I want a telescope which can see to the Oort Cloud or BEYOND the Oort Cloud. Can I get one?

Question

I want to buy a telescope that you can see to the oort cloud (end of the solar system). I want to see Uranus, Neptune clearly & big. I'd want a telescope that you can see clearly to the oort cloud.

Actually...

What is the best home-using telescope in the world?

Answer 1

You are setting impossible conditions.  

The best home telescopes are the 30+" reflectors that guys make.

Answer 2

Ummmmmm..... no such telescope exists.  Even Hubble can't see Pluto very clearly.  So yeah..... backyard telescopes you're not going to see the outer planets "really big," and the Oort cloud.... no way.  Sorry.  Closest you can get to that is becoming an astronomer and getting to use the large observatories and Hubble.

But if all you want is a really good backyard telescope.... look for large focal lengths and apertures.  The outer planets typically require at least a 12" aperture minimum.  But you're not going to get "really big."

Answer 3

There isn't any telescope which will show you the Oort Cloud, but any telescope will let you look beyond the Oort Cloud at the stars in our own galaxy, and galaxies beyond. Uranus and Neptune are both disappointing in any telescope because of their small angular diameter. If you put on enough magnification to make them large, the Earth's atmosphere turns them into fuzzy balls. I've observed Neptune with the largest telescope in Canada, 74" aperture, and all that I could see was a fuzzy ball.

I'm not sure what you mean by "the best home-using telescope in the world." You can purchase a good quality telescope for around $500, but you can spend tens of thousands more, if you choose.

Here are a few web pages with good information on beginner's telescopes:

http://www.gaherty.ca/tme/TME0702_Buying...

http://www.scopereviews.com/begin.html

http://observers.org/beginner/j.r.f.begi...

For more advanced information, read Phil Harrington's Star Ware, 4th edition (Wiley).

You'll get the greatest value for your money with a Newtonian reflector on a Dobsonian mount, such as these:

http://www.telescope.com/control/categor...

http://www.skywatchertelescope.net/swtin...

Buy from a store which specializes in telescopes and astronomy, either locally or online; don't buy from department stores, discount stores or eBay as mostly what they sell is junk. Find your local astronomy club and try out different telescopes at one of their star parties:

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community...

Answer 4

Fancy telescope, fancy price. Most any El Cheapo telescope will show you stars and star clusters. But to see dim distant objects nice and big you need a huge telescope that costs millions of dollars. That's why most ordinary people just look at the pictures of Uranus and Neptune from NASA or from a big observatory.

Answer 5

You can already see past the Oort cloud with your naked-eye. But too see the Oort cloud itself in any detail is practically impossible. Even Hubble can't image Kuiper Belt Objects very well and the Oort cloud is a lot further out than them.