Topic: Star Gazers???

[CharlieT]

ANy one here into amatuer astronomy??? Yongest boy has gotten really into it and I have been looking around online thinking of getting him a nice telescope for Xmas. Don't know a durn thing about them. Reflecting, refractory, dosonian, etc etc.....? ANy particular advantage of one over the other? WHat brands are good, what ones to stay away from? I'd be looking in the $400-800 ballpark price range.

[SD750F]

CharlieT,

My recommendation would be to purchase a small Reflector or better yet a Cassegrain. NEVER buy a refractive or in line lens style telescope. The typical quality of a refractive is so far below pair that you might not even be able to view the moon with any quality.

Here is Meade Telescopes, one of the best manufacturers today:
http://www.meade.com/
and their best entry scope: http://www.meade.com/etx_premier/index.html

And another very good way to get involved into astronomy is to get a very good binoculars with large primary lens. The benefit of a pair of binoculars is that the are great to look at distant stars and nebula because of the light gathering capabilities as well as their large field of view. This makes for a much more positive experience for beginners. Sometimes a special binocular holder can be constructed that allows for hands free viewing while sitting in a lawn chair! 

Scott

P.S. I use to teach community college astronomy in San Diego years ago!

[kirkn]

Well, I just use a pair of good binoculars, too.

My kids and I all like looking around the sky on clear moonless nights.  We live pretty well out in the country, so we get good results.  Fun!

Good luck with it,

Kirk

[CharlieT]

Thanks, Scott. THose Meade units look like just what I was looking for.

[tramp]

binoculars are great for star gazing
just not deep space

[SD750F]

There are very few places left in the United States were you can truly do deep space observations. Light pollution is so bad it makes it almost impossible. And the equipment will cost you much more than the dollars we have talked about.

To do deep space observation/pictures right, you need a fixed large mass base mount, a large aperture telescope with a high precision tracking controller, and a high resolution chilled CCD image plate. For anyone wanting something more than a good pair of binoculars, I would suggest the Meade scope I provided a link for above. It is portable, has a good tracking motor and finder, and can be used for terrestrial spotting as well.

Scott

[tramp]

does seem to be a good scope
my guess is that you have to have a laptop to hook up