First telescope

[Msu2312]

Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum, I've always been fasinated with atronomy and finally getting equipment to view the skys... problem is i dont know what im looking for, and for my first scope i'm buying a used one. So if anyone could point me in the right direction, im looking to buy a celestron firstscope 70eq for 100 dollars. I feel in the dark since i have no knowledge of what i'm looking for in a telescope. I want to see our planets and distant stars, is this a good deal for the scope i might buy? thanks in advance im looking forward to viewing the skys

[Rui]

Hello Msu.

Instead of a first scope, I advise you something else.

A pair of binoculars is the way to go. Give you amazing views of the

Milky Way and, when you buy a book such as this: Exploring the Night Sky with Binoculars: Amazon.co.uk: Patrick Moore: Books, you'll be amazed of how much you can see with binoculars.

Size maters... a pair of 10X50mm (magnifies 10X and has a pair of 50mm front lenses) is the biggest you can hand-hold confortably. But it already shows the Pleades, the Andromeda galaxy, The Orion nebula, etc.

And they are nice to birwatching (looking at the birds in your neighbour's gardens - not the neighbours themselves...), and casual daylight observing.

And the advantage of observing with both your eyes is a plus.

I think you shouldn't buy a telescope without knowing your way in the sky, the constellations, where to point a telescope to see some deep-sky objects, etc.

So buy a pair of 10X50mm binoculars and dowload the program Stellarium. It's easy to use, it's free and allows you to learn the sky in an easy way.

Later, when you know your way around the sky buy the telescope... The sky will always be there.

[gedmac]

And they are nice to birwatching (looking at the birds in your neighbour's gardens - not the neighbours themselves...), .

bet the neighbours look good too:evil6:

[great_bear]

I think you shouldn't buy a telescope without knowing your way in the sky, the constellations, where to point a telescope to see some deep-sky objects, etc.

Disagree.

If I asked on a forum about what car to buy, I'd be a bit disappointed if someone tried to persuade me to buy a bicycle "because you'll enjoy the scenery more and learn your way around".

If you want to see planets properly, you're going to need a lot of magnification - and you want it to be good, clean magnification too. You won't get that in binoculars, that's for sure.

I think this <click> is a great guide to buying your first telescope.

Good luck

[Steve922]

Don't buy a telescope until you know a little about Astronomy and what you want.

Step 1 is to download and study Stellarium - its DEAD easy to use and free. Do it right now and you can stargaze at your desk within the hour.

Step 2 is to go outside and try to recognise the asterisms from Stellarium as they lie in the real sky - just with your naked eye.

Step 3 is to buy a pair of 7 x 50 binoculars Don't pay more than £50. These will dramatically increase the number of objects from Stellarium which you can see.

Scan the Internet for the mases and masses of free information about what you're looking at.

So far, you'll have spent almost nothing and will have learn't a lot in a short time. If you're still interested then visit your local Stargazer/Astronomy groups or any observers nearby (advertise here) and go meet them. They will be delighted to show demonstrate their equipment, let you have a go and give you lots of advice - LOL be careful to average it all out :-)

Only then should you even THINK about buying a telescope. You'd still be better off buying some 15x70 binoculars (another £50) and learning more about the sky.

Be clear about one thing: In order to see the kinds of thing you see in photographs you will need to spend a LOT of money!

Steve

[Capricorn]

Agree with Great Bear. The person asked for advice on which scope, not which binoculars.

As to learning the sky. The price they mention is in dollars and the skies outside the main cities in the US are a lot less light polluted then here. So a fair chance that they can see a lot more by eye then we do and so have a pretty good idea of constellations etc.

So far the replies have assumes no knowledge and been told to buy something else that they didn't ask about.

I have a small 70mm scope and it shows a LOT more then any set of binoculars I have and I have 6 to choose from.

[Moonshane]

although I generally agree with the comments re binoculars, the chances are that like most people remotely interested in nature, you'll probably already have a pair. any bins will show you more than the naked eye so use the ones you have.

in terms of a scope if I were you I'd got for something a little larger and more simple eg Dobsonians - Skywatcher Skyliner 150P Dobsonian or the Orion equivalent in the USA.

I bet you'd get one used for about $100. just have some patience and wait for the right one at the right price. this will give a lot more good images than the smaller scope in my view and is also easy to use.

the scope you mention is not a bad scope, it's just that given your obvious interest, I feel you'd get bored with it as your only scope quite quickly and wish you'd gone for more aperture.

good luck with whatever you choose and as others have said, you'll see more than with the naked eye with any scope.

[Steve922]

The OP says he knows nothing about what he wants and is assuming he needs a scope before he can begin. Thus the advice about Stellarium, Binoculars and the Internet. A scope is not necessary to begin Stargazing and a lot of money can be saved by not jumping in nwith the credit card before knowing what you want.

I think its a bad idea buying a scope before you've even looked through one. Doing a bit of observing with local Stargazers seems a good move to me sooner than buying before trying.

Steve

[RayGil]

Hello:

The SkyWatcher 130m is a terrific buy, I have one, and the views are extremely good. If you get one on EQ2 and RA clock drive they are really good for taking pictures with.

They go for reasonable prices, Second User ones, think a new one was a little over your budget?

It was a Sky at Night group test winner for 5" scopes.

Hope that helps?

Ray

[Hiddenharry]

buy that scope! there is nothing wrong with buying a scope as a beginar when i started i had a scope im still new to it all and learning more through a scope than a pair of binocolars and to help you, you should buy this book for beginars its easy and i've got it to its called ''turn left at orion'' its very useful

[brantuk]

Hi Msu - that scope is within your budget and a reasonable start to the hobby. I daresay it won't be long before you want something a bit bigger in aperture but for a starter scope it should be ok so long as it's in good condition. Here's a link to a review/description of it, the online manual, and the types of views it should give you.

Amazon.com: Celestron Firstscope 70EQ 70mm Refractor Telescope: Camera & Photo

Hope that helps

(Brand new they were around $200-$230 but now discontinued)

[LukeSkywatcher]

I dont care if the following comment pisses off more then a few people but i hate all the new GoTo technology wiith scopes.

Astronomy is your hobby.......................at least have the commitment to learn the night sky to be able to find your way around the night sky without blumming technology pointing you in the right direction.

I make NO apologies for being "Old School". Learn the damn night sky and save the info in your brain and dont rely on technology.

Half the damn fun is in the hunt for celestial objects.

[Steve922]

I'm not a fan of GOTO myself but they do seem to be very popular. For me, the thrill is mainly in the chase. They all look pretty much like generic fuzzy blobs anyway to my eyes :-)

Steve

[LukeSkywatcher]

I retract my last comment because it seems to be a bit too upsetting to some and the OP made no mention of a scope with GoTo

My bad.

My apologies all round.

[pvaz]

I started with binos but I don't recommend it. Binos are nice but you'll be hardly impressed.

In fact many people look through my scope and aren't that much impressed, except when they look at Jupiter, or Saturn (and a few others) as most of what you can see are faint fuzzy patches of light.

However to me it's a great hobby and I observe very often, and my nice-mid-sized-comfortable scope along with a nice backyard make it very easy to have some relaxing nights outside.

I would recommend a scope that allows you to sit comfortably while you observe, such as a dobsonian or an elevated alt-az mount with any other scope on it. Nothing worst than having your knees on the cold floor at night.

As far as aperture, a 6" to 8" reflector shouldn't be too cumbersome and will allow you to see both planets and DSOs.

If you can afford goto without cutting down on aperture then get it. It's nice to have the option although I prefer to starhop and learn the sky, but somedays you feel lazy.

Under heavy light pollution it's almost a must as starhoping is nearly impossible when you can only see a few stars (as in less then 100).

[great_bear]

That hits the nail on the head for me.

Whilst some have unrealistic expectations, I still find Saturn leaves people stunned and excited, and you'll never get that in binos, nor that feeling of really "exploring" the moon.

In fact, when a family friend told her Sailing Club about the remarkable views of Saturn that I showed her in my Mak 180, they simply didn't believe her. They thought she was exaggerating or making it up or somesuch.

[RayGil]

I agree, I do use Binoculars for spotting objects to train the scope onto, but unless you have a tripod and large binoculars they are not very good for the beginner, I think you would quickly become disillusioned with the hobby.

Ray

[dmahon]

I'm another newcomer. I just posted this elsewhere, but it seems reasonable to repeat it here:

My binoculars arrived yesterday and the sky was clear so I went out around 22:30. I could make out a lot of detail on the moon and I could also see Juipiter and 3 moons (Io, Europa and Callisto). I thought for a moment that I could see Gannymede, but it was close to Jupiter and unfortunately the binoculars shake around significantly - I suspect that I now need to buy a tripod to make much use of them. I'm also worried that with a standard (cheap) tripod I won't be able to get much elevation and be able to position myself comfortably with the eyepieces.

All this is going to dent my "telescope fund" a little - I'm starting to think I shouldn't have bothered with the binoculars!

[great_bear]

I'm also worried that with a standard (cheap) tripod I won't be able to get much elevation and be able to position myself comfortably with the eyepieces.

You'd be right too. The trick with binoculars is to lie on a sun lounger. Needless to say, this is not the kind of thing you want to be doing in a public park in the middle of the night, but it's the most comfortable way.

Keeping a cheap tripod attached to the binos with the tripod lying across your stomach and legs whilst you lie down and look up, adds a surprising amount of stability.

But otherwise, yes, binoculars + camera tripod = BAD combination.

[yeti monster]

There's plenty of used bargains going on fleabay these days, you are bound to find one near to you, which could enable you to assess its viability. Look for known marques such as TAL, Celestron, Sky Watcher, Orion Optics etc.

Post links and ask Qs. We're unlikey to 'steal' a lot if you mention your interest.

A modest set of binos to compliment the scope and to pop outside occasionally (for ISS etc.) is a good idea.

[Steve922]

You can improve your binos stability by a magnitude with a simple adjustable line prop. Main objection is that nothing for a pound can be any good at all! :-)

Steve

[Steve922]

My binoculars arrived yesterday .... ....I could also see Juipiter and 3 moons

What bins were these?

Steve

[dmahon]

What bins were these?

Steve

The Celestron 15x75 that FLO has on offer at the moment and everyone said was a very good deal.