Im looking to purchase a telescope and need advice...(ASTRO, TBAR OR ANYBODY WITH HELPFUL INSIGHT)

An 8 inch CAT if you want to move it often.
Stores in a small space and good price with lots of options available.

10 inch CAT is about as big as you can move.

Check out cloudynightsDOTcom.

Thanks for responding...
When you talk about options, are you reffering to a cpu that you can use to help in locating via coordinates, and also a camera?

Ill check it out real quick..Thanks!

Price Range?

Go to an Astronomy Club near you and look at their telescopes. Even join them, and look at the different telescopes.

You can spend any amount of money on a telescope you want to.

I'm a big fan of refractors ever since I owned my first as a child. They are so very simple to use. They have plenty of negatives such as cost and length, but in many ways they are the ultimate telescope.

I covet the refractors at D & G Optical. They are serious equipment......with a semi-serious price tag.

If you are very smart and meticulous (a physics degree would suggest smart) you might consider building your own scope. You can grind mirrors for reflectors....and if you study very hard you can grind refractors, too.

It's really about your budget. If you have less than say $500 to spend then I'm not real sure you'll go wrong with anything. Reflectors get you more power for your money and more headache. Refractors (in practice) often give better images and set up quickly.

Call me old school, but I'm not a fan of CATs. I like a lot of focal length and not a lot of complicated internals.

Which reminds me that few mainstream refractors have a good focal length. 12 or 15 is considered ideal. That gets to be a problem when you go over six inches of lens as far as the size and expense of the mount and stand go.

Its not the price so much that I am worried about I dont mind spending the money, IjusI would like a great product that is not the "average joe's" telescope...
If that makes sense..

Thats great advice, thank you so much for responding. I will do some research. Thanks "old school"!

I will definately look into that! Thanks!

[link to www.telescope.com]

I am not sure if you know what you are talking about with price.

[link to www.scopecity.com]

Just a couple of places, since mirrors are made in China, Russia, or probably the higher priced ones in Japan.

If you have an American do it then you will pay the price, but it may turn out better.

[link to www.parksoptical.com]

[link to www.obsessiontelescopes.com]

Just a few with the last one American made.

Also there is Meade Telescopes made probably now in Mexico

[link to www.meade.com]

Afterall Trinity (owner of this forum) bought a $35000 20" Meade on a Monster Mount (Catrioptic - Cassegrain type)

and some solar telescopes and another one I forget what that is though.

Just a few.

Meade

No...

he was referring to folded optics and a short telescope.

You're talking about bells and whistles.

WOW! Great info! I really appreciate it!

[link to www.backyardvoyager.com]

and there is also:

[link to www.astromart.com]

Find a local astronomy club. They love enthusiastic beginners and may have a used scope to sell you. Check for one at local colleges, museums or if you are lucky to have one; a planetarium.

I understand. Thanks for the clarification... What are some of the bells and whistles that are available? And are those bells and whistles available on both CAT and Refracting?

Stellarvue APO.

Awesome! Thanks!!!

telescope Trinity bought:

[link to www.meade.com]

I definately will!
Thanks

Don't waste your money. If you want to see saturn look up Hubble or Mount Palomar photos on the internet. They are 100X the resolution you'll get with even the biggest and most expensive scope you can afford.

Why piss away thousands or tens of thousands when you can see it all and more in crystal clear digital clarity for free?

Sort of my old (now) telescope, except I have a Cave Astrola mount yet I can use, and a 10" Meade mirror reflector. Yes, it still works because the mirror is quartz coated, and I did not use it for awhile. Bought a long time ago, but still, the mount will wear and the telescope will also wear.

Depends how you treat it I suppose in the end.

[link to www.backyardvoyager.com]

Not made anymore (mount or a Cave Astrola Telescope). I think he died.

WOW! So sick!!!!!!
Its about $30,0000 more than I am looking to spend.
I have about a 5k ceiling, granted Im not going out looking to spend that or anything, thats just the max.

Why look through a telescope? Because there is no feeling looking at the night sky and looker closer at deep-sky objects or the planets on that night.

Get a computerized telescope or else you will be hunting and pecking like amateurs long ago (well not that long ago just some 30-20-10 years back.)

I understand where you are coming from, I just want to explore the cosmos for myself if that makes sense?...I mean this is what I am in school for and will be my future, so It would seem beneficial to me to have my own scope...

I will definately look into that. Is that fall under and add on or option or is that a particular type of scope?

Parks Optical sells telescopes like mine. And yes, the rotating bearing, and standing or sitting down with the reflector makes it better and more comfortable to use it, but I guess a Cassagrain (short-focus) telescope is about the same except for the tri-pod used to hold it. (it don't work as well at least to me.)

My telescope (close enough nowdays except mine is a f/6 ratio not an f/5 reflector.)

[link to www.parksoptical.com]

Don't waste your money on a schmit cat. Get a refractor. Spend the money on a big tube and lenses.

You will love space as apposed to getting mad at atmospheric refraction.

Lens quality overrides big mirrors.

Last Edited by Borian on 09/04/2012 10:44 PM

Most telescopes have a computer program nowadays (better ones) that will move the telescope to the object provided you set it up right. Even Dobsonians (which you just plop down) you aim at a couple of stars (maybe three at the most) so the computer can set itself, and then you enter what you want to look at on the keypad.

Orion telescopes have those, Parks Optical are not.

Mine is not.

Most telescopes have that option (but there are others since it adds to the cost and those are like the old telescopes.)