Which of the two beginner telescopes would you recommend?

Question

I'm an amateur at astronomy and have a pair of 7x50 binoculars which I have used for a while, and I think its time to move on to a telescope. I've been researching scopes for a few days, and my priority is that it should be VERY PORTABLE so that I can keep it in my small condo's solarium (den) without taking much room and do most of my stargazing through there.

I'm stuck between 2 scopes and want you experienced stargazers out there to help me decide which one is a better option, and why?

1. Orion Observer 70mm EQ Refractor - $150

http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=refractors/~pcategory=telescopes/~product_id=09882

OR

2. Orion Starblast 4.5 Reflector - $135

http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=reflectors/~pcategory=telescopes/~product_id=09814

Also, if there are any other better alternatives for a beginner (under $200), please list them as well. Thanks!

Answer 1

Definitely #2: well designed, well made, and easy to carry in one hand. Avoid the EQ version, which someone suggested: it's heavy and has a lot of vibration. I've used both.

When you say you are planning to observe from your solarium, do you mean trying to observe through glass? Nearly all window glass today is of too low quality to make observations through. You will get blurring from uneven thickness of glass and ghost images from internal reflections in the glass. Observing must be done outdoors with no glass obstructions. You also can't observe out through an open window because of air turbulence.

Answer 2

I would pick the second one. The 70mm refractor is only a little bigger than your 50mm binoculars.

The 4.5 inch (112 mm) starblast got high ratings from Sky and Telescope magazine, as a very easy to use and extremely portable telescope easy to take anywhere. Many of the editors of the magazine bought one after they published the review.

Answer 3

Orion is a good brand, so don't worry about optical quality.  And, don't go for extra eyepieces that will bump the magnification above 50 X the objective lens or mirror, in inches (that would be 225 for the reflector and about 137 for the refractor).  More magnification than that will just result in magnifying the effects of the atmosphere, not more detail.

Now, if you are more interested in the planets and the moon, opt for the smaller refractor.  Refractors yield brighter and sharper images than do reflectors, because of the pesky central obstruction (called the secondary mirror) in the reflector.  Images have higher contrast with refractors, as well.

However, if you are trying to view "deep sky objects" such as nebulae and galaxies the more important factor is size of the objective mirror or lens.  In that case, I would recommend the reflector, because it's objective mirror is much larger in area than the objective lens of the refrator.

Answer 4

It's all about the size of the primary mirror.  You'll be able to see a lot more with the 4.5'' reflector; with the refractor, you're paying as much for the mount as the optics.  Dobsonians like the reflector are all about the optics on a cheap, portable mount.

Answer 5

the starblast is the only scope worth buying in your price range. get the new starblast 6 if you can stretch your budget to accommodate it.

what have the local astronomers told you?

Answer 6

Basically the two things to keeping mind when buying a telescope are the lens/mirror width and the focal length.  The focal length determines magnification quality and the width determines the brightness and detail of what you're observing.  So if you want to zoom in, go with a long focal length and if you want bright detailed objects go with a wide scope.  Obviously wider the scope and the longer the focal length the better.  Note that large focal length doesn't necessarily mean a long telescope.  Cassigran telescopes usually manage to be short with pretty long focal lengths.  The other things you want to keep in mind are what you're going to want to look at and portability.  If you want to move your scope around easily, you won't want to buy some huge reflector and if you want to look at deep space objects in a lot of detail you won't want some narrow refractor.  All these factors (and price) combine to help you decide which telescope is the perfect one for you.

Answer 7

the more expensive one

Answer 8

2 would be my choice-- however may I direct you to this type of scope-- a Dobsonian.

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

You won't need a table to setup-- and you get almost 2 more inches of aperture. You need about another $50..... including shipping.

You can see several of my telescopes at this link:

http://www.flickr.com/boatman1

Answer 9

I'd have to agree with Boatman, save up a bit more and get a dobsonian.  But if must keep it under $200 I'd say get this one:  http://www.telescope.com/control/product...

It has the optical tube as the second one but with a tripod so you won't need to set it on a table to set it on.