Need advice when buying a telescope

[Lesley Cohen]

I'm going to buy a telescope for my boyfriend and was wondering if I could get some advice from people who know a little bit more about this stuff than I do. I'm looking for a beginner-friendly scope that will be good quality and (preferably) under 80 U.S. dollars. I also heard that Meade, Celestron, and Orion are reputatable brands.

After searching through dozens of telescopes, I came across this one:http://www.telescopes.com/telescopes/refracting-telescopes/meadeterrastar60altazimuthrefractorwithcarrybag.cfm

Other telescopes I have in mind include:

http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/Great-Telescopes-Under-200/Orion-GoScope-II-70mm-Refractor-Travel-Telescope-Moon-Kit/pc/-1/c/1/sc/25/p/103017.uts#

http://www.telescopes.com/telescopes/refracting-telescopes/celestronpowerseeker60telescope.cfm#pr-header-back-to-top-link

http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/Beginner-Telescopes/Orion-Observer-60mm-Altazimuth-Refractor-Telescope/pc/-1/c/1/sc/21/p/102294.uts?sortByColumnName=SortByPriceAscending

Does anyone have any advice on whether any of these are a good buy or not? Or any suggestions? Please and thank you.

[Robin Scagell]

Hi Lesley,

I haven't tried any of these scopes, and as I'm in the UK I don't think the same models are available here. BUT, in general, most of the starter telescopes from these suppliers should be of good enough quality for a good deal of fun observing. Though these suppliers all produce top-end telescopes of high quality, they all tend to let their standards slip at the entry level. However, none should be so bad that you should have any real complaints about the optical quality. 

The Orion Go-Scope is a 70 mm rather than a 60 mm, which gives brighter views, and it also gives an upright image which is good for daytime use. But it's also a short focal-length telescope, so it's best suited to giving bright low-magnification wide-field views of things like star clusters, and would work well in a dark site. It would not be so good for city use where you really need higher magnifications to look at the Moon and planets rather than fainter objects. The Meade TerraStar is similar but a smaller aperture. That leaves the Celestron PowerSeeker and the Orion Observer, both of which should give reasonable views at a higher magnification. Celestron have the best reputation of the three, but the package was spoiled for me by the addition of pointless high magnifications which you could never really use. This is just a cynical marketing ploy, and for me it does their reputation no good at all. So I think the Orion Observer is the more sensible package. All three are probably made in China or the Far East, and possibly the Orions and the Celestron are made in the same factory.

What usually lets all entry-level telescopes down is the mounting. It can be very tricky to keep objects steady at high magnification, and whether one is better than the other I can't say. If it were me, I'd go for the Orion Go-Scope, but don't expect to push the magnification too high. It will give daytime views as well, whereas the Orion Observer and Celestron Power-Seeker give upside down views for astro work only. 

Do report back on how it all goes.

Regards

Robin Scagell

Author of Stargazing with a Telescope, Stargazing with Binoculars, Night Sky Atlas

[Lesley Cohen]

Hello Robin,

Thank you so much for your reply.  I found all of the information you gave me very useful and it will help make this decision much easier.  One more thing, I am mainly interested in something that will be good for nighttime viewing of star clusters and astrological bodies.  Which telescope of the four do you recommend specifically for looking at stars and the moon? 

Thank you,

Lesley Cohen

[Robin Scagell]

Hi Lesley,

Er, I think you meant astronomical bodies! All the scopes should do that, but the Orion Go-Scope should be better for wide-field views out in the country and the Orion Observer would show more details on planets and the Moon but wouldn't be quite as good at showing the fainter nebulae and galaxies. As most people do want to see close-ups of the planets and won't be happy until they can, probably the Observer is the one to got for if you aren't too concerned about having daytime views as well. It will show objects by day, of course, but the view is upside down. It has a sensible range of magnifications and the views should still be sharp at the 70 magnification that it provides.

Whatever telescope you get, start by reading the tips from the Society for Popular Astronomy on starting to use your telescope, which will help you to get observing straight away.

Best

Robin

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[suthers]

Robin modestly fails to add that he has written a much-acclaimed guide that will help any newcomer with using a small telescope. 

It is called Stargazing With A Telescope.

Good luck with your purchase!

Paul