Advice on a purchasing a telescope

[skrap1r0n]

Ok so I am NOT an amature astronomer, I just have an interest. I have had several cheap telescopes all under $250 in my lifetime. My problem is I can never locate what I want to find in the sky. I am currently considering looking into purchasing a Meade ETX-90AT with the GoTo feature. I know this is going to set me back $500 or so, but is there any reason I SHOULDN'T get this model? are there better models that are less expensive?

[JohnW]

Ok so I am NOT an amature astronomer, I just have an interest. I have had several cheap telescopes all under $250 in my lifetime. My problem is I can never locate what I want to find in the sky. I am currently considering looking into purchasing a Meade ETX-90AT with the GoTo feature. I know this is going to set me back $500 or so, but is there any reason I SHOULDN'T get this model? are there better models that are less expensive?
Yes, there's a reason you shouldn't get this model. GoTo scopes are helpful if you know your way around the sky already, but if you don't it's like learning to drive by hiring a chauffeur (as I said in another thread). Spend $150 on some binoculars and a planisphere, and get to know what's up there.

(This is purely personal opinion - I know that a lot of beginners do use and enjoy GoTo scopes).

[Brady Yoon]

I would either get a pair of 10 by 50 binoculars of good quality. If you want a scope, go for the 10 inch reflector on the Dobsonian mount. Thy are relatively cheap for their size.

[aurora]

Is the inability to find things due to the crummy finderscopes on the cheap telescopes? If so, a Dob with a Telrad will fix that problem.

Or is the problem just a lack of knowledge of the sky? A good book or two, a pair of binoculars, a planisphere or planetarium software will help you solve that problem.

For those that have small telescopes and want to find interesting things to look at, the best book to get is Turn Left at Orion. It shows how to find about 100 of the best things to look at with a small scppe, and has a drawing of what the object will look like with a 4 inch telescope, so you'll know when you find it.

Search online for a local astronomy club and visit one of their sessions. Many astronomy clubs run beginner sessions that help newcomers get started in the hobby.

Some people like the small ETX type scopes, but I think they have some major shortcomings. The smallest ones just don't have enough aperture, so the electronics will be able to go to 10000 objects that you will not be able to see because the scope is too small. Also, the focuser and finderscopes are hard to use due to their size and location.

[skrap1r0n]

hmm ok, that sounds like good advice. Maybe I am confused. I am not wrapped up into the GoTo feature, but I like the idea of it being able to point to an object in the sky and follow it. Is it possible to use that mount on other telescopes?

Additionally, I am not 100% ignorant of the sky. I can Identify the constellations. Again this isn't something that is going to be taking up my every waking hour, but as a casual observer I would like to get something that would allow me to see something besides the moon in detail.

I would love to be able to see Saturn's rings, nebulas and such. Also, I am interested in possibly photographing them. I thing it would be neat to have a series of self taken photos of some interesting stellar bodies.

[Kaptain K]

GOTO is not necessary to follow objects. All that is needed is an equatorial mount with a clock drive. That said, an alt-az GOTO mount will follow an object for visual use, but you cannot use it for photography, because of field rotation.

Although it is a little out of the price range you mentioned, the Meade LDX55 SN6 ($700) is a 6" (150mm) GOTO scope on an equatorial mount.

[aurora]

I would love to be able to see Saturn's rings, nebulas and such. Also, I am interested in possibly photographing them. I thing it would be neat to have a series of self taken photos of some interesting stellar bodies.

Casual photography of bright objects, or a wide field piggy back picture of an entire constellation, are possible with inexpensive equipment.

But serious pictures of deep sky objects really requires some special equipment (such as a CCD camera and a laptop computer and a really solid mount for your telescope that can double the cost of the scope) that casual observers with limited budgets would not want to mess with.

That's why, for many people, the biggest bang for the buck is a Dob.

[skrap1r0n]

ummm whats a Dob?

[aurora]

ummm whats a Dob?

A newtonian reflector mounted on a Dobsonian mount (manual alt-az mount).

Like this:

http://www.telescope.com/jump.jsp?itemType=CATEGORY&itemID=9

or

http://www.buytelescopes.com/product_list.asp?t=3

among many others.

If you visit an astronomy club, you may be able to attend a free star party where you could look through and compare a wide variety of scopes including SCT's and Newtonians in addition to refractors and Maks.

That will help you decide which kind best suits you.

edited to mention that this bulletin board is tied to a web site.
See
http://www.badastronomy.com/bitesize/astroclubs.html
and
http://www.badastronomy.com/bitesize/scopefaq.html

[Kaptain K]

Dobsonian - an inexpensive alt-az mount for a Newtonian reflector.