Article: Part 1 - General Principles for Choosing your first Telescope

[iceman]

Hi all.

Brian (Miaplacidus) has written a fantastic 2-part article for beginners.. this is the first part. It's well worth a read.

You can access the article from the Projects, Articles and DIY (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/?projects) section of the site, or directly from the link below:

Part One: General Principles for Choosing your first Telescope (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/index.php?id=63,260,0,0,1,0)

Thanks to Brian for writing such a comprehensive and complete article to help out the beginners.

[iceman]

Bumping.

[slice of heaven]

Brilliant! :thumbsup:

Well done Brian. That was a top read. The site has needed this for some time.

[davidpretorius]

Excellent Brian, one of the best reads for this topic!

[Hitchhiker]

Great introductory article! :thumbsup:

[33South]

Thanks Brian, well worth a read.

[newbie]

Brilliant! Thanks Brian - I'm on the search, so this is very helpful.:)

[DobDobDob]

Written in plain English without any marketing hype, what a pleasant relief. I also like the fact that the recommendation is to go to a club and look through as many different telescopes as possible, I had always intended to do this and won't feel as thought I am imposing.

A great read, the honesty comes through, no hidden agendas, well done :thumbsup:

[norm]

Great article Brian ! :)

[loumarks]

Hey guys! I'm still very new to astronomy and stumbled upon a site (http://www.jeremysdirectory.com/astronomy.html)that explained in plain English some things i should consider when choosing a new telescope. Although its not as comprehensive as other sites i have read, I really liked the way it was simply written without all the mumbo jumbo. Good for newbies like myself! :P

oh the address is:

http://www.jeremysdirectory.com/astronomy.html

[trader10]

Wow...very very interesting Mr. Nolan :)

It's amazing to learn and read new subjects from people with knowledge and entusiasm.... I hope in few months to purchase my first scope.....

Will definetely let you know which one I've chosen.

Thanks for such a good information. :thumbsup:

[Nifty]

Thanks Brian. I have a different slant to the article.
I am soon to buy my first and last telescope. You see I am 68 years old and my use by date is closer than I would like! I have been giving the subject a lot of thought lately and to cut a long story short I have decided to buy a Meade LX 200 8". ( a 10" would be better but it weighs a fair bit!) I intend to get into astrophotography and continue my love of photography.
What do you all think? Am I doing the right thing? Perhaps I should be getting a big fat Newtonian on a good GEM. What sayest thou?

Nifty:screwy:

[programmer]

Hi there. Remember the article was written about 2 1/2 years ago. You might want to put a post in the beginner's section. Good luck :hi:

[Miaplacidus]

Hi Nifty.

An LX200 sounds pretty goddam good to me. If I had a pier, I'd probably put one on it (although purchasing one probably involves the death of at least one first degree relative).
Isn't it quite a bit heavier than an LX90, though? (Equivalent optics, cheaper mechanics?) But I guess you need the stability if you want to pursue photography. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Brian.

[K87]

Hey all im new to all this and im wanting to buy my first telescope. After reading up on alot of information and plenty of reviews and things I was thinking about the Celestron NexStar 130 SLT. I'de love to get as many opinions as I can so let me know what you all think! Thanks in advance

[Astro-boy]

What is the most reliable go-to telescope within an affordable budget for a beginner like myself?

[Bassnut]

Welcome Matt. Umm, you replied to a 4 mth old thread, perhaps you could start a new one with your question. And have a look through other threads 1st, this is a much-asked subject. If you do start another thread, perhaps you can give more detail on what you want to do, Deep sky or planetary, and what your budget is.

[Astro-boy]

Ok, thanks, ill do that and hopefully i can get some answers. Thanks again

[june]

Hi guys, I'm new here and have been reading lots and going through forums and taking in all the info from everyone on the site.

I'm going to make a purchase on our first telescope from Andrews as I found that it was popular with some of the IIS members, plus the fact that it is cheaper than everywhere else I have found.

I'm looking to purchase the C6-SGT 6" Go-To XLT 150mm x 1500mm.

We are beginners but I wanted something decent for the whole family, just wanted to know if you guys had any advice or opinions on the matter, be it good or bad. There is just so much to read and it has been such a joy, I've been side tracked by the images that I have seen, how spectacular, our 6yr old is very excitied over the images as he loves anything to do with space at this point. Well thanks guys for your valuable time and I look forward to your replies. Take care, keep safe and have a fantastic weekend.

Cheers to all:hi:

[marmotte]

I know that's an old thread bu still wnated to say thx for this great article.
:thumbsup:

[mattyb217]

What a fantastic artical Brian, well said :thumbsup:, for a begginer like myself that was some really good advise.
:thanx:

[Miaplacidus]

Thanks Matt, and to the other people who have commented or sent me pms. I'm glad people still find it a bit helpful.

Happy Stargazing! :abduct:

Brian.

[MichaelAarons]

I started big with a Meade 16" and have progressively moved smaller to a 70mm. Reverse aperture fever. Connivence and ease to use are important for me. Still love the big scope though.

[Larryp]

I have done the same. I found the bigger the scope, the less I used it.

[Constant]

Great read!

[ab1963]

The most enjoyment i have had with a scope is a williams ZS66SD on a vixen porta ii mount ,as simple as telescope on to the mount ,diagonal,eyepiece and away you go and is as easy to put away ,i have had a LX90 and never got the same enjoyment as the little APO set up,do not fall into the big telescope first buy thing because simple is sweet IMO and have 2 larger APO's i do the same thing with,my HEQ5pro mount gets nowhere near the same use as the porta ii mount

[zimzum71]

im really happy with my C6 sct with arcturus binoviewer, obviously not so great with stars etc, but moon and planets are a real treat...im using a pair of cheapish celestron 20mm wide views plossles. got it all mounted on a az3 alt az mount..very compact and got a lot of power at my fingertips with a generous field of view.
Great for day time viewing as well with upright views...you can see the birds change their mind!

[clanmac]

Great article - thanks for posting

[Cp75]

OP, I probably should of read that before going out and buying a 9.25 EdgeHD as my first telescope..

[haroon132]

I recently gotten interested in Astronomy so I will try the binoculars before the scope thanks for the helpful information

[Andrew_S]

I have the most fun with binoculars and a 8" dob. Almost no setup time and you can be viewing in minutes.

[AlexD]

Very helpful site, thanks for the links.

[Filippo]

Haha. What a beautiful image that conjures.

[Miaplacidus]

I'm just going to park these links here. Ed Ting is a great educator, and these are great short videos for people starting out and thinking about buying their first telescope. (In fact, I think they should become classics.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IlmekWsEAQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zALE-KhlsEQ

[starspoon]

Thanks

[BarbaraGilbert]

The main characteristic you want to consider when choosing a telescope is its aperture - the diameter of its main mirror or lens. The larger the diameter, the lighter the telescope collects, allowing you to see fainter objects and more detail on nearby bright objects such as the moon.