Amateur telescope reccomendations?

Onebadhawk
the rocketry show
eggtimer rocketry
The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
dr wogz

dr wogz

Fly caster
Joined
Feb 5, 2009
Messages
9,491
Reaction score
5,646
Location
Land of Poutine!
This week's interest is a telescope. (since I haven't been flying, the motor budget is somewhat untouched. and yes, the build pile grows steadily despite..)

I know nothing, really of these things, and there is much to learn. something easy-ish to set up & use, and not require a PhD. What would a student get? Any recommendations? What should look for ? Not look for.. Ideally also, if a camera mount is available..

This one seems to be recommended by a few, and is cheap enough to be a 'whim'..

Celestron 31045 AstroMaster 130 EQ Reflector Telescope
https://www.celestron.com/products/astromaster-130eq-telescope
or

Celestron 21049 PowerSeeker 127EQ Telescope


Opinion?

don't want to go over $500CAD
 
Celestron used to make a good scope; my college roommate had an 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain. Good views but a bit heavy.

The 127EQ appears to have some sort of corrector to get such a short scope. Some of what I've heard of such optical systems isn't so good. The 130EQ appears to be an ordinary Newtonian reflector w/o a corrector, and may give better views. It looks like a pretty good first scope. Not terribly heavy so it doesn't kill your interest to haul it out there. 130 mm is large enough for decent views of most objects.

Be aware that the worst part of any telescope is the atmosphere. If the image is going in/out of focus or wavering...that's atmosphere.

If dew is a problem in your area, make a dew shield.

Send me a PM if you have any questions. I ground/polished/figured an 8" f/6 reflector as a freshman in college, and have taught a class on it. I was working on a 14.7" mirror until someone cleared out the lab I was working in. Without informing me. :mad: 🤬

Best -- Terry
 
prfesser said:
Celestron used to make a good scope; my college roommate had an 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain. Good views but a bit heavy.

The 127EQ appears to have some sort of corrector to get such a short scope. Some of what I've heard of such optical systems isn't so good. The 130EQ appears to be an ordinary Newtonian reflector w/o a corrector, and may give better views. It looks like a pretty good first scope. Not terribly heavy so it doesn't kill your interest to haul it out there. 130 mm is large enough for decent views of most objects.

Be aware that the worst part of any telescope is the atmosphere. If the image is going in/out of focus or wavering...that's atmosphere.

If dew is a problem in your area, make a dew shield.

Send me a PM if you have any questions. I ground/polished/figured an 8" f/6 reflector as a freshman in college, and have taught a class on it. I was working on a 14.7" mirror until someone cleared out the lab I was working in. Without informing me. :mad: 🤬

Best -- Terry
Click to expand...

one review I saw of the 130 was that the mirror is sometimes spherical as opposed to parabolic..

will shoot you a PM shortly...
 
Agree above, the best telescope is one that will get used. I try not to give telescope advice because people’s expectations and budgets are tough to appease. I like small ED refractors (72-85mm aperture). I have had my setup since 2012 and is travel and bad back friendly. It is an AT 72mm ED refractor with a Manfrotto 475B tripod and a pan tilt head. Problem is the cost. I also agree with getting binoculars first.

Is there an astronomy club in your area? Attend a meeting or a star gaze and see what other people are using and what is involved in setting up, and what you will actually see in a telescope. Put Astro photography aside for now.

Again I hate to actually tell people what to purchase. My advice is based on what fits my available time and commitment.
 
I have this one and like it quite a bit: https://www.skywatcher.com/product/dob-8-traditional/

In terms of bang for your buck, a Dobsonian is the way to go. Especially at the entry level. You will be able to get great views of the moon and planets. The only major downside is that they are big and not very portable, though you can get some models that do collapse down.
 
Agreed with the comments above on getting a scope that you will use. For a beginner, I'd NOT recommend the EQ celestron (or Meade for that matter makes) they come on literally the crappiest tripods you can imagine. So many in our astro club get started with that aluminum scrap and have a bad experience. I would recommend the dobsonian (orion or similar) in a size that you can store and use easily. (6" or 8" is pretty good) I would also recommend a smaller refractor as above with a GOOD tripod/mount. Be aware though the limitations of the smaller main lens, which will limit you visually to planets and brighter star clusters/nebula. I would also recommend if budget permits the C5 or C6 Celestron S/C. They are portable, offer little compromise and have decent aperture.
Good luck!

Swatkat
12" Meade LX200
Orion 127 Mak/Cas
Televue 102 Apo
 
shawn_rocket said:
I would spend a touch extra and go with an 8" Dobsonian Reflector. Easy to move around, good views of objects and doesn't require a PhD.
https://www.scopereviews.com/begin.html One of the best sites for anyone looking to buy telescopes.
Click to expand...

wow, thanks! Great article! yeah, lots to learn & know.

I was talking to a work mate, and he mentioned that he had brought his older one out to look thru during the pandemic. So, that perked my interest once again. (Every few years, I get the "ooh, yeah, I want one!") my best friend got one (dunno which one, but looks like this EQ130 one) for his son, but I believe he's used it 2 or 3 times in the few years he's had it. I does look cool sitting, all set up, in his living room!

I do remember begging my dad for the red ball looking one from Edmunds Scientific, late 70's early 80's if I recall..

There probably is a club in & around Montreal. But Montreal has a uniqueness no one else in N. America has, and sometimes clubs are harder to 'join & get a benefit from'.. And with this whole Covid thing..

I do have a park behind the house, so I could just walk it out to see the moon, Mars, Jupiter, etc.. and a 10 minute drive should have me in some 'dark' farmland on the island of Montreal..


this one does get some rating, and is easily "throw away!"
https://www.amazon.ca/Celestron-210...5392379c848de961e9f1bdebd&language=en_CA&th=1
 
Have any of you used a service like itelescope.net, where you can buy time on a pretty decent scope to look at specific stuff? I haven't done this yet, but I am looking into it.

Seems like a way to gather a ton of data with a low level commitment for hardware.
 
I agree with the suggestion of the 8" dobsonian. The 127EQ you listed is a "Bird-Jones" designed reflector, which are known for inferior optics (I won't go into the details as to why); that, combined with the equatorial mount would make it a poor choice for a beginner instrument. I agree with the suggestion on the Dobsonian...this is a reflecting telescope with a simple alt-ax (up down, left right) mount that is easy to use and stable (important to reduce vibrations when focusing). I'd suggest going with a 6" (lighter weight) or an 8" if you don't mind the added cost and weight. If you decided you wish to pursue the hobby further, you can always upgrade and the dob (as they're usually called) would make a nice travel scope. Here's link to a few models you may wish to consider that will also point you in the direction of some very reputable vendors. If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a line....I've been an avid amateur astronomer since the mid 1970's :) .

https://www.astronomics.com/sky-watcher-6-f-8-classic-150p-dobsonian-telescope-s11600.html?___SID=U
https://agenaastro.com/sky-watcher-8-traditional-dobsonian-telescope-s11610.html
https://www.telescope.com/Orion/Ori...cope-Dobsonian-Telescope/rc/2160/p/102012.uts
(I have the 10" version of the intelliscope and the system works well....once aligned, the telescope guides you to pushing it onto your target....a great help in light polluted skies).

A great place for more advice is www.cloudynights.com

Craig
 
I have a 11" Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. The barrel is very heavy at 60 pounds and needs to sit on top of a 30 pound tri-pod. It does have a go-to option with thousands of objects to view. The go-to is expensive, but you can find many targets in one evening without much difficulty once the system is set up. Otherwise, you will probably need to become good at navigating my star-hopping. I see on the accessories that the eye pieces are 10 mm and 20 mm, which strike me as on the small size, especially the 10 mm. Imagine looking through a hole only 10 mm in diameter. I find that the eyepieces that I use most often are around 30 mm.
 
What do you want to see and how clear? A 4-5" primary mirror will give you great views of the moon, you can make out the fact that there are rings around Saturn, and Orion Nebula will be discernable. I started with a quality pair of 10x25 binoculars (not so great if you have shaky hands in the cold!). They're great for getting the lay of the universe or if you're sitting in a camp chair under dark skies too. I've had a Meade Polaris 114mm for decades and break it out to view/photograph the moon and sun (with a glass filter). Saturn looks a little bigger than a pin head, and you can see Jupiter's moons well enough. A 8" dob is on my buy list and Orion has one in the $399 range right now. You can take the scope off the tripod or mount and move them separately if weight is an issue. I would recommend a moon filter (full moon is a beast under a scope), sun filter (don't go cheap), and I have a Meade smart phone adapter for easy photography. BUT! A 4-5" scope is pretty easy to transport too. The pics are through my scope, 9mm 1.25 eyepiece, iPhone on an photo adapter. Spaceweather.com will give you a heads up on sunspots too.

https://www.telescope.com/Telescope...c/12/sc/13/p/102005.uts?refineByCategoryId=13
 

Attachments

  • moon.jpg
    moon.jpg
    41.7 KB · Views: 15
  • sunspots.jpg
    sunspots.jpg
    21.9 KB · Views: 16
A 6” or 8” Dobsonian is the best way to start. A little bit more expensive, but they won’t disappoint you as a first telescope. Very easy to use and very quick to set up and transport.

Don’t buy on a whim; do a little research and will pay off in the end. Check out the astronomy forums.
 
If the 130EQ might have a spherical mirror, you definitely don't want it! I agree with those who say that a Dobsonian is generally the best bang for the buck. However, the low-end commercial Dobsonians often have crappy bearings, especially altitude bearings.

Grinding and polishing a telescope mirror is a lot of work, but building a Dobsonian isn't difficult (after all, you ARE a rocket scientist ;) ). Kriege and Berry's The Dobsonian Telescope focuses mostly on large (12-30") telescopes but it has a chapter devoted to building an 8" Dob. https://www.willbell.com/tm/index.htm. One could buy the optics and build the rest. Here's a good site for small Dob construction: https://stellafane.org/tm/dob/index.html

Best -- Terry
 
I've seen some references to it above, but the tripod/mount is at least as important as the scope itself. They have to be well-matched.

(this from a guy who doesn't even own a 'scope right now... but I've had plenty of experience with cheap stuff...)
 
Blast it Tom! said:
I've seen some references to it above, but the tripod/mount is at least as important as the scope itself. They have to be well-matched.

(this from a guy who doesn't even own a 'scope right now... but I've had plenty of experience with cheap stuff...)
Click to expand...
This is why I recommend a smallish ED refractor with a good tripod and alt-az mount. A lot of the beginner packages have either disappointing optics or frustrating mounts (or both). I built my own 6in f8 dob back in high school. It was a great scope but I knew the mirror was good quality.
 
I'll admit I had some cheapo Tasco refractor, but what saved it was a decent semi-equitiorial mount (I have no idea what the difference between a "semi-equatorial" and "equatorial" mount would be). Once you had it level and pointed at the North Star, you could find anything (that you could actually see with those cheap optics and all the light around here) and follow it easily "by hand" with just one knob. Typically I can't even take advantage of a Barlow "lens" but with that mount it was steady enough to get a discernable view of Saturn's rings.
 
First off, thank you all for responding.

2nd, yeah, much much much more than I thought!! I guess that why a lot of the "space science astronomer guys' are PhD!

3rd.. re-thinking this a bit! the investment is a little more than I had planned, but I get it. Optics cost.. (I do photography & wear glasses, so I know the value of quality glass!)

4th.. my good friend has the Celestron 130. He's willing to loan it to me (and maybe sell it even) but at least I can get it & try it out, without the initial $$$ outlay. (That was his problem: got it for his kid, and even joined the local club. But they never went out or put the time & effort in to use it.. Having Raynaud's syndrome doesn't help either!) I know the glass / mirror is questionable, and even he admits the tripod is garbage.

Nope, re-assessing this.. the little 76mm dob one I found for $65CAD will be ordered soon, so at least I can look at some things..



What do I want to look at? What is there to look at?!
  • The moon? obviously, but to know a bit more & get more detail would be nice
  • The planets? Sure, I track Mars & Jupiter on our nightly dog walks. Saturn some nights. Venus too, on my drive home. But it would be nice to see something more than just an orange dot in the sky..
  • Messier object? I know there is a cluster in Orion's belt, and would love to see a few other things such as nebulae & all. (But always thought those needed some big deep sky light bucket) I guess I need to do a bit or research to see what other thing I could see out there!
  • Watching Mercury transit the sun might be cool too, as well as seeing sun spots..
 
prfesser said:
Celestron used to make a good scope; my college roommate had an 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain.
Click to expand...
My first “real telescope was an 8" Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain. I purchased it over two decades ago with digital setting circles which included an electronic catalog with over 10,000 objects and it was a really great scope that I could take to a dark site a couple of hours away from the Bay Area where we lived, or on extended camping trips and vacations.

An 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain has enough aperture to see the features of not only the planets, but also the Messier objects and other nebulae and galaxies instead of just seeing smudges. And its not so expensive that it breaks the bank. What’s more, it gives you some to take to star parties where you will get a lot of help from other amateur astronomers. There’s a similar camaraderie that you have in high power rocketry.
 
Bird jones indeed suck (lemons of the astronomy world?), I picked one up used and have reservations against even reselling it, the view is terrible.

Like everyone else is saying, for 500 cdn a 6 or 8 inch dobsonian is the best bang for your buck and not something you will 'outgrow' if you get more into the hobby.

Personally I'm going to make a recommendation against the grain here, so others please weigh in and tell me why this is dumb or smart if you think so. This orion scope is what I'd recommend since its the equivalent of a starter kit, coming with a star chart and observation guide. I bought basically the same model ten years ago and have used it more than any other scope. It's perfect for looking at planets and star clusters in my very light polluted neighborhood. Nebulae and galaxies are fun to find but are often not impressive.

Pro's; very light weight, price is right, can take a beating (it's spent about 7 years of its life inside a truck as i drove around)
Con's; spherical mirror, alt-az not equatorial mount

This was perfect for getting into the hobby.
 
seth_cooper said:
Be careful with that 8" dobsonian. That's what I started with and it turned into:



View attachment 431679
View attachment 431680
Click to expand...
My 8” Celestron SC was eventually replaced by a 12” Meade LX200. After moving to Montana, I built a 2-story observatory with a 10’ dome to house it in, along with a computer and professional astronomer grade ccd cameras, focused, filters, and professional scope mount. As long as funds and time are available, there’s always bigger and better.

Let this be a warning lesson to all: Like high power rocketry or fly fishing, amateur astronomy can take over your life!
 
Most scopes come with a finder scope attached. I assume you will have a small finder scope attached. If not, it would be good to have one. Without a computer go-to system (and even if you have one) you would be surprised the difficulty of targeting something, even as big as the moon or the sun. The real area of focus of the human eye is about 55 degrees. If the power of the telescope is for example 55, then the field of view (FOV) will be only 1 degree, which means that the telescope has to be aimed pretty good on the target. A finder scope with a larger FOV comes in pretty handy.
 
I have a Meade ETX 125 with Autostar, a very solid tripod, and a bunch of Meade superploossl eyepieces if anyone is interested. It hasn’t been used in over 10 years. I used it a lot in my own backyard until we relandscaped, and it ruined the nice protected spot I had been using. It’s true that the best telescope is the one you will use. This rig is too much for me to pack up and take out to better locations, so I never use it now, Now my best telescope is my binoculars, because I take them on every trip.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top