Any astronomy hobbyist on these forums

[sorefingers23]

I'm looking to buy my first telescope and do t know what to buy, I've read good reviews about the Orion xt8 but don't really know anything about it.

I would like to know if anyone can recommend a good starter telescope that won't kill the bank.

 

[Zuljin]

I'm a Libra.

 

[Patirck]

I've been into astronomy off and on for 10 years now. I have an Orion XT10 now, before that, I had 4.5" refractor. What are you planning on looking at and where will you use it? Do you want something super portable? Are you in a city with a lot of light pollution? Can you haul a huge telescope to the mountains every once in while?

I like the XT10, but know that most of the inexpensive dobsonians mirrors, regardless of brand are the same thing. The mirrors are actually made by the Chinese military. The difference between Orion, Meade, sky watcher or whomever is the extra gadgets they come with - the mirrors are identical. I happen to like the focuser on the orion and it was on super sale at the time so I got the 10" for the price of an 8".

I live in super bright Los Angeles and these dobs are the ticket to see things from my backyard. When I feel like hauling it to the mountains it gets even better. After owning it for several years now, I have only done that perhaps 5 times. The rest of the time, my backyard is where it gets used.

If you are in a dark spot, you still get a lot of use of a dob, but you could also use some other types of telescopes as well.

 

[sorefingers23]

I live in an area that's not really all that bright at night, and am also close to areas I can go with much darker skies, I was hoping to be able to take it to the mountains I enjoy hiking and camping and would like to take it with me from time to time.

I would like to look at pretty much anything I can see with an affordable telescope. I don't even know what to expect to see and how good I will see it, I'm a complete newb.


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[Cyclman]

I ended up getting Celestron Sky Master binoculars. I had read that for a newb, it is rather difficult to find things in the sky with a narrow field telescope.

They won't show much detail, but it is rather fun finding things, and tougher than I thought it'd be. I still need a good tripod- mine's a mediocre camera pod. I use an iPhone app, which helps find the cool stuff.

I can see myself going to a nice telescope someday, but in the interim, for a lot less money, I am having a good time learning. Maybe it's like appreciating a Belgian Blonde, vs. a bourbon barrel aged RIS. Sometimes starting simpler is a good plan.

 

[EJay]

I ended up getting Celestron Sky Master binoculars. I had read that for a newb, it is rather difficult to find things in the sky with a narrow field telescope.

They won't show much detail, but it is rather fun finding things, and tougher than I thought it'd be. I still need a good tripod- mine's a mediocre camera pod. I use an iPhone app, which helps find the cool stuff.

I can see myself going to a nice telescope someday, but in the interim, for a lot less money, I am having a good time learning. Maybe it's like appreciating a Belgian Blonde, vs. a bourbon barrel aged RIS. Sometimes starting simpler is a good plan.

Good call. I was reading this thread and about to recommend those when I see you came to the same conclusion.

One problem with them is misalignment from the factory sometimes. In daytime, look at something horizontal (like a power wire). If the view from one eye to the other is higher than the other, this will drive you crazy. The fix is simple and takes about a minute. PM me if you end up with that.

You'll easily see moons of Jupiter with that. Pleides is gorgeous through binoculars. You'll also see the Orion Nebula pretty easily too. I've seen the Andromeda galaxy with mine...but its more of a dark fuzzy spot less black than the surrounding black sky so don't get too excited about that.

Skymaps.com has a monthly chart that is handy for printing out.

 

[Pkrd]

I have a 10 inch dob I built about 10 years ago. Really wish I had just gone with 8 inch for the portability.

 

[MagooBrew]

I have a 10 inch dob I built about 10 years ago. Really wish I had just gone with 8 inch for the portability.

Are we bragging? My dob is bigger than yours. Let me whip out my ten inch dob. What the hell is a dob?

 

[gwapogorilla]

Are we bragging? My dob is bigger than yours. Let me whip out my ten inch dob. What the hell is a dob?

Okay, now that you've made it perfectly clear that you don't know dick about astronomy.......on to the original posting.

I'm looking to buy my first telescope and do t know what to buy, I've read good reviews about the Orion xt8 but don't really know anything about it.

I would like to know if anyone can recommend a good starter telescope that won't kill the bank.

In order to answer your question better, we would have to know your viewing interests. Just planning on viewing a few planets? The moon? Deep space objects such as nebula? Plan on taking pictures(astro photography)? What's your carrying ability? Do you prefer motor mounts to automatically follow the objects?

A good place to start is Meade. http://www.meade.com/ They have nice optical mirrors and lenses...which make or break a night of viewing.

Figure out your viewing interests, and we can better point you in the right direction.

 

[sorefingers23]

I would like to be able to see nebulas and galaxy's if possible, and of coarse the moon and planets, I would also like to take some pics.

As I said I'm a complete newb, I watch a lot of space documentaries and am really fascinated by the images I see, I know a starter telescope won't get those kind of images, but just to get a decent view at things in space would be fantastic.


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[Homercidal]

Friend and I started building our telescopes many years back. Got our blanks to the figuring stage before other things got in the way. We were supposed to grind and polish them together so we clean up between stages and not contaminate each other's mirrors, but he ended up setting up a room in his house and getting ahead. Still have the blank and tool stored on my shelf, wrapped up in a baby blanket.

I do plan to get back into it, but my grinding room is now a scrap wood storage shed which needs to be cleaned out and a roof leak repaired. I was just starting the polishing stage and trying to figure out how to use the Ronchi screen to properly figure the blank when the hobby got sidetracked.

We trepanned our blanks from 3/4" glass IIRC, using a table-top drill press and a round piece of wood with a brass strap screwed to it and silicon dioxide and water as the abrasive. Mine was 7.25 inches if I remember right.

My friend ended up buying a Meade I think, with a Dob mount. 6 inch scope I *think*. He sold to his brother I believe. You could supposedly make out Andromeda, but i never got to see it. I'm not much into astronomy as much as I just wanted to build a telescope because I thought it would be fun. I'm really only have a passing interest in the actual astronomy.

Ugh. This thread is reminding me how badly I need to clean the junk out of that shed and clean it up...

 

[truvr]

I third the suggestion to start with a good pair of binoculars. You can see a lot and it will help you learn the sky. Here are a couple more resources:

http://www.astronomycast.com/2007/04/episode-33-coosing-and-using-a-telescope/

http://www.astronomycast.com/2009/09/ep-150-telescopes-the-next-level/

 

[Patirck]

So I think the answer to your original question largely depends on how portable you want the telescope to be. I could never see hiking with a 6" - 10" dob - they are just too big and heavy.

I agree wholeheartedly that a good pair of binoculars are a great way to start and the easiest thing for hiking/camping. You can splurge and get a decent mount for the binoculars that folds up easily into a backpack.

If you really want to look at the night sky without having driven to a spot - you are pretty limited to small reflectors or refractors and even then you could pretty easily break or at least mis align something while hiking. My brother has a meade etx 80 and I have to say its pretty good for a super small package. If I were to get something like that it would be the almost identical setup that is made to fit in a small backpack - http://www.meade.com/etx-80at-tc-bb-achromatic-refractor-with-backpack.html. It also has the autostar function that moves the telescope for you so you spend less time looking for things and more time observing them. Some people like this and some don't. It is not a perfect system but I think for a beginner its a help as long as your ok dealing with technology.

The downside of these is performance in light polluted areas won't be a good as a big dob. When it comes to reflector telescopes, size does matter when fighting light pollution. If your backyard is fairly dark, maybe this doesn't matter as much.

Either way - a good set of astro binoculars is a great way to start.

 

[sorefingers23]

The more I think about it I don't think I would actually be hiking with it, there's already enough stuff to carry on a good hike, I could see my self using it alot at my house or near my house or driving to a spot more suited for star watching. I think I will pick up a pair of good binoculars. But am also pretty dead set on getting a telescope, right now I'm looking at the celestron nexstar 130slt or the Orion xt8.

Whst I really would like to know is, is there a website where I can see actual images from these telescopes and/or a good pair of binoculars?



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[biereblanche]

If you search for the telescope model or size you're considering you can find amateur pics tagged with the equipment they used.

You can also connect with a local amateur astro group, check out their set ups and take a peek through them at stargazing g2gs. Probably can also meet folks who are into astro-photography and can teach you about ccds and image processing. Might get good deals on used gear down the line, too.

I would also suggest binocs. They're cheaper, portable, versatile, and probably satisfying enough for a start. You'll want to know your way around the sky before getting the most out of a telescope. Get a couple star charts, binoculars, and start to learn where you can go locally for decent viewing.

No sense investing in a scope, mount, motor, and ccd before you know how and if you'd like to use them.


Edit - Hiked a small scope a few miles into Sand Dunes nat'l park, prepared for super clear dark skys. Rained all night.

 

[gwapogorilla]

The more I think about it I don't think I would actually be hiking with it, there's already enough stuff to carry on a good hike, I could see my self using it alot at my house or near my house or driving to a spot more suited for star watching. I think I will pick up a pair of good binoculars. But am also pretty dead set on getting a telescope, right now I'm looking at the celestron nexstar 130slt or the Orion xt8.

Whst I really would like to know is, is there a website where I can see actual images from these telescopes and/or a good pair of binoculars?

1st.....While many suggest binoculars...I personally do not. You must have a large pair of optics and a tripod mount in order to get a good view. And, it won't take long at all to get "aperture envy".

2nd....If you plan on taking photos (astro photography) you will need a telescope with a motor drive on it. Pictures of that sort require long exposure times. So, a drive is needed for the telescope to "follow" the object. Otherwise the photo will be blurred.
BUT, KEEP IN MIND, the images you see in magazines on television programs ARE NOT the images you will see through your telescope. The images in magazines are not just 1 photo, BUT MANY PHOTOS taken with different color filters, and the layered on top of each other. They are also correct and altered on computers as well.
The objects you see will be white in color...with the exception of Mars and Jupiter. Sorry, I don't mean to be a buzz kill.

3rd....In order to see "deep sky" objects, your going to need a larger aperture...say 5 inches or more. While both telescopes you are considering have the needed aperture, only one has the motor driven mount...the nexstar 130slt.

Now...from personal experience as I have a telescope the same size as the Orion xt8...they are a pain to move! Heavy, take up a bunch of room in the car. If I were to do it again...I would start with the NEXSTAR 127SLT....really nice scope for the money.

 

[Homercidal]

Yep, it's hard to justify a Dob mount if you want to take photos. An motorized equatorial mount isn't terribly expensive and you can buy them with a decent telescope from any of the major manufacturers.

I like the idea of looking up images from amateur astonomers to see what different telescopes can do.

 

[sorefingers23]

I think I'm gonna start out with something like the Orion go scope or a similar table top telescope, and a good pair of binoculars before diving into getting a huge more expensive telescope


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[Homercidal]

One other thing. If you can find one near you, many larger cities have telescope clubs, and plenty also have very large scopes that you can visit or buy time on. It might be a way to do some cool astronomy without investing a ton of money.

 

[Patirck]

One other thing. If you can find one near you, many larger cities have telescope clubs, and plenty also have very large scopes that you can visit or buy time on. It might be a way to do some cool astronomy without investing a ton of money.

This is a good idea - in southern california you can actually rent time on some pretty giant telescopes that include an astronomer to work the equipment. Its not cheap until you get a few people together to share the cost.

Its also a good idea to find a club that has a decent star party. Most people are happy to let you look through their scopes. This is a great way to see what exact telescope gives you what exact image.

 

[Airplanedoc]

Anybody have some knowledge of CCD cameras they would pass on? My neighbor and recently purchased a Nextstar 90slt. He used to be a photographer (hobbyist) and wants to get a camera and take some planet pictures. He is looking at the less than $200 range at this point. Got any advise on orion vs celestron cameras, it looks like the both have 3 in that range.

 

[Zuljin]

Ha! I knew I made a wisecrack here about astrology.

And then I bought a Mead Telestar at a thrift shop for $25. It's missing the viewfinder. The internet says I can kludge one up from a BB gun red dot scope. So far, I'm so-so at lining up on things around the neighborhood just looking through the rings that would hold the viewfinder, if I had one. Any suggestions? The Mead site doesn't seem to have the part.

I've also downloaded the NASA app and Sky View Free.

 

[k-moe]

Go to surplusshed.com
They have tons of inexpensive (and expensive) telescope parts.