starter scope

[Smeghead]

what would you say is a good, cheap starter scope ?

going to ask my folks for one for christmas but i have no idea what to look for.

thanks

[Bizibilder]

How much of your money can we spend?

[Smeghead]

as little as possible !

but seriously, i'd want a scope that i can use and enjoy until i can afford a really good one.

i have no idea what prices scopes run at, or what to look for.

make any (sensible) suggestions please

[Merlin66]

The decision on the scope is only 30% of the problem....

the rest is the mounting for the scope....

For an absolute beginner I'd suggest a refractor (no collimation issues etc etc) and a medium sized equitorial mount. The Celestron/ Skywatcher 102 scope and an EQ3 mount come to mind.

[li'l john]

I'm in a similar position, a newbie looking for a first scope. Finding it isn't simple, what do you want to look at? If you're like me it's everything. Of course no scope seems to do everything (at a low price anyway) so I had to compromise somewhere-for me it is portability that I shall compromise. Anyway, i thought that the TAL-1 110mm reflector at £200, the Skywatcher Heritage 130P reflector at £130 or less and the Skywatcher Star Travel 80 at £115 were all strong contenders for the beginner. There are many others which would fit the bill as well, you need to decide on things like portability, ease of set up, maintenance etc. Google something like "Small telescopes", lots of good advice comes up.I hope this helps, Best of luck.

[iamjulian]

To get the best advice from people here, you are better stating an actual budget. That said, I'd suggest you forget about a budget scope and get yourself a pair of binoculars. You can still see a heck of a lot with them, easily take them to a dark sight, have them "set up" and ready to observe in seconds, and you can start learning the night sky while you save up for a scope.

[Demonperformer]

Might be worth checking out the "for sale" forum, if you reach 50 posts before you make a purchase.

[sixela]

As little as possible!

but seriously, I'd want a scope that I can use and enjoy until I can afford a really good one.

If you can afford a 6" Dob or an 8" Dob (200 GBP and 300 GBP respectively, usually) then you'll be using it forever.

It's when you don't have the budget for these and/or if your preferences go towards a tracking mount that things become more difficult.

But you have told is neither the budget nor your preferences (how you're planning to transport it, what you're going to look at, how long you think your observation sessions might be, whether you plan to observe alone or with someone else,...) so the thread is doomed to just contain posts with names of scopes and few pointers that allow you to make a rational choice.

As a pre-emptive measure: "I want to look at everything, I want it to track, I want GoTo, I don't want it to cost too much, and oh, by the way, I'd also like to take pictures" isn't a statement of preferences, it's an attempt to let others square the circle for you. Especially on a budget, you need to think hard about what is important and what is not.

[You can't be Sirius]

This months Sky at Night magazine has reviews on a few starter scopes, I guess done with Christmas in mind. It's worth buying a copy if your budget is in the £100 - £150 bracket.

[garethmob]

iv hered really good reviews on tal -1 110 an usally there seems to go quite cheaply on ebay and being russian they seem to be built like a tank when i had a play with one few days ago

[Astro_Baby]

Be wary of older TAL-1s though - they acne be problematic for a beginner.

Depends on a lot on factors outside of the technicalities of the telescope - cheif among these are;

1/ How much you want to spend ?

2/ What do you want to look at ?

3/ Where do you live (city, suburbs, countryside)

4/ In what do you live ? Do you have a garden ? Dark sky site nearby ?

5/ Will you need to travel to use the scope ? If so how will you transport ?

6/ How much time do you have available for your new hobby ? (if its 10 minutes a month you probably need GoTo which adds mightiliy to the cost - if you have all night every night and have a garden its probably less important )

7/ If you transport the scope how much weight can you carry / do you want to carry ?

8/ Do you have storage space in mind

You kind of need to know the answers to these before its really possible to advise in my view.