I was thinking about investing in a telescope considering, I live on the beach and there are always questionable things out over the horizon at night. What would you all recommend for a first time users telescope? :sunny:
I have a refractive scope I think it is. Big long one. My eye site is not what it used to be and even after surgery my night vision is beyond pathetic so everything I look at in the sky has about 50 ghosting images and wrecks everything for me. It sucks. I'd go to a national geographic or science store and pick up a cheapie. You won't want to pay for something too expensive if you realize it won't do what you want. I was under the impression I'd see planets in relative glory, I saw green/blue/silver spheres floating in space. I since realized I need a better telescope for those zooms. XD
If its just horizon stuff you're interested in I'd grab a good pair of binoculars instead. They've made binocs to view the moon with nowadays. Probably be more appropriate for your viewing buuuuut probably more$$$$ too.
I would say "it depends" - it depends on your budget - it depends on what all you want to view, as Irminsul said, if it is just horizon stuff then binocs would be best, also with binocs you can get in a good view of the moon and even planets, - if you want to see "faint fuzzies" (galaxies, nebula etc.) then you would need a telescope of about 8" or greater, a reflector is best for this per cost, next would be a compound scope, then finally a refractor. now remeber the photos you see in books and the web are taken over long periods and what you would actually see in the eye piece is a dim smudge. hope this helps
IMHO, get a standard Reflecting telescope. Just a basic one but invest the money into its quality. Don't buy an electronic one that finds everything for you. It takes the fun out of it. Get a star chart and learn the heavens. Make sure it's good quality and you'll be seeing planets in no time.
when considering a 'first' telescope, I first suggest that you watch the following video on astronomy: http://video.nbc17.com/v/41781944/raleig… Also, the following article will give you some information on how different types of telescopes work, as well as, additional buying tips: http://www.raleighastro.org/observing/ge…
If it's planets and galaxies and stuff that you are interested in looking at, get a Dobsonian telescope of at least 6" or 8" diameter. A Dobsonian is a reflecting telescope on a simple base. It gives you the most size for the least dollars, and size is what counts.
telescopes.com has all the answers , as well as telescopes for sale from the cheapest to the costliest
My family and I are part of an Astronomy group. If you are interested in learning about the proper telescopes for particular functions, I'd suggested to find a group. Our group has people who do astrophotograpy also just regular people who want to learn. After a couple of meetings with the group, my husband bought a 12 inch Dob. The part that was stressed was if you invest, buy the good stuff. The eye pieces is where you start to invest a lot of money, but man to be able to feel like you are touching the moons craters are awesome. Also, depends on how often you plan to use it, and how portable it is. The family frequently goes camping and we always take it with us, it's impressive to see different types of galaxies in different parts of the state. Just wanted to share.
My step father built his own telescope. I grew up observing the planets and one comet. He used a 16 inch lens. He taught me how to build a small one when i was a kid. I would recommend buying what you can afford and if it does not let you see enough you can always visit telescopes at certain colleges and universities and look through them for free. If you can self teach yourself then I would say a telescope you built for yourself can be very fulfilling.
