Help! What Telescope???????

Question

I want to get a telescope for my husband but I dont have a clue what I'm looking for! Could someone help give me some points on what I should be looking for on the specs and whats good to have etc?

Answer 1

Difficult to do without knowing what he is into.

This is rarely something that should be bought as a "surprise".

Disregard any claims about "magnification".  It does not mean a thing to astronomers (or, rather, I should say that it is not the most important criteria).

Look at the "aperture" which is the fancy name for  the diameter of the main lens or mirror: that is what determines how much light is gathered by the instrument and how much detail will be available in the image.

Is he into planets, star clusters or galaxies?  Best telescope is different for each preference.

For planets and other relatively bright objects, you want a "long focal" which allows better, larger images with contrast.

For galaxies, clusters, nebulae and other faint objects, you want a short focal: smaller images, but crisper and easier to pick out objects against the background (which is never totally dark, regardless of the telescope).

Always in the same backyard, you could go big.

Forever on the move? make sure it is portable (weight, size, requirement for electricity...)

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Best bet is to run the surprise this way:

Go to a telescope store by yourself.  Tell about your plan and ask for simple explanations.  If nothing else, you'll have an idea of prices.  And you should come out knowing the difference between a reflector and a refractor.

Then, as a "surprise" take him to the telescope store and once there see what he likes.

It is OK not to buy something immediately (unless the nearest store is 1000 miles from home).

Answer 2

First, never purchase a telescope from a department store. These are junk and most likely your husband will get frustrated trying to get it to work. Stick with a reputable telescope dealer like http://www.astronomics.com or http://www.telescope.com. They also offer great support. Here is a link to help pick out a telescope from Sky and Telescope magazine. They offer some great ideas and concerns about choosing the right first telescope. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/equipment...

There are many factors that play into the right choice for your first scope purchase. Portability and what you want to observe are 2 major concerns.

Answer 3

You should know that i don't believe in beginner telescopes. Please don't go to a discount store and buy something.  They are frustrating to use, and will turn you off to the hobby.  Buy what you will use.  Your first stop should be at the local astronomy club.  There you can try out telescopes, have people show you how to use it, what to see, and give you other tips.  My club has loaner scopes for members.  I borrowed each in turn before buying one.  And, i ended up spending $800 on a telescope.  This would buy me 26 years of club membership.  Several long time members of my club do not own telescopes.  One guy just donated his scope to the club because he doesn't use it.  He shows up to events and looks to see what others have found, or uses club equipment.

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.  That's usually a Newtonian 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.

What did i buy?  I bought a 10" Newtonian reflector from Orion, with a computer object locator.  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.