How much would you recommend spending ?

[Condor Gold]

Just a basic telescope to get into star gazing. I dont want a cheap and nasty one but also dont want to overspend and waste money on a hi tech one I aint got a clue to use.

All I want is a decent telescope to start with. What make / model and price range would you recomend ?

[Beyond_Vision]

Have you got any idea of a budget and what sort of things would you be interested in looking at eg Moon, Planets, Deep Space Objects etc?

Regards

Kevin

[nicnac]

have you checked out FLO yet (site sponsor) just click on the first light optics tab @ the top of the page

[Condor Gold]

Have you got any idea of a budget and what sort of things would you be interested in looking at eg Moon, Planets, Deep Space Objects etc?

Regards

Kevin

Yeah

Just the basic things to start - moon , planets , stars, even UFO's and little green men if there are any out there

Budget would be whatever I feel is worth spending - I dont really know how much a decent telescope is worth ? £100 or a £1000 - what am I expected to pay ?

[Beyond_Vision]

Would you want something that tracks the sky and can find targets for you or are you willing to find things yourself with a manual mount?

[Condor Gold]

A manuel mount would be ok I think. If down the line I wanted to upgrade then I would. But I dont want to be spending money on extras I aint even got a clue how to use.

[nicnac]

click on FLO tab @ top of page then click on telescopes tab then Skywatcher, it gives a quick breakdown of all scope types

[Doug]

I think you should look at FLO

Skywatcher Skyliner 250PX Dobsonian £389.00 or the Meade Dob a bit more money

but I have looked in a meade 10" nice views ,get somthing you will be happy with in months to come phone Steve at FLO he will help you

Doug

[pvaz]

If you want a grab and go telescope, good enough for jupiter, saturn, moon and some of the brightest deep space objects I would suggest something like this:

Evostar - Skywatcher Evostar 90 (EQ3-2)

If you want a simpler to use type of mount and a bigger apperture to see fainter deep space objects then one of this:

Dobsonians

Here are a few questions you need to be able to answer to pick the right scope for you:

What kind of objects you want to see?

What's the maximum weight you want to carry around? How portable does it need to be?

Do you want one for terrestrial use too or just astronomy?

Do you want one that needs a initial setup time but then keeps objects framed and tracks then or you want a quick one you just point and look, but you have to adjust manually to keep the object in view?

Do you want it to locate things for you? Or you rather have the trill of hunting, get a sky atlas and learn the sky?

There are lots of scopes to pick from.

Watch this videos if you want to get an idea of what each type does and understand some of the required accessories.

[John]

Yeah

Just the basic things to start - moon , planets , stars, even UFO's and little green men if there are any out there

Budget would be whatever I feel is worth spending - I dont really know how much a decent telescope is worth ? £100 or a £1000 - what am I expected to pay ?

Decent scopes seem to start from around £200 and go up as high as you like. Thats for one on a mount with a couple of basic eyepieces to get you going. Something like this:

Dobsonians - Skywatcher Skyliner 150P Dobsonian

Thats a good scope on a very simple, non-electronic mount (that's what keeps the cost low). There are larger versions if you want to spend a little more - they will show you more of course.

You should also budget for a good book to get you started, something like "Turn left at Orion" seems to be popular.

See what others suggest as well - there is a lot of choice these days

John

[Condor Gold]

I'd probaly now estimate to spend a budget up to £500.

[pvaz]

You can get a quality scope for less. About 250 is enough, but if you are willing to spend 500 then you can get a better one.

The choice on the scope really depends on what you want to see, how portable it needs to be and if you want any goto and/or tracking functionality. If you don't know, you can just pick one of the suggested scopes since they are all good. But some are better in some areas then others, some are lighter and smaller, and so on. So a better idea on what you want will lead to a better advise. You can also have a chat with Steve from FLO. He will advise you the best way possible, as always.

[johninderby]

If you total budget is £500.00 remember that as well as the cost of the scope you will also want to get some better eyepieces etc. The eyepieces that will come with your scope aren't going to be that good. Also if you buy a refractor or MAK the star diagonal will want replacing as the diagonal included with scopes in your budget will usually be the cheapest available.

Some better eyepieces, and a decent diagonal in the case of a reftractor or MAK, will let you see what your scope is actually capable of. Also the finder may need replacing for something actually usable.

You would want at least £100.00 to spend on some eyepieces. The finder may want changing or you might want to add a Telrad finder etc to it and that's another £40.00+. A dielectric diagonal is going to be £50.00+ for a 1.25" and £80.00+ for a 2".

John

[wulfrunian]

People will have their own preferences, myself I'm now biased towards dobsonians and you could get a very nice scope well within your budget. For instance both the 8" and 10" will give great views not only for a beginner, but potentially for a lifetime.

If you do go down this route, be aware that you will need to find objects yourself in the sky; however with a decent star map this only adds to the thrill of the chase! My 10" skywatcher is very easy to pick up and get outside, and you can be observing within five or ten minutes.

Agree however with John that you might want to look at how much you'll spend on accessories. And, is this £500 your total spend, or will you be able to find a bit more cash when you inevitably want to add a few more toys later! If you went for the dobsonian, you wouldn't need a diagonal, you may want an improved finder but not necessarily, but you would at some stage want some better eyepieces. However, the two eyepieces that Skywatcher supply with theirs would be enough to get you up and running.

[oceanheadted]

Buying a telescope is like buying a kitchen knife. You won't find one that does everything. I spent £130 on my first scope which was an evostar 90. It was enough to get me hooked but cheap enough to not to be huge loss if I discovered astronomy wasn't my thing.

£265 gets you a good 200mm dob which covers most bases except goto and imaging. That's a very good choice if you don't want to take pictures.

Don't forget to budget 60-70 pounds for a decent pair of low-ish power binoculars. It's great to scan the skies with something that is so intuitive to point

Good luck

[Astro_Baby]

If your doing it as a toe in the water I'd not soend more than a couple of hundred. Get something with a half decent resale value like a Sky-Watcher 130 or maybe 150 on an EQ3-2. Theres other scopes as well. That way if you decide its not for you you can at least get some cash back and 130s and 150s sell quite well second hand.

They are also decent scopes. If simplicity is your thing then get something like an 8" Dob.

DOnt expect to see pictures like Hubble - most stuff is rather small and grey colored. The thrill is seeing it at all not seeing huge colored galaxies.

Also bear in mind most of these things are relatively large and unless you live in an area with dark skies you'll end up transporting it to a dark site.

As already said you'll need to budget for extras. For a refelector you'll absolutely definitely need a dew shield and for all scopes you'll need a red light torch and a copy of a star atlas - Turn Left at Orion is popular.

Also bear in mind this hobby needs a fair bit of patience and a lot of input from you. Scopes arent like say a CD plater or DVD player - they need a lot of work on the users part. Think of it like fishing or playing the guitar. YOu can buy the rod/guitar and all the gubbins but only your skill and know how will land a fish or get you playing tunes.

My 'toe in the water' was £175 for the scope and another £100 on bits and pieces.