HtownBillsFan Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 Anyone know of a good one, where to buy? I want something that my son (when he gets older, he's 8 months) and I can enjoy. We live out in the country and have a complete view of the sky. I want something powerful, but I dont want to break the bank. Any help would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Movinon Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 Anyone know of a good one, where to buy? I want something that my son (when he gets older, he's 8 months) and I can enjoy. We live out in the country and have a complete view of the sky. I want something powerful, but I dont want to break the bank. Any help would be appreciated. 589812[/snapback] http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/section.php?sectionid=12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 I am by no means into telescopes, however a good friend of mine is and when I suggested I might be in the market for one (now that i have a son) he suggested I get one with much of the same criteria you mention in your thread. For that he suggested I go to this website. He says these are basically the best for the money and reputation, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HtownBillsFan Posted January 31, 2006 Author Share Posted January 31, 2006 I was actually just looking at that site. I thought this one looked pretty neat. Completely programmed, does most of the work for you: http://www.telescope.com/shopping/product/...T&RS=1&keyword= I am by no means into telescopes, however a good friend of mine is and when I suggested I might be in the market for one (now that i have a son) he suggested I get one with much of the same criteria you mention in your thread. For that he suggested I go to this website. He says these are basically the best for the money and reputation, etc. 589823[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 I was actually just looking at that site. I thought this one looked pretty neat. Completely programmed, does most of the work for you:http://www.telescope.com/shopping/product/...T&RS=1&keyword= 589829[/snapback] One thing he told me: Go above beginner because once you've seen what you can see with the beginner's model, you will want to upgrade quickly. Back then he recommended the SkyView Pro™ 100, but it runs about $1400 and I just wasn't ready to drop that kind of cash on something like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HtownBillsFan Posted January 31, 2006 Author Share Posted January 31, 2006 The one I am looking at is in the intermediate level, but like you said, once youve seen all you can do, you want more! One thing he told me: Go above beginner because once you've seen what you can see with the beginner's model, you will want to upgrade quickly. Back then he recommended the SkyView Pro™ 100, but it runs about $1400 and I just wasn't ready to drop that kind of cash on something like that. 589832[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Fong Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 I'd love to live out somewhere far away from city lights and have a telescope. I took an Astronomy class in college and have been obsessed ever since. However, living around here there's just too much glare to make it worthwhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopsGuy Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 I'd love to live out somewhere far away from city lights and have a telescope. I took an Astronomy class in college and have been obsessed ever since. However, living around here there's just too much glare to make it worthwhile. 589838[/snapback] I know what you mean. After Hurricane Wilma came through, the inconvenience of lack of electricity was muted a bit by the amazing sky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 I am by no means into telescopes, however a good friend of mine is and when I suggested I might be in the market for one (now that i have a son) he suggested I get one with much of the same criteria you mention in your thread. For that he suggested I go to this website. He says these are basically the best for the money and reputation, etc. 589823[/snapback] Unfortunately in SoCal there's too much light pollution to really see anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB27 Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 Telescopes.com Great site, and have all brands. Not sure what you are looking for, but, spend more now if you really think you will use it. It is really amazing what you will be able to see with a good scope. I would recommend a scope with at the minimum a autoguiding system. It will help you find things that you want to see without to much work on your part. PM me if you want more information. I have 3 scopes of various sizes (largest with 10" aperature) and I can see and photograph some amazing planets and star clusters. I would recommend a Meade ETX for your first scope ETX-125 is the nicest of the ETX's, but don't know what you want to spend. $100 - $5000 are the ranges of scopes. $800 gets you something really nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramius Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 Anyone know of a good one, where to buy? I want something that my son (when he gets older, he's 8 months) and I can enjoy. We live out in the country and have a complete view of the sky. I want something powerful, but I dont want to break the bank. Any help would be appreciated. 589812[/snapback] My brother has a meade, and it has worked great for him. Regardless of what kind you get, it is a must (and probably a given) to get a scope with computerized aiming (one that comes with an aiming keypad/remote). dont even bother with the old manual ones, even tho they will be cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 Anyone know of a good one, where to buy? I want something that my son (when he gets older, he's 8 months) and I can enjoy. We live out in the country and have a complete view of the sky. I want something powerful, but I dont want to break the bank. Any help would be appreciated. 589812[/snapback] you need to buy what you want . It will be some time before your son will have any interest . when he gets older he will be able to use your telescope . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crap Throwing Monkey Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 My brother has a meade, and it has worked great for him. Regardless of what kind you get, it is a must (and probably a given) to get a scope with computerized aiming (one that comes with an aiming keypad/remote). dont even bother with the old manual ones, even tho they will be cheaper. 589942[/snapback] I would actually tend to disagree. Part of the fun of stargazing is (can be) actually trying to find what you're looking for to begin with. Plus, more seriously, you don't really learn the sky and stars when you've got a computer looking for things for you. The type of telescope you want depends to no small extent on what you want to do with it. Your typical astronomical telescope will be unsuited to terrestrial observation (as they invert the image - stargazers don't care of stars are upside-down, but bird watchers care if birds are). Also, depending on whether you want to split close double-stars, view the planets, or do deep-sky observing, your criteria will be different as well. Some things to consider are: - Are you storing this in an observatory, or carrying it in and out of the house? Most people don't consider that, but my first telescope was so bulky and awkward that I rarely used it because it was such a pain in the ass to carry into the backyard. If you get one that's too tough to move, it'll probably end up collecting dust. - Make sure this has a stable mount. Even the best telescope, on a shaky tripod that shudders when you touch it, is a piece of junk. When you're viewing something through it at 160x magnification, any vibrations are magnified sixty times...which can make the image almost unviewable as it jumps around all over the place. - Magnification isn't all-important, aperture is. As a general rule of thumb, for every inch of width of the telescope, you can use 50x magnification. My old 4.5" had a practical magnification of 225x...any higher, and not only does atmospheric turbulance distort the image, but the image gets too dim and fuzzy to view anyway. Ergo, those 60mm, 400X deals you see all the time are pure garbage...a 60mm telescope has a practical limit of about 120x magnification, because the image simply isn't bright enough to magnify more. Right now, I have an 8" Dobsonian (usually referred to as a "light bucket"). It's heavy, but reasonably compact and portable with a very stable mount, so I can toss it in the car and drive to a dark site. It's got a wide aperture and fast focal length (width divided by the length of the path the light has to travel, same as in a camera. Mine's about f4.5), so it's very good for deep-sky observing (galaxies and such, which was my area of interest when I actually aspired to be a professional). Because of the short focal length, it's maximum effective magnification is about 200x...but I'd rarely approach even that for deep-sky viewing. That's pretty much the ideal for my situation and desires...but I'm not a beginner either. Just make sure you pick something that won't leave you frustrated using it...which means stable, portable, and suited to what you want to do with it. And feel free to PM me with any questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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