Help with telescopes.

I am going to uni soon so would like to get into astronomy just as a hobby. I will ask over at a science place about the big star gazer telescopes however I was wondering if the members who frequent in this board could help me. I'm interested in getting a smaller more portable telescope. More of a compact, draw telescope. I have no experience in scopes so what would you recommend that's cheap and I could maybe fit in my pocket or if not in a small pouch I could keep in the car? I figured you would be the sub forum to turn to for this knowledge. It can't really be expensive as ill be a broke uni student in no time sadly.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you, Harry.

Originally posted by Blue Goblin
I'm interested in getting a smaller more portable telescope. More of a compact, draw telescope. I have no experience in scopes so what would you recommend that's cheap and I could maybe fit in my pocket or if not in a small pouch I could keep in the car?

Compact telescopes that small and cheap are useless.
Get some binoculars instead. You'll see so much more than some shhhhty compact telescope.
Also, one of the most important parts of any telescope setup is the mount. That immediately rules out any option of "compactness" in astronomy.

"In many ways, binoculars prove superior to a telescope for those starting out in astronomy."
astronomy.com

"Beginning stargazers often overlook binoculars, but experienced observers keep them close at hand. "
skyandtelescope.com

Also, I suggest two star maps:
- A very small and simple "handy reference" for answering basic "what star is that" or "where is Lyra right now?" questions.
- A more detailed one for more complex work.
Edit - actually, even add a simple planisphere to that list. I use mine a lot.

Thank you for the quick reply. What binoculars would you recommend then?

Originally posted by Blue Goblin
Thank you for the quick reply. What binoculars would you recommend then?

Depends how steady your hands are.
Moslty, 10x50 would be the largest you'd want to go. I dont have any right now, but for decades I was using my sister's birdwatching 10x50 binoculars, and I miss them.

But not cheap ones. Like anything in astronomy, quality is important. The guides I linked to give details such as making sure the view is sharp right to the edge of the field of view.

reply to post by alfa1


Thank you the links are very helpful. Especially as I have shakey hands.

Dear ATS Readers, Writers,

Hello BlueGoblin... ah yes.. a past time I used to LOVE to bits. I had a 8" Newtonian... pretty big thing, not like you are wanting. I could see colors on Jupiter with it!!!

Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes are fairly smaller in size, but NOT cheap. As the other poster said.. being able to see decently and cheap do NOT go together.

They do make binoculars for star gazing, they are mondo big things though! BUT, a decent folding tripod and a mount to attach the glasses to the tripod are out there to buy as well...keep you from wiggling around. It will take a while to get the hang of it, as the stars move across the field of view faster than one would think. Ideally it would be a tripod with a hand crank gear set up so you can slowly rotate the glasses to keep your object in the center of the viewing field.

And yes a star chart is essential. One of those round kind, where you slide it around to the date and time, and it gives you what is in the sky at that time.

It is considered one of the coldest hobbies on Earth. When viewing is BEST is in the winter time, when air is more stable; and there you are standing still as can be staring into an eyepiece freezing your buns off..lol.

I want one again someday... really bad! I live in the southern hemisphere now, and I have a whole new sky of stars to be checking out.

My next one WILL be a LARGE Schmidt-Cassegrain (sp?) with a computer and motors on it!! The only way to fly!

The computers are so rad and cuts the searching down to minimum.

Think about the huge binos and a tripod...for your desires.

Pravdaseeker

first, you get a decent planisphere and then a decent star chart , and use your eyes, learn the constellations, and the planets, etc... ..... after that, you upgrade to binocs ...... and then you start learning about the different coordinate systems, and only after that you even start thinking about a telescope......