MnAstro Forums

hello! my daughter would like to get into stargazing/planets - there are so many telescope choices-
Reflector vs Refractor?
could someone point me in the right direction?

THANK YOU!!!

It's too bad the beginner sessions are over for the year--you could try out all kinds of telescopes.

How old is your daughter? What is your budget?

she is 13 and i didn't want to spend more than 500- is that possible for a good one?

That's easily within budget for a good one.

Orion StarBlast 4.5 Astro Reflector Telescope $250 base price. This is the basis for the Library Telescope program. It's a tabletop Dobsonian reflector.

6-inch ones start at $500.

A great way to get familiar with telescopes is to borrow from the loaner program. It’s free for members.

Darcy,

Not surprisingly, this topic has come up before. Here's a link to posts from last year.

https://forum.mnastro.org/viewtopic.php?t=13049

Here’s a list of what to look for in any telescope.
1- A strong, stable mount
2- A clock drive to follow the sky
3- “Large” aperture, light gathering
4- Focal length (magnification ability)
5- Ease of use, portability

For the first time user and to simplify this, I would narrow this list to include:
1- Stable mount
2- Ease of use

A small Newtonian or Dobsonian telescope would be a good start. As Deane mentioned, these are available through our loaner program available to MAS members. https://www.mnastro.org/membership/scope-program/, or the library scope program Kris mentioned.

As someone who has a dozen telescopes myself, I can definitely see the appeal of wanting your own telescope. However, be careful to not fall prey to the "department store" scopes that make big promises but are typically poor quality, shaky and hard to use.

Merle

The small tabletop dob Kris mentioned is a nice scope. You do need a solid table to set it on.
I bought a telescope last summer that someone had bought for her daughter, but it was too big for the daughter to move. They do make a smaller version, though, that might work for you. There's one on sale in facebook marketplace right now, an Orion XT4.5. No idea of the condition: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/it ... 703188201/

That one looks pretty dusty on the outside, but that can be cleaned. I just checked Orion www.telescope.com for the XT4.5 and it looks like they are not selling it right now. Smallest "ground mounted" Dob currently appears to be the XT6 at $499. That's a bummer, although the XT6 is a good starter scope. But again, so is the StarBlast 4.5 as long as you either have a stable table or some woodworking ability to make a sort of tripod platform for it.

I'm guessing it's dusty because it hasn't been used. If the mirrors look ok, might be worth picking up. It's been for sale for 10 weeks--the seller may be motivated to make a deal.

I would buy the one listed for sale on this very forum. Ask one of us how to set it up. This style mount is often called a 'hobby killer' if you never ask how to use it. Ask, and understand it a bit, and it is a great mount.

gna wrote: ↑Sun Nov 06, 2022 10:51 am They do make a smaller version, though, that might work for you. There's one on sale in facebook marketplace right now, an Orion XT4.5. No idea of the condition: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/it ... 703188201/

The XT 4.5 is not a smaller version. Same aperture, but longer focal length so longer tube. I know because I've had one since Valentine's Day 2006 (happened to be the date of delivery).

FF2Rydia wrote: ↑Sun Nov 06, 2022 7:41 pm

gna wrote: ↑Sun Nov 06, 2022 10:51 am They do make a smaller version, though, that might work for you. There's one on sale in facebook marketplace right now, an Orion XT4.5. No idea of the condition: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/it ... 703188201/

The XT 4.5 is not a smaller version. Same aperture, but longer focal length so longer tube. I know because I've had one since Valentine's Day 2006 (happened to be the date of delivery).

I was referring to the telescope I bought that was too big--it is an XT6. The XT4.5 is smaller than an XT6, half the weight and shorter tube...

Celestron is selling a 'starsense' version of a dobsonian... It has a holder for your cell phone so you can use it to point the scope via the camera. Kind of a neat idea.

I didn't see the smaller tubes but the 8" was like 799.

They have a 130 AZ Star Sense Newtonian for $479: https://www.celestron.com/products/star ... r-dx-130az
No idea how solid the mount is.

gna wrote: ↑Wed Nov 09, 2022 7:14 pm They have a 130 AZ Star Sense Newtonian for $479: https://www.celestron.com/products/star ... r-dx-130az
No idea how solid the mount is.

That one I believe is pretty decent. I've seen some people at BSIG observing events with that model and it worked pretty well.

There are three general levels of the Starsense Explorer line. The two scopes in the lowest level, the LT 80AZ and the LT 114AZ I would not recommend based on their lightweight mounts. The optics of the LT 80AZ are actually good for the cost. But the LT 114AZ is a Jones-Bird Newtonian design in addition to having a lightweight mount.I don't recommend Jones-Bird scopes because of the spherical aberration in the image. (Stars near the edge of the field of view are streaks. Reminds me of Star Trek ships flying at warp speed.)

The middle level, the DX 130AZ reflector and DX 102AZ refractor have slightly beefier mounts including slow motion controls and both are good for their price range. The 130AZ is a normal 130mm, 650mm focal length f/5 Newtonian. There is also a Popular Science by Celestron DX 100AZ refractor which is in this middle range with an Alt-Az mount with slow motion controls.

One kind of in the upper-middle that I really like is the Popular Science by Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 5" Schmidt Cassegrain. It is essentially a C5 OTA on an Alt-Az mount with slow motion controls. Before this one came out, I essentially made an equivalent to it with a used C5 OTA and my Synta AZ-4 Alt-Az mount, and it is surprisingly fun to use that in the backyard to quickly view objects.

The most capable StarSense Explorer scopes are the StarSense Explorer 8" and 10" Dobsonian scopes. Both are typical Dob's with the normal easy to use Dob feel and 8" or 10" aperture. One of the magazines just reviewed these and liked them. The only complaint was that the red dot finder is mounted on the far side of the OTA and therefore is hard to use. But then, you only use it for the initial task of lining up your smart phone "finder" with the scope, and after that you use the phone and the app to do all the finding, so it isn't that big of an issue.

BradNasset wrote: ↑Sun Nov 06, 2022 6:48 pm I would buy the one listed for sale on this very forum. Ask one of us how to set it up. This style mount is often called a 'hobby killer' if you never ask how to use it. Ask, and understand it a bit, and it is a great mount.

Brad, I think you are referring to this Tasco 114mm reflector, aren't you? viewtopic.php?t=13732 I don't want to sabotage John's sale, but in my opinion it is an "ok" but not a great mount as it is pretty lightweight.

BradNasset wrote: ↑Sun Nov 06, 2022 6:48 pm I would buy the one listed for sale on this very forum. Ask one of us how to set it up. This style mount is often called a 'hobby killer' if you never ask how to use it. Ask, and understand it a bit, and it is a great mount.

Brad, I'm surprised you didn't recommend the Astronomers Without Borders OneSky reflector scope, since you have one and have recommended it in the past. It has increased in price to $250 since its initial introduction at $200. https://shop.astronomerswithoutborders. ... -telescope

A few years ago Sky & Telescope reviewed it, and had a lot of praise for it.