Buying a telescope for the first time?

Sunday, March 15th, 2009 at 3:14 am

I want to buying a telescope for the first time because I have recently become very interested in astronomy. I want a cheap one, no more than $200, and I was wondering what is the best I could get for that price? Best resolution, magnification, etc.

REply:

A lot depends on what you want to look at. If it's just the moon, planets and stars, you don't need a huge lens or mirror to see them, although up to a point the larger the lens the more detail you will see. A good 60mm-90mm refractor (uses just lenses, not mirrors) buying a telescope would allow you to see the mountains and craters on the moon, the cloud bands on Jupiter and the rings of Saturn. These can be purchased cheaply but don't buy one advertised with a magnification higher than 150x-200x because above that things will just get dimmer and fuzzier.

If you want to look deeper in the sky at fainter nebulas and galaxies, you will need a larger lens, say around 4-6 inches in diameter. The cheapest are reflectors which use mirrors to collect the light. The cheapest large objective reflectors are called Dobsonian telescopes. Next cheapest would be reflecting telescopes. Again don't purchase ones advertised with more than 200x-300x.

Stick with good reputation sources for telescopes such as Meade, Celestron and Orion. Below is a link to Orion telescopes which make the best for buying a telescope for the lowest prices. If you have time, get their catalog which explains all this.