Ok, Astronomy folk

[frankensooner]

My parents are going to buy us a telescope for my son's bd. They are going to give us up to 300 bucks and I have found a few. What would be the best for some beginning stargazers?

Here are a few I have discovered:

http://www.shoptics.com/bu-ts-788890.html

http://www.opticsplanet.net/celestron-astromaster-90-eq-refractor-telescope-21064.html

http://www.telescopes.com/telescopes/refracting-telescopes/meadeetx80attcastrotelescopewithautostar.cfm

oh, and tia.

[SoonerStormchaser]

Who cares...can you see the hawt chicks across the street clearly with em? Then you know you've got a good model.

[frankensooner]

Yeah, thanks for the good help there SSC. I expected nothing less from you. ;)


Anyone?

[King Crimson]

i think there was a telescope thread on here a couple years ago, might try a search.

[frankensooner]

i think there was a telescope thread on here a couple years ago, might try a search.

Thank you, I did and found out a couple of things. I am still open to advice. I am a little worried about the automatic telescopes. They sound like they might be a pain to deal with, but would make finding things easy and keep focused on the movements of the viewed object.

[yermom]

personally, i'm a Leo, on the cusp of...

nevermind :O

[olevetonahill]

Shoulda Been a Pole

[TheUnnamedSooner]

The one I got, I have enjoyed looking at the moon and saturn, but difficult to see anything else. Fugue and Widescreen are good sources for this.

[frankensooner]

This one looks cool too. http://www.heartlandamerica.com/browse/item.asp?PIN=21419&SC=WIB20001&

[SoonerStormchaser]

Yeah, thanks for the good help there SSC. I expected nothing less from you. ;)


Glad I could be of service.


AND THAT FOLKS MAKES 5000!

[sooneron]

Noob.


Back to the question-
I would look up Astronomics. They are based in Nompton.

[Fugue]

:les: Don't go cheap on teh tripod.

:D

[BudSooner]

Though i'm not the expert on astronomy, Bushnell is hard to beat when it comes to optics.
The Meade i'm not sure about, it has some nice features and it does not appear cheaply made, given the price and all....if your not crazy about using a remote like on the Bushnell then this one should do nicely.
Years ago a neighbor gave his son a new telescope(Bushnell brand, not sure what model)and his son asked him if he could give his old one to my boy...real nice of them to offer it so we accepted.

Tasco was the brand we received from them, it was an introduction model so it was easy to use(no electronics needed since it came with the owners manual)the tripod was pretty sturdy...and was amazing in the amount of light it captured late in the evening.

We may get the Meade, since the Tasco finally got to the point it was difficult to see thru-it's one weakness....plastic lenses.

[12]

I got a decent Mead about 15 years ago. I found the most enjoyable function was looking at the moon, though I'm sure there are other things I could look at.

It was just over $300. Mars was just another dot in the sky.

As with most anything, I imagine you get what you pay for, though I bought a map of the moon and really enjoy the detail I can get with the darned thing.

[12]

Ok, I'd like to go ahead and take myself out of the "educated telescope owners" category. They've changed and improved a bunch since I was in the market.

Anyone in the market for a 15 year old telescope?

[Mixer!]

I've got a 25 year old Celestron C8 Schmidt-Cassegrain I bought from Astronomics back in the day. It's worked pretty darn well for seeing the 'canals' on Mars, Jupiter's red spot, and Saturn's rings, among other things.

[Fugue]

I've got a 25 year old Celestron C8 Schmidt-Cassegrain I bought from Astronomics back in the day. It's worked pretty darn well for seeing the 'canals' on Mars, Jupiter's red spot, and Saturn's rings, among other things.

Nice! Those aren't cheap.

[TheUnnamedSooner]

I've got a meade and have been disappointed because I can't really see anything exciting except for the moon and saturn. Everything else is just small dots.

[Fugue]

In my opinion, you need a good 5 or an 8 to start seeing a lot of detail in targets other than the moon. Otherwise you see dots and fuzzy balls.

[frankensooner]

I found a nice Meade DS-2130 LNT 5" 1000mm f/7.7 Newtonian Reflecting GO TO Telescope with LNT Auto Align & Autostar, Generation II Mount for the right price. I think this is the one unless someone else has a better idear.

[TheUnnamedSooner]

I need to have someone show me how to use mine. Maybe it's the eyepieces, but I can't see anything but the moon.