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Member Junky
Posts: 6
Location: Pocahontas, IA | I am looking into getting a telescope, I am completely new to amateur astronomy and would appreciate some advice and help on what to get for a telescope. There are so many different styles/types of telescopes and accessories I am not sure what I need or what is a good one to get.
My intent (for what it is worth in amateur astronomy) is to get an awesome view of the planets, and to be able to obtain a good view of nebulas galaxies and other celestial objects. I know I may need filters and accessories to be able to achieve a good view of some of these objects, but once again as someone who is new to this I do not know what is the best route and equipment to get for this.
Also, I live out on a farm in Iowa, so light pollution is not a real big issue to have to filter out. Also I plan on setting up the telescope outside with a tripod when I wish to use it.
For getting started my budget to work with is $500-$700, I am hoping this will at least get me set up with the right telescope and tripod to start off with. The filters and other accessories for reaching out to celestial bodies can hopefully be fit into my budget later on in the year.
Edited by LordNova2 7/19/2012 8:24 PM
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Veteran Junky
Posts: 204
Location: Bethlehem, PA | Hi and Welcome!
Perhaps the best beginner scope is an 8" Dobsonian mounted Newtonian reflector. You can get a completely manual one for about $500 or one with a computer that helps you push the scope to the target you select for about $600. Either scope would killer views of planets as well as deep sky objects (bebula, galaxies, and star clusters). Here is an example of each:
http://www.opticsmart.com/telescopes/apertura-ad8-dobsonian-reflect...
http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/Dobsonian-Telescopes/IntelliSco...
Take a read through this thread (at least the first post) to give a good idea on what the different scopes can offer: http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Board/beg...
I am sure you will have more questions so feel free to come back and ask them! |
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Forum Support Admin
Posts: 6042
  
Location: Wyoming Wind River Range | There's a good amount of information to be found right here.
Browse through some of the articles found at the top of the page.
A good one to start with is this:
http://www.andysshotglass.com/ChoosingScope.html
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Regular Junky
Posts: 99
Location: Pinson, Alabama | Hello and welcome to Andy's. You are in the right place the members here have helped me a lot. Craytab hit the nail on the head I just got my first "real"telescope. After 6 months of research reading reviews and talking to these guys. I went with a Zhumell Z10 Dobsonian. In the year I have been observing I have had fork mount EQ mount and now a Dob. The Dob is easier to set up and use than the others and you can get a bigger scope for less money. I paid $499 for mine from greatredspot.com
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Forum Support Old Timer
Posts: 6245
Location: Mandeville, LA USA 30.38 X 90.07 | Welcome to Andy's! The guys have already given you a ton of good information. We pride ourselves on helping others spend their astrobucks. 
David |
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Member Junky
Posts: 6
Location: Pocahontas, IA | Thanks for the quick responses and great information!
At first jrbarnett’s guide was confusing and left me lost, but after reading a manual on how to set-up and calibrate a Dobsonian telescope it made much more sense.
I’ll still be looking into it the next few days, but the more I think about it the IntelliScope feature is nice for a beginner like myself when it comes to finding an object.
For viewing the planets and nebulas how critical are the; Oxygen III, Hydrogen-Beta, Jupiter, Mars, and color filters?
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Forum Support Old Timer
Posts: 6245
Location: Mandeville, LA USA 30.38 X 90.07 | The only filter that ever go much use was my variable polarizer for observing a bright Moon. All the other filters that I bought in haste, esepecially the colored filters, collect dust. To view certain objects, especially nebula like the Veil, you'll need filters like Orion's Ultrablock or OIII. But for stuff like galaxies don't gain anything with any type of filter.
David |
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Expert Junky
Posts: 1950
Location: Deming, NM | Colored filters are very subtle! For inexperienced observers you can't tell that they make any difference but with experience comes subtle changes. Still I would not waste the money on colored filters right now. Observe with what you have and then decide if that is the route you want to go when you get more experienced. |
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Veteran Junky
Posts: 204
Location: Bethlehem, PA | I have a set of colored filters that I never really use. I also have a variable polarizing filter that doesn't get a lot of use but is essential for viewing very bright things like Venus. A narrowband filter like Orion's Ultrablock is a great help on many types of nebula, and if you can only afford one filter, this would be the one to get. An O-III filter helps on some nebula but not near as many as the narrowband, though it is great on the Veil which is one of the nicest nebula around.
For now, I would say don't worry at all about filters. You can spend plenty of money on thme as time goes by. Right now just figure out what scope you can afford and want, buy it, and get out under the stars!
Another good thing to consider is joining a local Astronomy club. Most clubs have frequent meetings where you can see lots of equipment in person. Aslo, some clubs like mine have scopes that members can rent so you can try stuff out before you buy. |
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Member Junky
Posts: 6
Location: Pocahontas, IA | Thanks for the help.
I kinda figured the colored lenses were not all that much to get excited about. Most of what I could find right off hand about the filters were in cases with light pollution allot of the ultra-block and sky-glow filters makes all the difference in the world, and hardly anything mentioned about the other filters, some of only which mention a handful of nebulas or planets.
@Craytab
I searched around the web a little bit and was surprised to actually see several astronomy clubs in Iowa. I’ll have to take a longer look tomorrow to see who all has what, as most of the larger clubs are based 200+ miles from me but they also have some rather extravagant equipment available that members can use on site. |
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New Junky
Posts: 1
Location: Iceland | Hi guys,
Totally new to the forum, my first post... and I just wanted to say thanks for the great info. I am about to buy a telescope and getting a price idea was very helpful. I actually live in Iceland where there is brightness 24/7 so I have a few months to choose before the darkness comes back :D
William |
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Forum Support Admin
Posts: 6042
Location: Wyoming Wind River Range | You should have the advantage of some very nice skies and some fantastic aurora.  |
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Admin
Posts: 5323
Location: Marysville,Wa 48.07N-122.21W | Hello and WELCOME to Andy's place!!
Once the midnight sun goes down you should had some great darkness. |
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Member Junky
Posts: 6
Location: Pocahontas, IA | I found a used Orion SkyQuest XT8i in mint condition, it came with the 1.25” eyepiece set that Orion sells so it was hard for me to pass up.
I got to try it out last night a little bit, mostly played with the different magnifications. I did stumble across Saturn while trying calibrate the finder scope. I also took a little peak at Jupiter and Venus this morning.
I am going to try and become a bit more fluent with the operation of the telescope tonight. |
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Member Junky
Posts: 6
Location: Pocahontas, IA | I have been looking over the 2” eyepieces and have trying to figure out what is the big deal with them? From what I understand they allow you a larger field of view, what puzzles me is that a vast quantity cost as much (if not more) for a single eyepiece than what they want for the telescope.
Is going from 1.25” to 2” just the luxury of being able to see a larger FOV, or is there more to it? |
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Forum Support Old Timer
Posts: 6245
Location: Mandeville, LA USA 30.38 X 90.07 | LordNova2 - 8/12/2012 3:43 PM
I have been looking over the 2” eyepieces and have trying to figure out what is the big deal with them? From what I understand they allow you a larger field of view, what puzzles me is that a vast quantity cost as much (if not more) for a single eyepiece than what they want for the telescope.
Is going from 1.25” to 2” just the luxury of being able to see a larger FOV, or is there more to it?
It depends on the scope. Some scopes because of their design don't benefit from the additional FOV. However, if you're looking through an 8" Newt or a 12" SC, you'll find that the added FOV is quite pleasing, especially on objects like M45 or M31.
Keep in mind that there are 2" eps that have really large FOV and some not so much.
David |
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Member Junky
Posts: 6
Location: Pocahontas, IA | Hmm… What I have is an 8” Dobsidian, from what I understand a Dobsidian is a Newtonian with a different mount to make it portable. Is there any other differences besides this that would cause me to not gain anything from using a 2” eyepiece if I were to get a few later on?
Also if I find an eyepiece size that seems to work well for looking at certain objects, so far as of right now deep sky objects seem to appear the best from my 17mm and 25mm 1.25” eyepieces, would it be safe to say that the results would be the same from the 17mm and 25mm 2” eyepieces?
Also I notice that if I try to look directly at a dim/faint object such as a nebula galaxy or faint star cluster it seems to disappear on me (it quickly fades away to darkness), it seems to be a trick of the eye, but if I look off to the side it appears to be brighter and dose not fade as much. I was wondering if this was normal effect, or do I have something wrong with my eyesight? |
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Veteran Junky
Posts: 237
Location: Panama City Fl | This is normal, it is a trick used by astronomers to see the dimmer objects. It is called averted vision. When you use averted vision the receptors in the eye that are more sensitive to light the rods and not the cones (color) are in use. More cones are centrally located in the eye than rods. Since more cones then rods are centrally located in the eye the center of the eye is less sensitive to dim light. With practice you can become so proficient at viewing dim objects in this manner that you will be able to sketch them in amazing detail.
Edited by jmfloater 8/13/2012 3:43 PM
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Need advice and help on what to get…
