telescope for beginner

stef73

Hi my wife has been dropping hints about a telescope for either birthday or xmas. I have looked online but have no idea what im looking at or for.
Does anyone have a telescope or could they recomend a make, model or spec to look for a beginner.

barbiedoll

I take it your wife wants to use a telescope for star-gazing at night?
We need to know how much you were thinking of spending and also if you live in a place where you're affected by light pollution (most of the UK!)

If she wants to start studying the sky, she would be better off starting with a good pair of binoculars. Telescopes can be tricky to set up and people are often disappointed with their first view through a small telescope, we have been spoiled with the fantastic pictures from the Hubble and so on! Also, the view through a telescope will either be upside-down and/or the "wrong" way round, it can be very tricky finding objects in a telecope which has a very small field of view, especially when you have to move left to see an object on the right and so on.

Binoculars don't have any of these problems and you can see a surprising amount of objects that are not visible with the naked eye. And the Moon seen through decent binoculars is an awesome sight. And of course, they are much more portable than a telescope and you can even buy tripods which will hold them steady (or you can lean on an upside-down broom, like I do )

There's a good article here...it is quite old but still relevant.
Don't go to somewhere like Argos for a telescope or binoculars, if you get a copy of an astronomy magazine, you may well be able to get a much better bit of kit, second-hand through the small ads, than you would if you bought it new.

stef73

I think my mum has a decent pair of binoculars so will borrow them to try

pc1271

Don't get a cheap one, you'll only be disappointed. I had a 70mm refractor and it was good for looking at the moon, but you couldn't see much else. It was also a bit wobbly and finding anything smaller than Jupiter was incredible hard. I'd go for something more powerful than that, and maybe look at the motorised mounts which can find and track objects in the sky.

freezspirit

might be useful information http://www.astrocentral.co.uk/telescope.html


http://www.astronomyclubs.co.uk/


http://www.onesite.co.uk/find/astronomy.htm


it might be useful to find your local Astronomy club/group as they will have more knowledge of what equipment to buy for your area but also might have secondhand or a loan system.

[Deleted User]

For observing the moon, binoculars will be fine.

I have a pair of 20x50, which I find more than adequate.

If you have a Digital camera (SLR or Bridge Camera) with a decent telephoto/zoom, that will take good pictures of the moon, ISS etc.

misterbarlow

When you decide, www.firstlightoptics.com are very good, have bought two scopes and some bins from them... great service..
and www.stargazerslounge.com is a great site for learning and asking for advice..

enfield_freddy

just spotted this post ,


a simple question for the people that know about those things ,


I do not have a loft/skylight , I have no intention of standing on my lawn at night in the cold,


does anyone sell a kit that can be viewed on a PC/tv monitor ?


I was thinking of a remote control tripod , with a wire feed to a computer with a program that could alter the height/axis and also zoom etc , much like a external camera on your gable end.

Mr_Toad

enfield_freddy wrote: »

just spotted this post ,


a simple question for the people that know about those things ,


I do not have a loft/skylight , I have no intention of standing on my lawn at night in the cold,


does anyone sell a kit that can be viewed on a PC/tv monitor ?


I was thinking of a remote control tripod , with a wire feed to a computer with a program that could alter the height/axis and also zoom etc , much like a external camera on your gable end.

Oh yes.

Almost all of the GoTo type scopes can be controlled and viewed remotely.

I have a Mead that I set up outside, don't try and view through the glass of a skylight.
Even with the best loft insulation you'll get some heat loss through the roof that will interfere badly with your view.

I the attach a USB eyepiece and that's that.

I can move the scope and view the result from the warmth of my house. I also have a remote focuser.

My first remote viewer was home made using a webcam but that was years ago and things have moved on.

Beware though, this sort of astronomy is both addictive and something of a money pit. This is a reasonable starter, prices soon get astronomical from here. (I'll get me coat)

http://www.telescopeplanet.co.uk/meade-electronical-pc-eye-piece

Mr_Toad

stef73 wrote: »

Hi my wife has been dropping hints about a telescope for either birthday or xmas. I have looked online but have no idea what im looking at or for.
Does anyone have a telescope or could they recomend a make, model or spec to look for a beginner.

I can only echo what others have said and find a local astronomy soc. They will be a friendly, if a little obsessive, bunch who will be happy to let you look through a variety of scopes.

If she really is interested then don't buy a cheap scope, you really can see more with a decent pair of binos.

You can get a decent scope for not a lot of money but you need to know enough about what you are buying to navigate through the minefield of seemingly fantastic claims/deals on inferior kit out there.

The right first scope can lead to a lifetime hobby that is fascinating and rewarding.

jaydeeuk1

I'd been unable to decide what to ask for xmas from wife until I saw this thread. Had a cheap celestron 114 telescope a few years ago which was ok, but I struggled to get the best from it and it was cumbersome to move around. I want something with a little more oomph but also easier to track (the mount was rubbish), perhaps something I attach a webcam or camera to and I quite like the idea of goto.

With a budget of around £350 is the celestron nexstar 127 SLT a good one to go for? Are there any budget make scopes that will give me more bang for buck?