| Author | Message | ||
     86129squids |
Hey folks- I'm thinking about getting a nice gift for my honey, but I could use some advice. I'm looking at different telescopes on Amazon- I'd like to keep the $$$ under 150, ideally a Benny. She likes to stargaze, and we're both kind of becoming birders. So, I've found one or two nice looking models on Amazon so far, but there are at least 2 major design differences, collimating vs. refractor. Here's the one I like so far: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MLHMAS/ref=nav_timel ine_asin?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I'm also thinking about a set of nice binoculars, maybe with a camera function for birding, but the above telescope is reported to be good for terrestrial or stargazing. | ||
| Ourdee |
Squids, Most people are turned off by stargazing because they tried a cheap telescope and couldn't see the views they saw in the pictures that were taken by some very high end gear. I have used a scope like that one and was not happy. I had a Meade ETX125 for a while and enjoyed it. The larger the front lens the more light that gets in. (very important) Now the happiest of times was with binoculars. A pair of 10x50 binoculars will get you started off nicely. Used with a good phone APP to show and tell you what you are looking at is a great start. The binoculars are also user friendly for ground views. I had a 25x100 binocular mounted on a tripod that I could see moons around another planet with. They were heavy, but worked best of the three. In the $300 price range. That big front lens is the secret for night viewing. For birding I'd use a good camera for pics. and a good pair of binoculars for the looking part. Pentax 8-16x21 is what I use for daytime archery and would be perfect in IMO for birding. They are small enough to carry on a belt or light on a neck sling. This is not my ebay item;http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/252626097013?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_noapp=true    Find an astronomy club near you and visit on one of their star gazing nights. Some clubs set up their equipment and let the public have a peek into the night sky. Best way to find out the direction the two of you would like to go. I have found that I don't really want to buy a lot of things. Just would like to experience them. A blanket and recliner outside at night with a pair of binoculars is what I like.  Oh, on larger binoculars, the alignment of the two scopes with each other is adjustable. The web has info. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
I had a tasco scope that looked like the one you posted that we got from a yardsale. It was beat but I enjoyed looking at the moon's bumpy face. beyond that, it was woefully inadequate. Remember that we are on a moving, spinning platform. If you finally get something very far out actually focused in and centered, it's going to be moving away and you will have to follow that target as the earth rotates. I have experimented with my spotting scope but the objective is too big for the moon and the magnification is 60 so it can't really do much with stars and planets. (Yay! mars is now a larger red spot!) The most important part of the equation I think is the tripod/mounting hardware. It doesn't matter how awesome your optics are if the tripod is crappy. | ||
| Aesquire |
I HAVE a Tasco scope like the one pictured. It's just capable of showing you Saturn's rings. As an oval. I had a lot of fun with it as a kid, but it's very limited. Skip that level entirely. First, a Reflector scope, 3" minimum 5" is better, or bigger. I'll skip the variations, they all work, home made works fine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflecting_telescope http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/Great-Telescop es-Under-200/pc/1/25.uts Second. The mount. Equatorial. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equatorial_mount Otherwise, you need to move the scope in two axis and you can't keep looking at anything for very long. You have to find it again. And again. With an Equatorial mount you turn one screw & it tracks. Or have a clock motor turn it. You do have to line the mount up with N for it to track properly, but..Big Dipper, Polaris, not so hard. Only way to go if you want to take pictures. Optional computer controlled, Iphone apps... buy or not as you like. Other mounts work for terrestrial use fine. They just won't track stars or planets. Don't go by magnification. ( that's in the lenses you stick in to look through ) You probably will almost never use a 3x barlow lens for a simple reason. Eye pupil diameter. 4-8 mm in the dark. A telescope is a light bucket. You squeeze the image down below 6-7 mm and you're getting less light into the eye. Higher magnifications shrink the image & let less light through. Simple math, objective size, ( front lens or mirror diameter ) magnification, image size, how much light. For binocs... See above. A nice 10x50 or 8x50 is perfect for collecting enough light. You can lie back and see a lot. Frankly I'd rather have a decent 8 or 10x50 binocular than my Tasco or similar level telescope. for birds... see advice above. | ||
| Ourdee |
The Meade 125mm ETX had all the computer controlled locating and tracking in it. Plug in the numbers, push a button, and focus on the object while it does the work. Front lens was 5". The Orion Nebula was one of the first things I watched through it. Don't be disappointed when you don't see the colors that are in the pictures. They used special filters. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_Nebula My dream back then was an 8 or 10 inch front lens. | ||
| Etennuly |
When I was in college I got to peer through a 10" lens reflecting scope at Saturn, it made individual rings visible.....for mere seconds. It had a single nob tracking tripod that required quite a bit of experience to operate. If you are going that way take some classes to avoid disappointment. A thousandth of an inch of aim at a target millions of miles out is a lot. And the target moves backwards across the viewing lens making movements confusing. I got a 3" diameter, long tube reflector type for christmas one year. I could not see anything through it after several attempts. After calling the manufacturer i found out it's 2 1/2 feet long tube was made of a cardboard product. In Florida's humidity it would warp from letting the sun hit one side of the tube as I set it up before dark while I could see to do it. I found that flexing the tube made it work as well as keeping it out of the sun. That is a $150 version. Get the good binoculars. They will be much more useful over time. Tracking and stability will be much less troubling. | ||
| Zac4mac |
Honestly, if you want to look at the stars, go to APOD. I have an 8" Celestron and Saturn is a fuzzy ball like Mars. I have seen a few moons of Saturn and more at Jupiter. Thru a pro 16" at CSU, Saturn's rings were visible but still fuzzy. | ||
| Ducley |
Nothing like an old survey instrument with good glass. Wild T-16, or T-2000 got us a good look at Saturn's moons. | ||
| Zac4mac |
I have a set of Wild 15 eye-pieces....from a microscope tho(Work fine) (Message edited by zac4mac on December 17, 2016) | ||
| Reepicheep |
+1 skipping the Tasco unless you get one "about free" at a garage sale. | ||
| 86129squids |
Good input, all- thanks so much! I've been thinking about $$$ outlay vs. frequency of use, and if I can get some good binoculars, that'll probably do. RD, that's a great idea for the astronomy club! Will look into that. Now, I need to see if there are any decent rigs that accommodate eyeglass wearers...  | ||
| Ducley |
http://www.opticsreviewer.com/best-binoculars.html I have a set of Jason binoculars with an eyepiece labeled "for eyeglass wearers". The barrels are sticky as the reviewer says and the autofocus is very nice. "Don't go by magnification. ( that's in the lenses you stick in to look through )" I went hunting antelope NE New Mexico late August almost 20 yrs ago and tried watching my buddy do a crawl with a Bushnell 12x60 spotting scope with crappy glass. I wound up switching to my little 10x25 binocs because even though I could not "zoom in" like the spotting scope the view was clearer so I felt that I could see better. The binocs may have been just barely cheaper than the spotting scope. (Message edited by Ducley on December 17, 2016) | ||
| Aesquire |
http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/tv/hsn.html For binocs.... 10x is about most people's max because they simply aren't cyborg enough to hold that still. You see rifle scopes with much higher magnification but those scopes are only used at the high powers when the user is using the ground, or a bench or a bipod to support the rifle & scope and keep it from vibrating. Offhand they dial it down to 4 to 10x. Most spotting scopes I've seen for a reasonable price are way over priced. Much better off with a decent set of binocs & a tripod. Some models I've tried at gander are so bad at letting light through you can't even focus on the dim critter mounted across the store. Remember, light bucket. Light bucket size, magnification, brightness of image. 7-8x50 is near ideal. That will actually be brighter than the naked eye. Commonly used as "Night glasses" the amplification is purely optical, and not much, but it's amazing the difference. People almost always want too much magnification. Then find the image is too faint or jiggles to much to see. http://www.rocketmime.com/astronomy/Telescope/Mini mumMagnification.html http://www.rocketmime.com/astronomy/Telescope/Surf aceBrightness.html I hope this confuses you | ||
| 04xl1200c |
Built a 10" Dobson Reflecting telescope in summer 2015 for a college course. The instructor is big time in to astronomy and had sourced the materials needed to build them at fairly reasonable prices. For $200 the students got two credits and got to build their own telescope. Was fairly impressed with being able to see the blurry rings of Saturn and great details on the Moon. Except for trying to follow objects through the sky, not a bad deal. Well, until the local club had a member with a 16' with auto tracking and position shows up and lets everyone look through it. For only about $2000 more you can get to see the ring of Saturn and it's moons in fantastic detail, without trying to chase their movement through the sky. Be careful getting into astronomy, it is a much worse addiction than motorcycles. After you start chasing the scope that gives you the view you want, you end up with the Hubble but still want more!!! | ||
| 04xl1200c |
If you just like to see what's out there, you can download Stellarium. It is a free download from Stellarium.org, open source software that astronomers can use to see the stars, and some planetariums use this software. | ||
| Ourdee |
The neatest thing is being able to walk outside at night and identify what you see overhead. The simple revelation will be your question of how much am I missing? I've always thought that real intelligence is the realization of how much you don't know. | ||
| Aesquire |
Sky map for the android phone & tablet. I love telescopes. I built a 6" mirror & the scope to go around it back when I was in high school. Labor intensive but cheap. Heavy cardboard tube painted black inside & white outside. Glued wood bits to hold lenses. Plenty of free plans & how toos. Make a fun family project. Heck she's probably better at the mirror polishing, most gals are, less impatient. When done it's a thousand buck scope for cheap. Mine used an altazimuth mount.... wood. But too late to be done by Christmas. | ||
| Thumper74 |
Sky map is great! I love living in the country! The big dipper is over my garage when I pull into the driveway. Orion's Belt is behind me. That one actually me a while to figure out. It was so bright, I thought it was satellites/space station related. | ||
| Crusty |
The Galaxy is in Orion's belt. | ||
| Thumper74 |
Did you just reference MIB? | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
I do believe he did. |
