Beginners first scope

[JimmyNeutron]

I am new to Astronomy and I was looking for a few recommendations for a good first telescope. I aim to begin looking at the Planets and their satellites then move on from there. I have a budget of around $400-$500 (give or take a bit). Not much, i know, but I gotta start somewhere :) Would be great to hear from some of you more experienced astronomers. Cheers

[ZeroID]

Hi Jimmy, the biggest Dob you can afford seems to be the path to go. For the price and ease of use they offer the best viewing options and if you lose interest ( heaven forbid ) they can still fetch a good price second hand. And if you check the For Sale section on here you can probably find one within your price range and as an added bonus anyone here will help you with your questions. I'd suggest something in the 8" range, big enough to see most things and not too big to mange for a starter.
As a starter download Stellarium to your PC ( Free ! Google it ) and use it to learn and familiarise yorself with want you want to find. It will give you HEAPS of ideas and kick you off to a good start.

Welcome and good luck

[niko]

Yep, I agree with Brent - a Dob is the way to go. I started with an 8" purchased new. It was easy enough for one person to carry around (though a trolley helps a lot too!) and showed planets, moon and deep space objects well enough to give hours/months/years of enjoyment.

Learn how to collimate the scope to ensure best views and while you should just start with the eyepieces it gave with and get used to the sky save some money for better quality eyepieces because they greatly increase the views - try and find an astro club near you to check what others have because they can cost more than the scope itself!

I now own a 10" Dob which I bought secondhand from here - couldn't be happier with that, the price I paid and the person I dealt with. I did notice quite a few for sale at the moment.

Good luck and welcome

niko

[jenchris]

Aperture is king - so keeping it simple is a great way to improve aperture.

A Dobsonian is the simplest and easiest machine to use and it has the biggest mirror per dollar - it is an observing scope and is not much cop for photography, but you can photo the moon and planets on zero tracking so you could get quite reasonable shots anyway.

It is a great starter and often as much as most people need - because some of those bigger dobs are amazing. Try one of these for size - maybe out of your price range at the moment, but who knows after the lottery ?

[JimmyNeutron]

Thanks heaps for the advice guys. Just been checking out some of the Dobsonian scopes. Is there much difference between the 6" and 8" Dobs? Seems they both receive some encouraging reviews although I would like to start with an 8". Please feel free to keep the advice coming!

[jenchris]

diam .......area refractor area sct
2 ............3.142
4 ...........12.568............. 9.426
5 .......... 19.6375.......... 16.4955
6............ 28.278........... 25.136
7.................................. 35.3475
8................................. 47.13
9 ................................ 60.4835
10................................ 75.408

As you can see by the table above, there's a lot of difference in the area of the objective lens/mirror between 6 and 8 inches- no one can afford a refractor over 6 inches!!

[that_guy]

yep deff go the dobs, i picked up my 10" dob for 370 second hand... and they go retail for 700 :D there are some real bargains out there, pick out the one that youll use the most, no point in getting a 12" dob and its too big to lug around so it sits there gathering dust... rather have a 6" dob that gets used then a 12" that doesnt get used... hope this helps

cheers
tony

[Brian W]

Hi I started with a 4.5 reflector and now own an 8. The 8 is not only a great place to start...many stay with an 8. Once you develop your skills you will find an almost endless wonderment with an 8. not to belittle bigger scopes but an 8 is a keeper.
Brian