the UK.  Never had a problem, shipping via DHL isn't that expensive, and things arrive quickly.  Actually, I have an order due to arrive today.  

Good luck!

 

 

 

[Naughty Neal]

F5 one will chromatic abberation but if one went for f10 or more it should be non exsistent, my Japanese Scopetech 80mm f12.5 shows no CA.

Edited February 22 by Naughty Neal

[Guest]

I normally don't like blowing people's budget but it's tough finding a decent enough scope at your price point.  If you can increase it, there is a very decent one called AWB OneSky Newtonian.  

https://shop.astronomerswithoutborders.org/products/awb-onesky-reflector-telescope

It's very easy for beginners, easy to set up and use and decent optics.  With the included eyepieces you'll get decent views of the moon.

It is $250 but it's also for a good cause.  And there's a lot of information and group support for this scope as well.

[bosun21]

For the budget you quoted I would get myself an ST80 and a barlow. You can stick it on a photographic tripod or any other tripod You will be pleased with the views. For the moon close up use the barlow and the same for the planets when they come back later in the year. I reckon that if some folk hadn't mentioned CA I'd wager that you wouldn't have noticed and had a great first night observing the cosmos.