I do not currently have a telescope (unless you count a cheap supermarket refractor that I got when I was 7 - I don't!) and have been looking for a reasonable and cheapish telescope for some time. I have the possibility of buying the following telescope...

Could anyone tell me if this is a good buy? I really only want something for casual skywatching - maybe see some bands on Jupiter, Saturn's rings, and some more prominent deep-sky objects.

The price is in Aust Dollars, so equates about $245 US.

Any opinions? Could I get something better cheaper? Or for slightly more?

__________________
"Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived." - Isaac Asimov

Well, Meade is a respected name in telescopes so you can be reasonably confident of the optics and the price is certainly low.

At 4.5", it is a little on the small side for a Newt. It looks like a reasonable beginners telescope that will give you decent looks at the moon, planets & brighter deep sky objects. You are probably not going to see a lot of the faint & fuzzies though. I would also want to try before you buy, if nothing else but to ensure the tripod is solid.

Here is the Meade instruction manual for this model. Might help you make up your mind.

http://www.meade.com/manuals/m4500/

Look, for the scope, tripod and 2 eyepieces (although you'll have to keep your skates on with a 9mm!), you probably can't go too far wrong for the price. Trouble is, it may be only 6 months before you want to trade up for something with a little more light gathering capacity! (But hey, I want to do that & I get to use a 0.5m! )

__________________
"I'd take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance any day." - Douglas Adams

I would at least get a 6" Newtonian. If you want portablity and excellent photo opportunities, get a Schmidt or Maksutov Cassegrain. If you want lots of aperture for a low price, get a Dobsonian. A 10" Dob is probably less than $700. I don't really recommend reflectors because they are very expensive, but they do offer good quality.

Hope this helps. If you are really into stargazing, make a good investment that will satisfy you in the long term.

I thought reflectors were typically cheaper than the rest, just harder to transport. Do you mean refractor?

__________________
Obedience brings victory
Victory is life
That is the order of things

Yes. Thanks for the correction.

Thanks for the advice, guys.
I might go with this one anyway, since I don't have a scope. This looks like it's ok for a beginner, which I am! If I get bitten by the bug in a serious way, I can always trade up for something bigger in a few years...

__________________
"Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived." - Isaac Asimov

Thats too much I just sold one for $75 which is too little but I needed the room. Meade has been giving some good deals on their EBay store.

Meade Outlet

__________________
Clear Skies
Jim
NJ Night Sky
J&T Telescope
Shop4Scopes

For some reason, scopes are far more expensive here in Australia than in the US. It can't just be shipping costs or exchange rate - there must be some form of sales or import tax on them also.

The only scope you could get for $75 here in Australia would have an primary mirror made out of bubble gum. No, the price is good for a Meade provided it is in good nick and the tripod is solid. The only problem is that before too long, a bit of aperture envy will rear its ugly head.....

__________________
"I'd take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance any day." - Douglas Adams

Guess I thought about it just a little too long... I missed out on this. Someone else got in before I did. Oh, well. There'll be others.....

__________________
"Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived." - Isaac Asimov

I'm sorry to hear that, EvilBob. Still, silver lining and all that - you can now keep your eyes open for a 6" - 8" dob newt - cheap, portable, easy to use and good light gathering.

__________________
"I'd take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance any day." - Douglas Adams

I don't know much about dobsonians. I figured a tripod would be more stable and easier to use - am I wrong? I know they're cheaper, but I'm not really sure why...

__________________
"Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived." - Isaac Asimov

Yes, they are more stable if you put the same OTA on a conventional tripod. You can point a Dob easily if you use a cheap red-dot finder. There are some "PUSH-TO" Dobs (ORION) with "digital setting circles" on the market if you don't like to find objects yourself. I think Dobs are the best choice for a beginner, if you don't want to do astrophotography. A big pair of binoculars in the 15x70 or 20x80 range is a good alternative to keep you happy while deciding which scope to buy.

__________________
Christos Marinos

A good Dob is stable enough for what you need if you are just starting out. They are also very easy to use - just point & look!

The other advantage is that to find deeper sky objects, with a Dob you must learn how to 'star hop' - find your way from one star to the next to the next. This is a great way to learn the sky.

__________________
"I'd take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance any day." - Douglas Adams

I couldn't agree more. Plus, for me, hunting things down is half the fun.

It may be just me, but I find star-hopping a little more intuitive with an equatorial mount than with an alt-azimuth (Dobsonian). I like having north-south and east-west axes of motion to match the grid lines in the atlas.

For what its worth, EB, that wasn't that great a deal to begin with. At least it wouldn't be in the USA.

$245 US is really too much for a 4.5" long tube newtonian. The fact that the seller makes such a big deal out of including the eyepieces that came with it does little to increase my confindence.

One thing to add to the 'dob advantage' is that most equatorial mounts are really best used for the northern hemisphere. The south just doesn't have an equivelent to the north star to point at. On the other hand, y'all got the Megellanic clouds.

You might want to chat with Bintel: http://www.bintel.com.au/ They have the 'knock off' Orion Dobs under their own name, in addition to a fair number of their own brand that should be more than decent.

Just remember, while Meade has made a lot of good high end scopes, they also have produced a lot of junk scope lines as well.

Before you buy a telescope, try to find a local astronomy club and attend one of their sessions. You can search online or ask at a planetarium or telescope store.

Also, try to read a few beginner books (like StarWare or NightWatch or Backyard Astronomers Guide) which you may be able to find in your local library. Or read some of the articles for beginners that many astronomy clubs have on their web sites.

You'll have a much better idea of the different types of telescopes, their advantages and disadvantages and tradeoffs, for when you go shopping and price comparing.