Buying a first telescope ...

Hi,

i want to buy a telescope to look at our moon and neighbouring planets with. Is there anyone here with experience in such things who could advise me ?

I don't want to spend more than about £300 ($500).


Any help greatly appreciated,

QV.

Celestron is always a good choice for amateur astronomers.


You can get a great telescope for about $500.

Trust me.

I would actually buy a good pair of binoculars if you're starting out. They are easy to use and very portable. The old adage that the best telescope is the one you'll actually use definitely applies. Give this article a look for some ideas:

Binoculars for Astronomy

Thank you both

Good question

I own a telescope and don't know how to use it. I mean I get the basics but I don't know what lenses
are for what.

Mine is a Tasco . When I bought it the cost was around 130.00 and is now selling for 170.00.

I wish someone would show me how to use it. All I've been able to see is the moon but it is so big and bright I can't look at it for long.

reply to post by azureskys


I use binoculars but I can't hold them still enough or long enough

I did get to view the Andromeda Galaxy with them though. It was exciting

Lots on Google about how to use a telescope :

*** EDIT ***

Google link didn't work, i just googled 'how to use a telescope'.

Toromos, what do you think of these binoculars ? They seem ok after reading the article you linked to and i can't believe how cheap they are for a recognised brand here in the UK :

www.ebay.co.uk... 8


Thanks,

QV.

reply to post by azureskys


Try looking at a site called Oriontelescopes they do sell stands for binoculars that might be of assistance to you. I myself have a 100mm refractor and and 8 in reflector newtonian. The 8 in I haven't used in years because it's too big and heavy and I have a bad back nowdays. On that site they also sell moon filters to cut down on the brightness and increase contrast that just spin on over your lenses. A quality telescope is a great investment, many nights wandering the heavens.

reply to post by qvision

Thanks
I should have thought of that. :@@ I'll check it out !


Thank you too jaynkeel
Going there Now

reply to post by qvision


I think those are a very acceptable pair of beginning binoculars. The magnification is a little high, 20x. Oddly enough the higher the magnification, the less light will get to your eyepiece. Higher magnification is great for picking out details on the moon, but it will diminish the total amount of what you will be able to see. You might look for 10x50 binoculars.

As you get more experienced you may want to buy a set with a larger aperture, which is the diameter of the front lens. A bigger aperture lets in more light, and you will see more and distance things. the problem with these of course is they can be a bear to drag around.

Just as an aside, by "seeing" things, you will not get hubble quality images. Objects in the binocs will still be points of light for the most part. You will see, for example, the largest of Jupiter's moons, and double star systems, (where to the naked eye it looks like a single system), but they are still points of light, and not detailed. It's still fun and I wish you good luck.

reply to post by qvision


Here's a short article on the filters you're going to need, by Brian Ventrudo.

www.oneminuteastronomer.com...