Gringo

I was looking at a Celestron 60GT, 80GT, and 114GT. They range from $300-500. I know that is cheap for a telescope, but to me, that's big bucks. I read the reviews for them at Celestrons website and Amazon.com, but neither of them went into much detail about what you could see with each of these, particarlly for the 80GT. I like that it has a Go-to function, which reviewers says is easy to use. Do any of you own one of these telescopes, or one similar to these? If so, would you recommend them for the atrologically impaired, such as myself.

Chip

LOL. Well, after doing your research and finding a model you want to get, try <a href="http://www.ebay.com" target="_blank">http://www.ebay.com</a> (making sure to only buy from well rated sellers) or <a href="http://www.pricegrabber.com" target="_blank">http://www.pricegrabber.com</a> . Good luck.

Regards, Chip

HeatherD

First: Find a astronomy club in your area. I used to have a link to a site that let you search for them but I seem to have lost it. Do a search on Google for clubs in your area.

Second: While Goto is a great thing, and many people will tell you to get a Goto scope, they will cost more and therefore you will get a smaller scope for the same money. As a newbie, you should consider a manual scope, best is usually a Dobsonian scope. It will allow you to get a larger aperture and learn the sky.

There are dozens of places that sell scopes of all types, but as a newbie a good place to start is <a href="http://www.telescope.com/" target="_blank">Orion Telescope</a> and take a look at the low end XT series.

For about the same cost as a smaller Goto scope you can get a 6" (150mm) Dobsonian, like the SkyQuest XT6. The Celestron GT60 is only a 60mm by comparison. There is also the XT4.5 which is much cheaper but at 114mm is rather small in light-gathering power.

There are, of course, other ways to go, even building your own scope but as a beginner, this is a good choice.

BTW, I'd avoid places like eBay and Amazon for used or new scopes. While some of the used sellers might be reputable amateurs and okay to buy from, many of the new dealers don't specialize in telescopes. That isn't to say they aren't reputable but you never know.

I've got plenty of links to reputable dealers that almost exclusively deal in sales to amateurs. Let me know if you'd like a list.

P.S. a good newsgroup to join and do Google usenet searches is <a href="http://groups.google.com/groups?&group=sci.astro.amateur" target="_blank">sci.astro.amateur</a>

[ edited because the BB doesn't like "news: urls" ]

[ November 21, 2002: Message edited by: HeatherD ]</p>

fando

Don't listen to the reviewers. Electronic scopes can be a pain to deal with in the field. What are you going to power it with? Do you know how to calibrate the electronic gear? Also, it's very important to learn how to find things in the sky without electronic aids. You'll have a better idea of how to utilize star maps, a very crucial skill.

I second the advice about anonymous auction sites.
Inspect the scope by hand if you can. If you know someone who owns a nice scope but never uses it, then see if they'll part with it. Telescopes age pretty well, so don't be afraid to get a secondhand one that is a few years old.

Psycho Economist

When I casually looked around at what to look for in a telescope (even though I have no money to buy one, I'd like to get one eventually), I ran into the following advice from Astronomy magazine...

Get a good pair of binoculars first. They provide mind-blowing magnification over what the naked eye can see on their own, they're less expensive generally, and they can be used for a lot of other types of observations. When you've gotten all the bang you can out of your binoculars, then spring for a telescope.

<a href="http://www.astronomy.com/content/static/beginners/scopebuyingguide/sbg_4.asp" target="_blank">http://www.astronomy.com/content/static/beginners/scopebuyingguide/sbg_4.asp</a>

And if you've already been stargazing through binoculars... never mind me.

<a href="http://www.astronomy.com/content/static/beginners/scopebuyingguide/sbg_1.asp" target="_blank">http://www.astronomy.com/content/static/beginners/scopebuyingguide/sbg_1.asp</a>

Also, i'll second the recommendation about local amateur astronomy groups. I've been fortunate enough to live in two cities with them, and though I never joined either I had a blast at open houses of each.

Asha'man

Hi Gringo,

I own an 8” Meade LX200, and have ordered a larger scope (14.5” dob). I’m somewhat familiar with electronic telescopes.

You can find more specific reviews of telescopes at:
<a href="http://skyandtelescope.com/" target="_blank">Sky and Telecope</a>
<a href="http://www.cloudynights.com/index.htm" target="_blank">Cloudy Nights Telescope Reviews</a>
<a href="http://www.scopereviews.com/" target="_blank">Scope Reviews</a>
Don’t miss the advice for beginners <a href="http://www.scopereviews.com/begin.html" target="_blank">here</a>

Now for my opinion: These scopes will have reasonable quality mounts and acceptable optics. The goto electronics are easy to use. However, all these scopes are pretty small. In astronomy: aperture rules. The larger the scope, the more light it is able to gather, and the higher resolution image it is able to produce. (I tend to think of 6 to 8” as a minimum size for a beginner’s scope.)

With a 60-80mm scope, you will probably be disappointed in what you can see. These scopes are essentially the size of large binoculars. Images will be small and dim. There are some things that are neat to look at even with just binoculars, but don’t expect images that look anything like the photographs you may have seen. And you don’t need electronics to find the moon or the bright planets.

You might want to look at a Dobsonian style reflector, and then add digital setting circles. The Dobsonian design provides for a cheap but stable mount, and allows you to spend a higher portion of your money on better (and larger) optics. You might want to look at some <a href="http://www.telescope.com/jump.jsp?itemType=CATEGORY&itemID=9" target="_blank">Dobsonians from the Orion Catalog.</a>

You could also look at the classifieds at <a href="http://www.astromart.com/" target="_blank">Astromart</a> for used scopes.

As for digital setting circles, consider something like the <a href="http://skyeng.com/" target="_blank">Sky Commander</a>

Last item: for an amateur astronomer, “astrology” is a dirty word.

Gringo

Thank all of you for the advice and links. Asha'man, thanks in particular for correcting my foul language.

Psycho, I haven't tried star-gazing through binoculars yet. I was just looking at the 12x63 and 15x63 binoculars on the Orion website. Would you happen to know how the moon's craters or Mars or Venus would look through these? Would a tripod be necessary for a set this big?

Gringo

HeatherD,

I went through Orion's Product wizard and it recommended the same as you suggested, the SkyQuest XT4.5. Reading info. on the XT6 made me covet that one though. Telescopes are like cars, they tear a person between price and power.

Thanks again.

Coragyps

$0.02 from an old Luddite, but at least an experienced one: start with a 6-inch or maybe 8-inch Newtonian, if you have the $500 to spend, and don't start with GOTO. You'll learn the sky much, much quicker the old-fashioned way. Dobsonian or equatorial makes not that much difference, as long as you aren't doing photography through it.

Go to <a href="http://www.rasc.ca/handbook" target="_blank">www.rasc.ca/handbook</a> and order yourself the 2003 Observer's Handbook - worth its weight in baroque pearls to any stargazer.
The moon would be OK, but not fantastic, and planets would be a major disappointment. I'd want a tripod for 12-power - I sometimes wish I had one with my 10-power binocs.

Gringo

I just used my earned income credit to stimulate the economy: I bought a Skyquest XT8

Unfortunately, clear skies are a long way off, and snow is piling up, so it may be awhile before I get to try it.

Thank you all for your input.