Newbie looking for suggestions

[Hizelks]

Hello everyone,
I am looking to buy a telescope and have no clue where to begin. I would like to get a telescope under $300 and am looking for suggestions on features or models to buy. I understand the rule of "you get what you pay for" will probably apply but I would like to get a scope that works well.

Thoughts on this one?
http://www.hayneedle.com/sale/zhumellec ... i_23393768

Thanks,
Justin

[clayton]

I think there are better choices out there. Hopefully you'll get some replies on this. There's a thread or two on first telescopes in the forums. However read http://www.scopereviews.com/begin.html and tehere's a similar articles all about the web.

My quick comments on equipment.
Binoculars first because you can use them for more than astronomy.
Membership in the MAS to benefit from the loaner program. Try before you buy.
Determine the type of observing you want to do, different scopes for different purposes.
Buy used for a significant discount ( know the market values, there are some overpriced items out there --especially on craigslist.)

[Ricola]

Justin,

Speaking from my personal experience since getting back into the hobby about a year and a half ago, yours is not a question with a simple answer. There is a large variety of telescopes out there, and yes, you do sorta get what you pay for. The trick is knowing what you want to do with your gear, and paying for the features and benefits you will use the most.

You have identified a budget ($300 or less). I am confident you can get a good beginner scope kit in that price range.

When I was looking, here are the steps that I took:

1) I suggest that you consider trying out a few scopes in that price range before buying. Visit Eagle Lake Observatory during one of our Public nights, and check out the scopes the club has installed there. Also, often many members bring their own gear along to use and show off. They are usually more than happy to show off their stuff and talk about its pluses and minuses.

2) I joined the MAS (the membership fees are about 10% of your budget, if you are not already a member) and started attending as many meetings and BSIG (Beginners Special Interest Group) gatherings as I could. I learned far more from the members and speakers at those meetings than I could have by reading or inter web research alone.

3) As an MAS member, I borrowed 3 or 4 different loaner scopes to try out in my back yard (loaner scopes are free to members) and get a feel for what I wanted to do with Astronomy.

4) I visited Radio City, our best (and to my knowledge, only) local telescope shop, to see what they carry (both new and used gear)

5) I learned that for me, there is no one right answer. For quick and portable viewing, I still prefer my binoculars. For a long, dedicated night of observing, or for my basic forays into imaging, I head out to one of the MAS facilities and use their gear, which is better than I can afford and bigger than I have room for. and for my own private observing sessions, I settled on a "push-to" Dobsonian mounted scope, unguided, with no electronics, because I felt that it gave me the most "bang for my buck", providing a stable viewing experience while showing me more of the deep sky objects that I like to view than a similarly-priced electronic scope would allow.

Instead of rushing out and buying the first scope I could afford, this year-and-a-half long process led me to a scope I am much happier with, and allowed me a little time to save up more money that I would have originally budgeted.

Your decision may end up differently than mine, but I hope you have as much fun as I did while making it.

Clear Skies!

[Hizelks]

Thanks for the help! Looks like I've got a lot of researching and learning to do.
Justin

[Enberg]

To add to what Ric said above, the MAS Beginner's Special Interest Group (B-Sig) is especially to help newcomers learn! Two of the sessions are dedicated to telescope designs, pros and cons of each type, etc. This Saturday (8/17) there's a B-Sig meeting, with the topic of planetary observing.

Also, we have Fall Astronomy Day coming up in early October, where a lot of members will have their personal scopes as well as the club scopes at Eagle Lake - If I were you I would plan to wait until then and see/try a lot of different scopes and ask people what they like about their scopes. In the meantime, keep an eye out for used scopes being sold by club members to other members - we typically sell good scopes to each other. We typically have a "gear swap" in January, and one at our Star Party (Northern Nights Star Fest) in early September this year.

And first and last, like Ric said, invest in binoculars to start. I use my binoculars more than my telescopes, and even when I have a scope out, I also have my binocs and use them to help locate targets!

[Hizelks]

Hi again,
I'm heading out of town tomorrow morning otherwise I'd go to that meeting. I'm trying to figure out what type of scope would be best in regards to the light pollution. I live in Maple Grove. Is anyone else in here from around my area and would have a suggestion on type?

Thanks
Justin

[afterlife]

there's really isn't a specific type of scope that is better in light polluted areas. however the more aperature a scope has the more light it takes in. so an 8" scope has more light gathering ability than a 6" and will allow you to see fainter objects. however the scope will also gather more light pollution! lol so it's sort of a catch 22. I live in Delano which is close to maple grove and has light polluted horizons. I only use a 5" celestron and can see plenty of deep sky objects with it. In your case you might want to start with a minimum of 6". a few things to help reduce light pollution and see fainter objects would be to find the darkest viewing spot that you can.(or you can also travel a bit to a darker spot like a field). Also spend less time viewing things closer to the horizon as they are the most effected by pollution. for this reason you may want to look into a dobsinian mount as they are much easier to view things high up or near zenith as opposed to an equatorial mount which is difficult to view high objects. Wait until about midnight or so.This is when the sky starts reaching it's darkest. The sky is darkest halfway through sun down and sun up when the sun is directly underneath us. There are also some filters designed to help with light pollution, however i have never tried one. from some research i've done it sounds like they may help for viewing certain objects and others may be hindered by it. but it's always something you could try down the road. -good luck in your decisions

[David R. Brandt]

My 20 cents worth (inflation you know).

I think the hardest part of being a beginner is finding things in the sky. Therefore, I recommend a Meade ETX or something similar. The tube and tripod is very portable. It has a semi-automated alignment and after that you can select what you want to see on the hand controller. It can also be connected to a computer and operated with free programs like Stellarium.

[SEmert]

Inflation aside, I'd suppose my advice is still only worth 2 cents...

I agree the hardest thing when you're starting out is actually finding the objects. Whatever scope you go for, you really need a zero power finder. It can be a Telrad (ideal for larger scopes), a Rigel QuickFinder (a little harder to use but fits nicely with smaller scopes), or any of the red dot finders (often less expensive, but doesn't have the advantage of providing the target circles that can aid in star hopping). They open up the skies like no magnifying optical finder can do... not that optical finder scopes are bad or aren't useful; they are. But for me they help primarily with finding dimmer objects once I'm already in the area.

Whether the Meade ETX is the "best" beginner scope or not may be open to personal preference and personal physiology. The ETXs are generally well known for having very good optics, but also very small knobs that are placed close to each other. If you have big fingers and/or use gloves a lot while observing, the small knobs can be maddening. For that reason, alternatives like the Celestron NexStar line http://www.celestron.com/astronomy/seri ... pes/?cat=4 may be more appropriate.

I'd also agree that for visual use in viewing deep sky objects you should get at least 6" of aperture. Small refractors are beautiful, especially APOs, providing crisper images without the effects of diffraction in SCTs (reduced contrast) and in Newts/Dobs (reduced contrast and diffraction spikes), but less aperture means dimmer views of DSOs and fewer DSOs that are available to the visual observer.

Not that you can't do very well with less aperture. In my first Messier Marathon, I found 65 objects with my first scope, a 5.1" Newt on an EQ-2 mount (Orion ST-130). But coming back to the original comment about finders, I was ready to ditch that scope when I only had the supplied 6x30 finder. It was only when I bought the Rigel QuickFinder that I began to be able to find DSOs easily with the scope.

[Enberg]

Adding to what Steve said about finders, my first scope was a hand-me-down 4.5" f8 newt on a wobbly tripod, with a 5x25 plastic "finder scope" with the mounting column installed wrong so the finder could not be properly aligned. After a couple months with the BSig and getting to know a few people enough to ask for help, I brought the scope to an Onan A-Day and the B-Sig coaches (Dave and Merle at the time) helped me 1. get the scope set up properly and aligned and collimated, and 2. get a line of kids looking at Saturn through my scope. I realized that my scope wasn't junk, I just didn't know how to use it. Over the next year, I put the optical tube on a sturdy home-built dobson mount, replaced the junk finder with a Rigel Quick-Finder (unit finder with bulls-eye) as Steve mentioned, and suddenly it was not just an ok scope, but one that I have used a lot for observing, learning, and outreach. I spent my money on eyepieces too, once the scope was working well for me as far as aiming it and having a sturdy mount. You may be able to make your $300 last a long time if you get a decent used or hand-me-down scope! You'll pay a lot for electronics to get a go-to scope though, but that will help you find things you can't see with the naked eye if you observe in low-contrast (light polluted) skies. If you are interested in doing AL Observing Programs, most of the beginner ones expressedly require you to use manual finding of objects, not Go-To.

[heinerv]

Another option on looking for a scope. The club has two loaner scopes positioned at Cherry Grove. They stay there and are available on a first come first use basis. One is an 8" dob, the other a 10" dob. Also available at Cherry Grove are star maps. So you can try them out at CG along with looking at other scopes members bring and get a good idea on what type to buy.