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Greetings

Dobson

By Dobson
in Welcome

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SuperMassive

SuperMassive

Posted
Posted

Hi there, I would also recommmend a pair of binos (almost any pair you can get your hands on) and a planisphere (so that you can find out what you are looking at) to start with. :)

If you like what you see then look at the info in these forums, ask questions, and take it from there! :(

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stolenfeather

stolenfeather

Posted
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Welcome to this forum and for opening the doors to an exciting passion! What kind of telescope? This depends on many factors such as price, what interests you more planets of deep sky objects. What I would do is invest in some books and to give yourself a try with binoculars before goping in for the plunge and purchasing expensive equipment. I must warn you though,.. one the leap is made,.... there is no turning back!

Isabelle

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JamesM

JamesM

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Hi John and welcome to the forum.

Good advice from those above. All I would add is that you take your time, the stars aren't going anywhere. To that end, what will really help your research and decision making is to actually have a look through a scope in order that you can establish your own benchmark as to how best to meet your own expectations. All the facts and figures won't mean a thing unless you have some experience upon which to hang them on and to then compare. Try and contact your local astro society/club or local observing group to find out when they are next performing an observation evening. This is also a great opportunity to ask questions and to try out different types of scopes and to see some of these toys in the flesh - some of which are very large indeed. By all means ask questions here and hopefully the whole lot together will help you build a picture of what will best suit your needs.

Clear skies in the meantime!

James

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nexus21

nexus21

Posted
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Hi john and welcome

I would say just avoid toy/department stores where their scopes blag 500x 600x. choose a dedicated binocular/telescope store and you will more than be happy with what you purchase.

Andrew

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brantuk

brantuk

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Hi John and welcome to SGL :hello2:

My advice is don't rush into getting a scope. I spent 3 months reading up and learning about them before I got my first one - time well invested. In the meantime a pair of 10x50 binocs and a copy of "Stellarium" is a great way to start learning the sky. Sky at Night and Astronomy Now magazines are also great sources of info.

Enjoy the forum !

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stumids

stumids

Posted
Posted

Hi Dobson, welcome to SGL.

Firstly, good choice choosing this forum. I'm a complete newbie and after spending 6 months with a pair of binoculars beofre recently purchasing my first scope, I whole heartedly agree with those far more knowledge people that have advised above.

When I recently chose my scope I set myself a budget and then began researching which scope would be best for me. Due to the position of my house and terraced garden I have restricted views so I had to be able to change the location of the scope to suit. Having the ability to easily transport the scope would be essential to if I was going to get the best out of it! Also, having very limited knowledge of stars, planets etc I decided to have 'goto' capabilities. Then I began researching scope reviews and visited forums like this to find out which scope would be best for me. Eventually I chose which scope I wanted (revised my budget :hello2:) and just went for it.

Happy viewing :hello2:

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li'l john

li'l john

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Posted

Hi and welcome. Choosing a scope can be bewildering because there's so much choiice, and some scopes are better for one thing and not so good for another. You need to know what you want to observe, a budget and don't forget storage/portability. Astro Baby has a good post called "Have you seen the size of that?" which will really open your eyes re size and weight. Best of luck.

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