Guide to buying a telescope
You want to get into Astronomy, considering which telescope to buy, but don't want to spend too much?
OK here's your answer:
First steps in astronomy:
The best view of the planets you'll get for the least money (I bought one for $90 on Amazon) is with the C70 Mini Mak. The stars in Orion's belt look spectacular! And with an adapter you can use your phone to take surprisingly good pictures of the moon and planets. The main problem with this scope is the mount they ship with it. It doesn't work for astronomy, you can't position it to look up. You'll end up spending more on a tripod for this scope than the scope costs.
The question of what power lenses / eyepieces should I buy comes up. On the left is my highest power 7mm Nagler and on the right is the lowest power 32mm Meade Super Wide. I spend about 60-80% of my viewing time on the 32mm. Next I use the 18mm, sometimes the 13mm, and the 7mm for like a minute, before I go back to the 32mm. Note the focusing rings, those are used so I can quickly change lens without having to change focus.
DON'T!
The worst thing you can do is to buy a cheap telescope. "Department store telescopes", though they look cool and seem to be what you want, they are completely useless. The only thing these cheap 50mm refractors are good for is ruining the hobby of astronomy. Avoid anything marked "for beginners". I'll explain why in more detail below.
Local astronomy club and Facebook group told you to get a 6" Dobsonian? Ha! They're wrong! Reason being, the Earth moves. These cheap reflectors are just a cardboard tube and a mirror, there's no positioning mechanism. If you are able to jigger to scope enough to get Jupiter into view, it'll move out of by the time you blink and adjust your eyes. Then you need to jigger the tube around again to get it back in view. Repeat. All night long, fighting the scope and seeing very little. Very frustrating. Especially for a kid. After one night's frustration these cheap refractors and reflectors will spend the rest of their lives in the closet.
First steps in astronomy:
What you need for certain when starting astronomy and shopping for your first telescope is binoculars.
A good pair of "10x50" binoculars will be the best gear you'll ever have for night sky viewing. I have a 254mm telescope and still I'm using my 50mm Celestron binoculars along with the scope. This allows you to use both eyes, so you have depth of vision, which you don't get with telescopes.
Although telescope makers like Celestron sell astronomy binoculars, you don't need "special" binoculars, any binoculars will work for night sky view, the better ones to get have BaK-4 prisms.
Although telescope makers like Celestron sell astronomy binoculars, you don't need "special" binoculars, any binoculars will work for night sky view, the better ones to get have BaK-4 prisms.
What to buy checklist:
1) Binoculars. "10x50" is best (10 being magnification or "power" and 50mm being aperture)
2) Fully reclining lawn chair. This is a must have.
3) Google Sky app. It's like magic for astronomy.
4) Green laser pointer.
5) Peterson Field Guide to Astronomy. Explains about everything "up there", will answer a lot of questions.
The most fun time you'll have with Astronomy is with a couple of binoculars and lawn chairs in the back yard and laser pointers to point at what you're seeing.
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| My Celestron Pro 10x50 with the Orion extra wide strap. |
Next steps in Astronomy:
"10x50" binoculars are a good place to start, they have enough magnification and aperture for great nighttime viewing and they are light enough to minimize arm strian, and they are good for general purspose daytime viewing too, can't go wrong with these, start here.
When you're ready to take a step up, and likely there's a second person around who wants to view too, you can consider a larger/better set of binos:
Celestron SkyMaster 12x60 Binoculars Item Weight 3.3 pounds
Celestron SkyMaster Giant 15x70 Binoculars Item Weight 3.28 lbs
Meade Instruments 15x70 Astro Binocular Item Weight 3.1 pounds
Notice I list the weight of each item. Arm strain becomes a major factor above 3 pounds. Not just to lift and hold in place for long times, but the arm strain will cause noticeable vibration, which will ruin your viewing. 3.5 pounds is really the useful limit for hand held binoculars. Beyond that you need to mount them on a tripod, which makes it very hard to position them and ruins long comfortable viewing, I consider anything beyond 70mm for binoculars to be a waste of money, you're better off transitioning to the next step, a table top telescope with a drive.
Celestron 52238 C70 Mini Mak Spotting Scope
Celestron 52238 C70 Mini Mak Spotting Scope
The best view of the planets you'll get for the least money (I bought one for $90 on Amazon) is with the C70 Mini Mak. The stars in Orion's belt look spectacular! And with an adapter you can use your phone to take surprisingly good pictures of the moon and planets. The main problem with this scope is the mount they ship with it. It doesn't work for astronomy, you can't position it to look up. You'll end up spending more on a tripod for this scope than the scope costs.
Meade ETX 125
Next steps would take you into the $1000 realm. Look for a Dobsonian that has a clock drive, or "Goto" function or a used C8 with a good mount, and several good quality eyepieces. You can use your smart phone as a finder and/or a laser pointer mounted on the scope. But again, binoculars are the best answer, don't think you can jump into an expensive "Goto" scope and have fun. There's a huge learning curve for setup and operation of "Goto" scopes and they are really only for the dedicated amateur.
Next steps would take you into the $1000 realm. Look for a Dobsonian that has a clock drive, or "Goto" function or a used C8 with a good mount, and several good quality eyepieces. You can use your smart phone as a finder and/or a laser pointer mounted on the scope. But again, binoculars are the best answer, don't think you can jump into an expensive "Goto" scope and have fun. There's a huge learning curve for setup and operation of "Goto" scopes and they are really only for the dedicated amateur.
The question of what power lenses / eyepieces should I buy comes up. On the left is my highest power 7mm Nagler and on the right is the lowest power 32mm Meade Super Wide. I spend about 60-80% of my viewing time on the 32mm. Next I use the 18mm, sometimes the 13mm, and the 7mm for like a minute, before I go back to the 32mm. Note the focusing rings, those are used so I can quickly change lens without having to change focus.
If I had to recommend one brand / type of eyepiece to buy, it would be the Meade SWA (Super Wide Angle).
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