Best Budget Telescope ??

Question

I was recently given a 'Walmart special' telescope and after realizing what is visible with it, am anxious to pick up something better. I am looking at spending no more than $600. Reasonably portable is preferable. I will primairly be looking at planets, galaxies and nebulae. Appreciate any suggestions!!

Answer 1

Dobsonians are a great idea, especially the Orion series. I personally would go for a larger aperture and forgo the computer GoTo option, especially if you have reasonably dark skies and want to learn the night sky. Then you can go to a 10 inch and see more stuff. Finding things takes a little practice, but it's half the fun once you're good at it. Good Luck.

ADDED: At the risk of offending some who don't share my opinion, I will tell you my experiences. I own a Celestron 11 in. Schmidt - Cassegrain on an equatorial mount. It is not as easy to set up as a Dobsonian. However, I can easily get it set up and look at two targets before the guy next to me stops swearing at and rebooting his GoTo. Doesn't matter what kind of GoTo or PushTo, it will always stop working at 10:18 PM. I don't know why and I don't want to know. Finally, he gets it going and it buzzes, clicks, and slews around to find M42 or something else that I can see by just looking up.

You should also understand, if you don't already, that the GoTo is not a tracking feature. You will still have to keep the target centered by pushing the scope frequently. If you do not do that, the target will drift out of view within 30 seconds or so. That's why I favored an equatorial mount with a tracking motor - because I use my scope to share what I see with classrooms, scouts, etc., and I don't have to keep re-centering the scope after each viewer. A Dobsonian GoTo scope will need frequent attention to keep the target in view, whether you pay for the GoTo or not. That's not a bad thing, just be aware that the GoTo does not help in that regard.

A GoTo scope is good for folks who already know the night sky and want to save time or find stuff on hazy nights when the seeing is too poor to pick out landmarks in the constellations. My recommendation is that you use your money on better optics (i.e. more aperture) instead of whiz bang technology that you will be wrestling with in the dark - guaranteed. Knowing the sky is half the fun, and you simply will not know it as well with a computer finder. Amateur astronomy is a hobby that requires patience - you may as well start now.

ADDED 2: I must apologize. The scope you are referring to does incorporate tracking as well as GoTo. However, the aperture is sufficiently small that you will soon be wanting more just to see the Messier objects (you should be able to make out about half of them with this scope). It is your decision, but I think the recommendation to go to an astronomy club observing session is a good one. That way you can see what you are getting into. In summary, my recommendation has not changed. - a good 10 inch Dob with no GoTo will keep you interested.

Answer 2

A Newtonian reflector (on a Dobsonian mount) is a great value-for-money.  Read the tutorial about how to choose your first scope on "Sky and Telescope" magazine web site.  It gives a solid advice and allows you to ponder your options based on different criteria.  As for brands, Meade, Celestron and Orion have some decent telescopes in your price range.

Answer 3

If I was going to buy another telescope, I would buy a used one.  As long as the glass and mirrors are in good shape, it is as good as a new one.  For $600, you could get a good used scope.   Google "used telescopes for sale."  

Look up.

Answer 4

I reccomend Orion, affordable but they are good quality.  If you're going to be looking at galaxies and nebula then you're best bet is a reflector.

Answer 5

--Homemade.  Begin with  a 10" mirror kit for $300.

Answer 6

Portable, not-to-expensive, and decent means you should be looking for a Dobsonian.  It doesn't have a mount that allows you to track, so you're not paying for the fancy mount - it's easy to set up and the saved money goes into the optics instead.

Answer 7

Hope you were able to return the Walmart special.

Go with a Newtonian reflector on a Dobsonian mount.  Get a push-to computer.  Orion sells 6", 8", and 10" scopes.  I have the 10" (about $800).  Orion has good support (I bought mine via the web, and it was shipped promptly.  A damaged accessory was replaced with zero hassle and promptly.  It matters.)

Here are the 3 P's for picking a telescope.  Price, Performance, and Portability.  Price and portability can be show stoppers.  Price less so, since you may be able to wait until you have more cash. But a scope that doesn't fit in your car is stuck where ever it ends up.  That leaves performance.  For deep space, what you need is as much light gathering as possible.  In your budget, that points to a reflector.

The push-to computer also comes under the category of performance.  Before buying my scope, i joined a local astronomy club and borrowed each of their loaner scopes in turn.  One was a ten inch reflector.  I spent half an hour not finding a fairly bright galaxy in my back yard.  It was too dim for my sky conditions.  Then, i repeated this for another galaxy.  Spending an hour to not find two galaxies is not something that will sustain me in the hobby.  With a push-to computer, i can observe a dozen objects an hour.  In in very short time, i found that very few galaxies can be seen from my heavily light polluted back yard.  And, an oxygen 3 filter lets me see most nebulae.

Back to my scope.  The tube length is 48".  It fits across the back seat of any car.  I had a $1000 budget, so the $800 scope fit.  I bought an oxygen 3 filter (about $89) at the same time.  I might have bought the 12" scope, but the tube is 8" longer, and doesn't fit in my car.  I might have gone with a truss dob with a larger mirror, but at the time, it was over my budget, and there was no computer.

In your budget, you ought to be able to at least get an xt6i - the Intelliscope 6" (150 mm) with computer.  I've used the xt8i, and love it.

You might be able to pick up the xt10i on the used market at astromart.

You should also consider joining a local astronomy club.  I joined a club and had fun with it for 5 years before buying a scope.  They can show you their stuff, and show you how to find good stuff to see.