Need recommendation for beginner telescope

Re: I want to buy a Telescope... What brand or type do you recommend?
There are many websites dedicated to helping people decide on a telescope. Cloudynights.com is a good place to start. You have to decide on what type of telescope fits your needs best. Price is only one consideration. Ask yourself several questions such as; Is the telescope for strictly astronomical observation ? Or will it be for terrestrial observation as well. This will help you decide on the type of telescope to buy. Do you live in the city where light pollution could be a problem ? In which case a good "grab and go" telescope would be a good choice. Then there's price. DO NOT buy a cheap telescope ! ( You'll find out why 5 minutes after you bring it home !). Meade, Orion, or Celestron among others are good quality telescopes for the money. A small higher quality telescope beats a larger poor quality telescope any day ( or night ). An option you may want to consider is a used telescope. You can find many larger higher quality telescopes for less money. ( Many times these telescopes are like new after sitting in a closet for years !) Another thing to remember is that the human eye has limitations as do many telescopes. You aren't going to see things like are shown in the astronomy magazines for the aforementioned reason. Which is why so many sit gathering dust in closets. I could go on and on. Many books have been written on just the question you ask. My suggestion is is to buy the best you can afford. No matter which telescope you decide on they are all pretty much useless if it's cloudy or raining. Also winter observing can be great if you prepare for the cold properly. And lastly; accessories of which lenses are the most important ! Don't get me started ! An Orion catalog answers many questions I highly suggest you pick one up or visit their website. I have three telescopes and accessories up the wazoo ! Each Has a purpose and each is different. I only wish I had more time when the "seeing" conditions are just right to use them!

DF, the search function here should land many prev threads

Posted this to another thread:

Binoculars and a good star atlas, learn the sky then get a "better" scope....that's my 30+ year of stargazing recommendation
Quoting: Anonymous Coward 42955534



If you have never used a scope then these are the 2 books I recommend

"Sky Atlas, for Small Telescopes and Binoculars" by David S. and Billie E. Chandler

the other

"Turn Left at Orion" by Guy Consolmango and Dan M. Davis

the best Beginner books I've seen, and I still use them today...kind of a "find this...swing left too this, now up to this...and so on...dials ya right in.

Thanks for the post BB... Yeah, I saw those threads.

I've spent quite a few hours looking over all of possible options and it's mind-numbing to say the least. Skinny one, reflector, etc? WTF?

What do you use?

Peace.

Thanks! I'll be certain to read them.

Peace.

the main thing is not to get "discouraged"...no matter what any "salesman" claims their scope will "do", using just the naked eye, Saturn looks like a black & white "cartoon"

you WILL NOT SEE "Hubble" type images so don't get your hopes up.

Thanks for the tip! I'm kinda out in the country and don't have a store that specializes in this (that I know of), so I'll most likely be purchasing it online. I just didn't want to buy a telescope only to find out it's not cut out for X or Y.

Peace.

any collages close by or maybe a high school...check for a astronomy club and see if they are having a "Star" party...go and see what others in your area are using...it WILL be time well spent.

Been thinking about one of these myself OP.

Suggestion.....which is what I'm considering.....find a used one.
You can get a lot more for your money and they have very little use in most cases.
Meade, Orion and Celestron seem to be the quality scopes.

Most excellent idea!

That's a really good idea. I think you're right on about those brands... lots of positive reviews.

Peace.