Recommend me a telescope

I want to see what's up in space such as near by planets and stars. What telescope do you recommend ~$100. I saw some on ebay, but I really have no clue how to narrow down to what I need in order to see stars and planets. Your recommendation(s) is greatly appreciated.

For planetary / lunar viewing just get a common 60mm / 2.4" refractor and have fun. This are the most fool proof and cheapest scope on the market. With a 10mm lens you should easily be able to resolve cloud bands on jupiter and Saturn's rings. The first time you see either through your own scope will be a moment to remember.

Personally I prefer a 3-4" reflector if money is tight, but there's a lot of cheap ones on the market that will require constant fiddling with mirror collimation, etc. A 60mm refractor is pretty bullet proof for newbs.

The advantage though with the reflectors is a lot more light gathering power for the money. A 60mm refractor is pretty limited in what you can look at. When you get into reflectors 4" and bigger you can at least view some of the brighter nebulas, andromeda galaxy, etc.

Go for a well established brand such as Meade or Celestron. Avoid the strange brand/unbranded telescopes such as ones in department stores and some (but not all) of the eBay ones. Get a good sturdy tripod and if you're going to use any real amount of magnification, a spotting scope is a must. You don't need the biggest scope to get a good look at planets, but don't cheap out too much on quality.

I'm not an expert, but I own a few scopes that I enjoy whenever I can. Hopefully someone with more experience can recommend some specific models for you.

I usually recommend binoculars for the first time observer. You can see a lot of thing while learning your way around the night sky and two eye viewing is easier than learning to use just one eye. If you find astronomy is not for you the binoculars are easily used for daytime viewing.

With that said if you still want to start with a telescope then I suggest looking for ease of use and quality. Your interest will quickly wane if you have a high power poor quality scope on a shaky mount. It will take you forever to find something and then you will loose it right away.

$100 won't buy you much but you can get a small starter scope. My first scope was an astroscan ($129) I bought and my wife gave me for Christmas 1975. It is only a 4" reflector but I still use it today because it is so easy to use. My larger scopes require more time to setup.

OK. Time to get off my soapbox and recommend. I would look at the Celestron FirstScope. It is a 3" reflector that comes with two eyepieces. Yes it is small but you will be surprised how much a 3" scope can show you. And for $50 it is hard to beat. I am thinking of getting one myself because I now have an interest in pushing the limit of what I can see with a small scope.

BTW if you live in a light polluted area (I can't believe I am saying this on a flashlight forum) you will only be able to view bright objects like planets, the moon, and stars. You will have to go to dark skies to view faint objects and will need an easily transportable scope - but then you already have one.

The problem I have with these table-top mirrors like the FirstScope is they have really short focal lengths, and mediocre image quality.

A typical refractor is 700-900mm. The Firstscope is 300mm. For planetary viewing and zooming in on moon craters you want magnification, and 300mm makes that awkward unless you use a really tiny lens (< 5mm), or a stack of barlows. The common 2.4 refractor is already long enough to give you some magnification without resorting to eyepieces with pinhole openings you have to squint through.

At one time somebody made a beginner, 3" F12 Mirror, but not sure anymore.

They also lack magnification, and the OP says he's more interested in planetary stuff. My old Jason 2.4 refractor allowed me to watch Callisto's shadow move across the face of jupiter. A shorter scope will have a problem with that.

I also prefer a pair of astronomical binoculars for deep sky wiewing, but the problem is these are rather expensive, and you need super dark skies to really take advantage of them.

I just wish somebody made a longer focal length Mirror.

First let me say that magnification isn't everything. Just like with flashlights brightness isn't everything.

I agree that to see fine detail on planets you need a scope that delivers high contrast and high magnification. And long focal length refractors provide better images than the shorter reflectors. But only if they are high quality refractors. I believe that dollar for dollar a reflector gives better images than a refractor.

So show me a refractor with a stable mount and two eyepieces for under $100 that will give better images than the FirstScope and I will buy it.

dealgrabber2002 said:

I want to see what's up in space such as near by planets and stars. What telescope do you recommend ~$100. I saw some on ebay, but I really have no clue how to narrow down to what I need in order to see stars and planets. Your recommendation(s) is greatly appreciated.

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Sorry, but I wouldn't recommend any for $100. I think you'd do far better by putting the money into a solid, usable set of binoculars. Something like these or these or these would be the absolute minimum quality you'd what to use. Buy some books, learn the skies and enjoy the discovery of the different constellations and so on. If you're dying to see some planets and clusters, join a local astronomy club and go out into the fields with the pros for free views through quality telescopes. Usually these guys are enthusiastically happy to share their hobby and knowledge with someone just getting into it. In the meantime you can save your money and get into a $300-$500 dollar reflector of decent quality if you later chose.

Refractors are fantastically sharp but you really have to spend some bucks for best views. Televue for example will provide a rich and colorful view but they start at around $2000 for their 85mm version. Virtually no refractors under a $1000 is even as good as the top waterproof spotting scopes used for terrestrial viewing like birdwatching and hunting.

In the meantime you can save your money and get into a $300-$500 dollar reflector of decent quality if you later chose.

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Not likely with all the new xp-g lights.

I will look into those binoculars. I am so excited to see the real space instead of all the good pictures online and posters.

If you're truly interested in seeing some of the more faint deep sky objects $100 isn't going to get you there. For some of the simple, neat things like most of the Messier catalog, binoculars actually do decently well. Myself for small portible general use scopes, I've found small Cassegrains to be decent performers.

I agree that $100 ain't gonna get you anything worth looking through at all. At best it will be like recommending a 2 "D" rayovac incan to a friend for his first flashlight when for a little more money you can do SO much better. I would recommend something like this http://www.telescope.com/control/pr...ctZone3/~pcategory=HOMEPAGE/~product_id=09804
from Orion Telescopes. They make some good mid-quality stuff that would be ideal for a beginner through intermediate astronomer. Don't be lured into a cheap scope by ads stating 300x power. The best that can be achieved by even the best telescopes is around 50x per inch of aperture, so a decent 4" scope can theoretically obtain 200x on a clear night.
Remember, when you double power, you decrease bighteness by half, so the object will look bigger but be much dimmmer, to the point that it's hard to see.
Good luck

I recommend this one from Orion: http://www.telescope.com/control/pr...nians/~pcategory=telescopes/~product_id=08942

It collects 80% more light than a 4.5" scope, and it's focal ratio of f/8 is great for a beginner!

dealgrabber2002 said:

Not likely with all the new xp-g lights.

I will look into those binoculars. I am so excited to see the real space instead of all the good pictures online and posters.

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Good call.

Can you imagine an astronomer standing up in here and saying, "I want to really be able to appreciate the world of flashlights first hand and I've got about $20 to spend."

I think our response, although friendly would be something like... :huh: You'd have to explain to him that while he can find some lights for $20 he's really not going to be able to appreciate what modern flashlights have to offer. It might not even be something that he ends up pursuing after some exposure to the world of lights but I'm sure he'd appreciate if you showd him some of yours. Just as enthusiastically as you would show him your collections, he's likely to enthusiastically show you his astronomy gear.

A while back I almost purchased a 12" Meade Cassagrain with gps and tracking. A friend of mine who I worked with had a 18" Obsession who I was fortunate enough to stargaze with a couple of times. After seeing how much was involved with getting truly amazing views, I decided against pursuing the astronomy hobby seriously. I still recommend connecting with a local club on line and meeting up with them. It's way more fun to be around people who know what the heck they're doing...lol.

dealgrabber2002 said:

I am so excited to see the real space instead of all the good pictures online and posters.

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Get set for a disappointment if you expect to see what you see in pictures. I don't mean to be pesimistic but all of those pictures you've seen with all of that color are TIME based photo's. Your eye's will not decern that much color viewing objects through a telescope. Especially with binoculars or a $100.00 telescope.

If you want to view solar system based objects buy a 3" (80mm)or larger objective lens Refractor. I recommend a 4 inch.

If you want to view deep space objects ( nebulas, galaxies, etc..) buy a Reflector in the 6" (150mm)or larger catagory. Most prefer 10 inch.

If want to view both and you don't live where it's dark then you will have to take your telescope to an appropriate dark place. In that case I highly recommend a Schmidt Cassigrain telescope. It gives you the best of both a Reflector and Refractor. A 8 inch Schmidt Cassigrain is a good compromise but they do come as small as 4 inch and these are usually of good quality, and as large as 16 inch for mass production.

Most people really want to see more than just the moon and Jupiter and Saturn. A 60mm refracting telescope is just not going to give you good views of deep space objects like Nebulas and Galaxies, and there are hundreds to see. They are wonderous.

1) Light Gathering power is more important than how much magnification power your telescope has. (any good flashaholic would know that)

2) The next most important thing is Dark Skies. The more light polution, the less you can see.

3) The larger the objective lens usually means the more Light Gathering power you have. ( the higher the magnification then generally the dimmer the image)

4) If you plan on using your telescope for the moon and planets you will need a clock drive. The moon especially will move from view very quickly because of the rotation of the earth. A clock drive compensates for this rotation. You will have the same problem with all space opjects, but the moon is the worst.

5) Your Tripod is just as important as the Telescope. If you think you shake at 10x with binoculars, try looking through a telescope at 100x. If your tripod is not rock solid every breath will make it shake.

Astronomy is a great hobby. Unfortunately most people buy very cheap telescopes, get disgusted their first time out, then throw the telescope in the attic or basement. Buy the best you can afford. If you decide you don't like the hobby, you can always sell a nice telescope. Good Luck.

P.S. I see you also wanted to look at stars. Stars look like stars no matter what magnification you look at them at. They are so far away they always look like a pinpoint of light. Binarys and star cluster now are something different.

Bill