Looking for a beginner's telescope....

[chrismcgivney]

Hi there,

I love physics and I'd like to begin a bit of astronomy. I want to invest in a beginners telescope but I haven't a clue about what to buy. Some that I'm looking at are linked here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XQMLA7Q/?tag=pfamazon01-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y5G4PSF/?tag=pfamazon01-20

If you could give me some info about these or any other recommendations/advice that would be greatly appreciated.

My price limit is probably something around $100.

Thanks in advance.

 

[chrismcgivney]

Here's another one:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VTSINU6/?tag=pfamazon01-20

 

[ISamson]

I think you won't get anything good within 100 dollars. Try 500-600 dollars at least to be at least able to distinguish Jupiter's moons.

 

[russ_watters]

I think you won't get anything good within 100 dollars. Try 500-600 dollars at least to be at least able to distinguish Jupiter's moons.

This is just totally wrong. You can see Jupiter's moons with a mediocre pair of binoculars and surface detail on Jupiter is accessible for $100. $500 is not a beginner telescope.

@chrismcgivney, I'll take a look at your options when I have more time, but in the meantime there is a long thread on beginner telescopes at the top of the forum I recommend perusing.

 

[Brian Bixby]

Astronomers Without Borders has a very nice one for $199. https://www.astronomerswithoutborders.org/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=4&zenid=it5nldgivtk6th0174l0egu6e3

I bought one of these and have been very happy with it. It even survived the trip to Peru. It's also a fund raiser for AWB, and I think that Celestron is the actual manufacturer.

 

[ISamson]

Yeah I probably have exaggerated a little with my estimation. How powerful is it? What could you see with it?

 

[davenn]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XQMLA7Q/?tag=pfamazon01-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y5G4PSF/?tag=pfamazon01-20

If you could give me some info about these or any other recommendations/advice that would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Chris
welcome to PF

they are both OK scopes considering their cheap price
looking at the details, I probably prefer the second one to the first one

The problem with beginners and lower (budget) priced scopes is that beginner is often horribly disappointed
in that they do see through their scope all the wonderful images that they have seen on the net.

so keeping that in mind, if you buy one of those scopes, don't be disheartened after only a few uses
and toss the thing in the closet never to be used again use it to learn the basics and to find your way
around the sky. And when you are ready, then consider upgrading to something more substantialTelescopes, are like a lot of other technology, you get what you pay for.
The higher cost =
1) better/more solid mount so that the system isn't wriggling/shaking with every tiny touch
2) better optics = higher quality glass lenses on refractor and better mirror surfaces on reflector scopes
3) capabilities of motor drive for tracking

just to name a few things
cheers
Dave

 

[NFuller]

Hi chrismcgivney, glad to here you are interested in doing some amateur astronomy.

davenn's point is spot on here.

The problem with beginners and lower (budget) priced scopes is that beginner is often horribly disappointed
in that they do see through their scope all the wonderful images that they have seen on the net.

You should carefully consider what you really expect to get from your telescope and weigh whether or not it is the right investment for you. Even a cheap telescope still costs money, and I don't think you will want to spend $100 dollars on something you only use a few times. If your goal is to see faint nebulas or galaxies, then you might be happier if you save up for a higher end scope. If you are interested in seeing the planets, the moon, and some double stars then a scope in the few hundred dollar range should suffice.

That being said, there are plenty of cheap telescopes to use while you grow in your hobby. For a budget beginner scope, I would go with a small reflector over the refracting types that you listed. Here are some ideas:
https://optcorp.com/collections/New...s/celestron-powerseeker-127eq-telescope-21049
https://optcorp.com/collections/New...tromaster-130-eq-md-reflector-telescope-31051
https://optcorp.com/collections/New...watcher-6inch-f8-traditional-dobsonian-s11600

The big advantage of these over the scopes you listed is that these have larger apertures. Aperture size is one of the most important considerations for a visual use scope. The larger aperture will gather more light and since many of the night sky objects are so dim, light gathering ability is key.

 

[FactChecker]

If you are interested in astronomy, I highly recommend that you see if there is a branch of the Astronomical Society near you. They often have outreach events where you can see a large variety of telescopes and their capabilities. You may want to join them and go to some meetings before you buy a scope. They may have some used scopes you can get for a great price because they are always upgrading their own.

 

[russ_watters]

Hi there,

I love physics and I'd like to begin a bit of astronomy. I want to invest in a beginners telescope but I haven't a clue about what to buy. Some that I'm looking at are linked here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XQMLA7Q/?tag=pfamazon01-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y5G4PSF/?tag=pfamazon01-20

If you could give me some info about these or any other recommendations/advice that would be greatly appreciated.

My price limit is probably something around $100.

Thanks in advance.

Your first and third options are the standard beginner telescope people - including myself - have been using for upwards of 50 years. The main problem with it is the classic alt-az style mount is terrible. If you can upgrade slightly to an equatorial mounted scope, it would be a big help for tracking objects and a better learning opportunity (downside is it takes some learning to start - you can't just yank it out of the box and point it at the sky):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0732VVF5Z/?tag=pfamazon01-20

The second one you listed is a re-bagged version of the Celestron/Orion GoScope/Travel Scope and it is an intriguing alternative to the traditional alt-az mount. It uses a camera style tripod and I would think if the tripod has some smoothness, it would be easier to use. It has a short focal length, which means wider field of view, but lower magnification for planets -- but brighter nebulae.

With either of these you will probably want to add a Barlow to get closer to the planets/moon. The Orion Observer has a $150 package that includes a bunch of accessories including the barlo.

 

[russ_watters]

The problem with beginners and lower (budget) priced scopes is that beginner is often horribly disappointed
in that they do see through their scope all the wonderful images that they have seen on the net.

I have found that this applies to all size scopes. People are either immediately bored or blown away by what I show them on my 11" scope. Most have seen my photos first, so that hurts a bit (and I do warn them), but there is often a big difference between the expectation and reality if what you are looking at has no deeper meaning than just a pretty picture.

One thing though: the weather (seeing) makes such a big difference that the view of, say, Jupiter is typically not fundamentally different between my C11 and one of these 60mm K-Mart specials.

so keeping that in mind, if you buy one of those scopes, don't be disheartened after only a few uses
and toss the thing in the closet never to be used again use it to learn the basics and to find your way
around the sky.

Right. And this is why I (unlike many other people) strongly advocate in favor of the el-Cheapo beginner telescope. Astronomy either speaks to you or it doesn't and the only way to find out is to look through a telescope*. If you can afford to waste $100 on a toy you only use a few times, it's the way to find out if it speaks to you.

*I'm also less enamored with astronomy clubs and demos by their members, though this is a common suggestion. Since nobody at an astronomy club uses a 60mm refractor, the experience is not representative of the beginner experience and may imply a barrier to entry that doesn't exist, convincing people not to buy a telescope until they can afford one that is $500+.

 

[chrismcgivney]

Thanks everyone, this is great help and advice.

 

[sysprog]

I think a decently good reflector telescope is better for cost-effective star-gazing than a similarly-priced refractor scope -- mainly because of the (in most cases) larger light-collecting surface area -- anyway, my astronomy prof had us tape accurately-placed (for our own common-to-us location) sewing-thread crosshairs over the main area of this wonderful device that he had us buy -- he said that although many professors tell their students at the beginning of the semester that the 1 or 2 hundred dollar textbook that they had just bought would be obsolete before the end of the semester, he was happy to tell us that this inexpensive (about $3 back then -- around late '70s to early '80s) star and planet locator (60 degrees North latitude) that we had just bought for his course (he held up his example while saying it) would be, even considering precession (which he later explained), good for the next ten thousand years ... https://www.homesciencetools.com/st...4Dti4iAISy5PaCZItNSPSPty-Uh_F7kBoCorgQAvD_BwE

 

[lomidrevo]

My very first experience with telescopes was a cheap refractor, bought in shopping mall, many years ago. Due to its "shaky" mount it wasn't really usable for anything, maybe just for looking at the moon with low power eyepiece. It was very discouraging for me and very shortly I gave up, not interested in stargazing at all.

Few years ago, I got a binocular as gift and I started to use it for stargazing. I must say it made me enthusiastic again for astronomy and this time very safely .
Later I upgraded to reflector on dobsonian mount, but that is another successful story

There is so much things you can see by binocular on the night sky. It is inexpensive, very easy to use and of course, by using it you will improve your orientation skills and get more familiar with constellations. In case you haven't tried one, I would recommend it for beginning. All you need additionally is a sky atlas or starchart (you can use also one of the many mobile apps available for searching the objects, but it is much more fun with atlas - as a bonus, you can keep your eyes away from bright screen).