[mikeofmacc]

Hi everyone,

My brother and I are looking for a small starter telescope for our parents for christmas. They enjoy looking at the night sky for planets, stars, finding it in relation to diagrams from books and also observing meteor showers. So we searched for a while and came down to these three:-

http://www.amazon.co...54456024&sr=1-1

or...

http://www.amazon.co..._pr_product_top

or...

http://www.amazon.co...&pf_rd_i=468294

Is anyone able to advise on the different numbers and specifications as to which may be best for viewing of planets and stars? Max budget is £100.
Is a bigger eyepiece size and magnification better?
And what do the numbers in the name of the telescope mean? 70AZ vs 76EQ?
And is there any advantages of reflective vs lenses in a telescope?

Thanks in advance!
Mike.

[Dave Hancox]

Its very difficult to choose the right scope depending on budget and what you want to do with a relatively good guide here with some explanations on apertures etc. http://www.meteorwat...view/#more-3564

[Uskys]

I don't know much about telescopes, but I know there's the sort that you find what to look at, and theres the ones that find you what you want to look at.

[akkan]

I don't know about the particular ones you have there, but having been given a similar basic one last Xmas (a Skywatcher Explorer) I can tell you that for that price you can probably expect to see Jupiter and it's moons, but not the rings on Saturn. Stars look like blobs of light.

Personally I'd go for the Celestron 76EQ rather than the 76AZ because it's easier to look at stars etc with an equatorial mount as opposed to the Alt-az on the other. Something else for you to think about

Also, be aware even a small scope takes up a hell of a lot of space. My sister was quite shocked at the size, thinking she'd got me a small scope that I could safely store in the living room (and no it's not even permanently set up).

And get them a Celestron moon filter as it really does cut down on the glare, and it can be used on bigger more expensive scopes later........

It's been so wet here I can't remember what bits of kit I have for my scope as it hasn't been out for several months now but I know in addition to the moon filter I also bought another Celestron EP which may have been a Barlow, although my well-meaning sis gave me some incredibly expensive EPs that are far too high power for the scope and so useless.

[Richie]

If they are beginers I would suggest binoculars.

I have never seen a 'shop sold' telescope that has being any good, unless your prepared to pay a decent amount of money.
Something in the range of 6~8" would show you something, but anything of smaller apeture would be useless for deep sky work.

Although you can get good views of the lunar surface with a 4" scope, and it will show you Jupiters moons, Saturns rings etc.
I started off with a 3" scope when I was a kid, but I soon wanted a bigger one, then a bigger one, until I've got one so big it cost a good few thousand pounds for a large enough mirror and to have it made up for me.

It's swings and roundabouts, but bigger is better is the general rule of thumb.

Anything from Argos or suchlike is just going to be rubbish. Stick to binoculars.

Just my view of course.

[Les]

HI Mike,
Be very wary of very cheap telescopes Im afraid.Not only will they most likely give inferior images,they will be difficult to use,even for a experianced user.
This might sound a bit like snobbery but using even a good quality instrument can be difficult for a complete beginner,telescopicy is a skill that can only be learned through patiance and practise,even seeing things through the eyepiece is a skill that has to be honed through experiance over time.Not only that differant seeing conditions can dictate what sort of objects can be successfully observed on a given night,and what powers can be be used(which usually means lower magnifications).The good news is that using a astronomical telescope properly is a skill that everyone can master eventually.But if the rooky cuts his teeth with a instrument thats not suitable it will make life much more difficult, and may even be a form of adversion therepy.
I would advise a good quality pair of binoculars(7X50's or 10X50,s),a star atlas and guide books and spend a year learning the sky and be one up on the ones that go straight onto GOTO's- appreniceship if you like, and leave the telescope till Christmas next year.

[ldavidcooke]

Hey Mike,

Though Richie had the right idea of a pair of 10x80 binoculors as an option, the problem, is they are not very stable. If you could find a pair that you could mount to a stand the stand would be fairly limiting. That would be similar to trying to use most refractors, the mount would have to be tall. As an option generally most good beginning "scopes" are reflector or newtonian. Personally, I find the issue of mirrors fogging up and hunching over your instrument a bit uncomfortable.

To that end I find I have two preferences first is a richfield cassegrain or lap telescope. They make nice star or planet spotters; but, like the binoculors are not very good at resolving details. Second is a take off of the newtonian with a swivel mount called a Dobsonian. These types can be found with larger mirrors then most normally mounted telescopes at about 1/2 the price, plus, you have the option of outfitting the telescopes with a camera mount for taking pictures. As of late there are two vendors that make usb video cameras that you can connect to the mount for either displaying your image on a laptop or a tablet.

If I can run down the manf. or distributors I add the links below. Good luck and good hunting...

http://www.scientifi...-telescope.html
http://www.dansdata.com/astroscan.htm

A little more expensive; but, more my kind of telescope: http://www.bizrate.c...&show=80&sort=6

http://www.nextag.co...plw=100&phi=500
http://www.stormthec...n-telescope.htm

[Les]

Personally I would say 10X80 binoculars were quite an advance specialist instrument,the sort of thing nova and comet hunters would use,admittedly they would also be excellant for deep sky observation.But buying new I would think they would cost as much as a good sized telescope.I wouldent really recommend them for the beginner.The beauty of 10X50's is that they will still be a invaluable tool for general veiws even after the user has progressed to a moderate sized telescope.I have several scopes but Id never be without my 10 or 7X50's,they are part of most serious observers armoury,and a good start to any collection of astro gear.

This post has been edited by Les: 03 December 2012 - 01:02

[scrapemedic]

The EQ and the AZ relate to the mounting of the scope. AZ is an Alt-azimuth mount, basically a straight up and down, left and right movement. EQ is an equatorial mount, a little harder to set up, but once there, you only need to turn one handle to track a star as it arcs across the sky. If they are novice to using a scope, then I would suggest the AZ, otherwise they might waste a lot of time, or get frustrated setting up an Equatorial mount.

There is one other type of mount, and that is motorised, which you can hook up to a computer and with the touch of a button, send the scope looking for the star in question, but they get pretty expensive and at your price range would detract from the size of the scope.

Size is eveything, the bigger the "objective" the better the view with more detail. The objective is the size of the Mirror/lens. A good starter size is about 4" (114 mm) for a reflector and 3" for a refractor telescope. Hey, whats this I hear yo say? Refractor, reflector? Well a refractor is the sort you look straight through, it has a lens at the front, (hard to keep clean on a cold frosty night) but is good for looking at the "whole sky" and solar system objects. A reflector uses a mirror at the base, (and being a mirror you get more for your money) and reflects the image into a smaller eyepiece lens. They are good for looking at deep sky images such as clusters and galaxies. Either way your budget is not going to give you hubble quality images, though with mine I could see the ice cap on Mars.

I appreciate what the others are saying about quality of cheaper scopes, but if your thinking of a christmas present for parents, then for a bit of fun and amature interest, a cheap scope can fit the bill. Jessops are doing 114mm scopes for half price at the moment (£120 approx).
http://www.jessops.c...28634/show.html
http://www.jessops.c...76685/show.html


Prices go up in huge stages, under a hundred will get you a fun scope with a small objective and mechanical mount. £300 will get you a bigger objective, £600 to a grand will get you a 6" objective and motorised equatorial mount.

As has been pointed out, binoculars are hard to keep steady, unless you mount them on a stand.

I cut my teeth on an Tasco 114mm relfector with a EQ mount, set up in the street outside my flat. Seen some pretty good things from there too. I just joined the local astronomy society to have the chance of improving my skills and getting to better dark skies sites. It is pretty cheap and a good idea to give as a gift.

[mikeofmacc]

Hi everyone,

Many thanks for the quick replies. Thanks for the advice. We already own reasonably decent binoculars, hence looking at a beginners telescope. Will think on everything here and let you know what we decide!

Thanks, regards, and wishing you a merry christmas,
Mike.

[mikeofmacc]

scrapemedic, on 03 December 2012 - 01:07, said:

The EQ and the AZ relate to the mounting of the scope. AZ is an Alt-azimuth mount, basically a straight up and down, left and right movement. EQ is an equatorial mount, a little harder to set up, but once there, you only need to turn one handle to track a star as it arcs across the sky. If they are novice to using a scope, then I would suggest the AZ, otherwise they might waste a lot of time, or get frustrated setting up an Equatorial mount.

There is one other type of mount, and that is motorised, which you can hook up to a computer and with the touch of a button, send the scope looking for the star in question, but they get pretty expensive and at your price range would detract from the size of the scope.

Size is eveything, the bigger the "objective" the better the view with more detail. The objective is the size of the Mirror/lens. A good starter size is about 4" (114 mm) for a reflector and 3" for a refractor telescope. Hey, whats this I hear yo say? Refractor, reflector? Well a refractor is the sort you look straight through, it has a lens at the front, (hard to keep clean on a cold frosty night) but is good for looking at the "whole sky" and solar system objects. A reflector uses a mirror at the base, (and being a mirror you get more for your money) and reflects the image into a smaller eyepiece lens. They are good for looking at deep sky images such as clusters and galaxies. Either way your budget is not going to give you hubble quality images, though with mine I could see the ice cap on Mars.

I appreciate what the others are saying about quality of cheaper scopes, but if your thinking of a christmas present for parents, then for a bit of fun and amature interest, a cheap scope can fit the bill. Jessops are doing 114mm scopes for half price at the moment (£120 approx).
http://www.jessops.c...28634/show.html
http://www.jessops.c...76685/show.html


Prices go up in huge stages, under a hundred will get you a fun scope with a small objective and mechanical mount. £300 will get you a bigger objective, £600 to a grand will get you a 6" objective and motorised equatorial mount.

As has been pointed out, binoculars are hard to keep steady, unless you mount them on a stand.

I cut my teeth on an Tasco 114mm relfector with a EQ mount, set up in the street outside my flat. Seen some pretty good things from there too. I just joined the local astronomy society to have the chance of improving my skills and getting to better dark skies sites. It is pretty cheap and a good idea to give as a gift.

Hi there,

Regarding the second link about. Is this an AZ or EQ mount?

Thanks and regards,
Mike.

[scrapemedic]

Mike, the second link is an AZ mount by the looks of it;
The first link is an EQ mount, you can tell by the weights and the two turnscrews.

[Astromadhatter]

If you went for the astromaster 76EQ get it from currys at £71.99 , my girlfriend has one and for the money its great, but be warned the EQ mount needs polar aligning for accurate tracking, any scopes of this budget will be limited to the moon and some very basic planetary viewing, you should however be able to make out the rings on Saturn.

reflection telescopes need the mirrors aligning regularly- but give more bang for the buck in terms of views in my experiences, refractor telescopes dont need aligning but are more expensive.

If you could stretch just a little bit further this reflector will be very hard to beat for the money but needs to be tabletop used..it is portable and with light pollution a massive problem as to what you can see transporting this to darker skys is easy. its a fairly powerfull telescope that will provide nice views.

http://www.amazon.co..._pr_product_top

Alternatively i would consider this telescope, its a refractor (no mirror alignment needed. that`s optics punch above its weight price wise, the stand is not great though usable when unextended, it can be used on land targets so great for wildlife and ships at sea. its, cheap, its ultra portable, it can be mounted on photographic tripods for a more stable setup, and many seasoned astronomers swear by them as a "grab and Go" telescope. Highly recommended , however a cheap red dot pointer would be a worthwile add on (same with any of these telescopes. you will just about make out the moons of jupiter and the rings of saturn, much improved views over binos for lunar/planetary

http://www.currys.co...506588-pdt.html

One thing to be aware of, at this price all of these telescopes will have wobbly tripods that can spoil views, the "dobsonian" mount of the first link i posted is by far the most stable and easy to use.

This post has been edited by Astromadhatter: 05 December 2012 - 23:56

[ldavidcooke]

Hey All,

I don't know for certain; however, if price were the primary concern the multiple applications of this combination would be high on my list: http://www.amazon.co...s+for+astronomy

Or possibly this: http://www.amazon.co...rion+spaceprobe

Coupled with this: http://www.amazon.co...=I2OM6MDLTPJ8ZP

If you wanted to do more serious sky watching... (Mike for old eyes a little more light and a bit less magnification lets you extend the years of enjoying this hobby. A 5 inch (130mm) 'scope will not give you galaxies any worse then a 12 inch, just not quite as big or bright a spot. However, with a 130mm old eyes might be able to resolve Saturns rings where a 100mm or even Liz's 114mm would reveal little more then a smudge. As to eyepieces the less glass in them the more thst transfers to the eye, also the smallest size I ould recommend for older viewers is roughly 12.5mm. If you are seriously thinking about the SpaceProbe consider that for about 20 quid less you can get a 130mm with a 900mm FL offering about 50% more magnafication then you would get with the 600mm of the one I linked in. (Its just that smaller s less likely to get bumped or knocked over and is easier for us older folk to handle... ))