vSanjo
01-02-2011, 03:41 AM
Hey guys,
As my first post here, i'll probably give some little background (none of which will be relevant to my question, I guess - but i'll tell anyway).
From an early age, i've always read books and watched shows into the early hours of the morning looking at planets and stars, the information we can gather from them - and dreamed of being able to see it myself one day. As an eager 5 year old, I would go through countless books trying to find any granule of information my young mind could decipher.
My earliest memory of astronomy is my uncle's telescope tragically falling out of his van on a corner. At the time I laughed, but that thing was (to me,) massive.
---
Anyway, my problem~
I'm currently looking to buy my first major telescope. I've never owned one, but rather relied on books and internet for images and information. Now i'm slightly more independent and sure I can care for such an instrument, i'm willing to take the dive into the astronomy-world.
My real issue is price.
I don't have a definite price at the moment, but a few weeks ago, $500 was my limit. That can be raised to $700-$800ish, but only if i'm going to see a great reason for it, I suppose.
I've had my head in the clouds over the whole ordeal anyway, so i've been skimming through some sites here and there over the last few nights to get an understanding of what people think is best.
I would love to view DSO's - colour being a big deciding factor for me. I don't want to sound 'noobish' about the whole thing, because I know the excitement will be more on viewing smaller, smudges in the sky late at night - however I really do want to see a bit of colour from my sky.
Like I said earlier, i've not dug too much into buying yet, but what set me off was this (http://www.myastroshop.com.au/products/details.asp?id=MAS-024C). I figured it's best to get an opinion on it first. Whilst im sure the book, DVD and light are useful, they're not necessary for me at the moment. I have others. I've read around and the main 'review' on 8" is that whilst it's a good 'beginner' one, it doesn't harness much in terms of views. Is it worth spending more for something bigger, and if so, which? ):
It's a little late right now, and i'm certain i'm missing some things, but i'm working tomorrow so it might give some time for some replies on questions to build up for when I get back. (:
Thanks alot,
David.
As my first post here, i'll probably give some little background (none of which will be relevant to my question, I guess - but i'll tell anyway).
From an early age, i've always read books and watched shows into the early hours of the morning looking at planets and stars, the information we can gather from them - and dreamed of being able to see it myself one day. As an eager 5 year old, I would go through countless books trying to find any granule of information my young mind could decipher.
My earliest memory of astronomy is my uncle's telescope tragically falling out of his van on a corner. At the time I laughed, but that thing was (to me,) massive.
---
Anyway, my problem~
I'm currently looking to buy my first major telescope. I've never owned one, but rather relied on books and internet for images and information. Now i'm slightly more independent and sure I can care for such an instrument, i'm willing to take the dive into the astronomy-world.
My real issue is price.
I don't have a definite price at the moment, but a few weeks ago, $500 was my limit. That can be raised to $700-$800ish, but only if i'm going to see a great reason for it, I suppose.
I've had my head in the clouds over the whole ordeal anyway, so i've been skimming through some sites here and there over the last few nights to get an understanding of what people think is best.
I would love to view DSO's - colour being a big deciding factor for me. I don't want to sound 'noobish' about the whole thing, because I know the excitement will be more on viewing smaller, smudges in the sky late at night - however I really do want to see a bit of colour from my sky.
Like I said earlier, i've not dug too much into buying yet, but what set me off was this (http://www.myastroshop.com.au/products/details.asp?id=MAS-024C). I figured it's best to get an opinion on it first. Whilst im sure the book, DVD and light are useful, they're not necessary for me at the moment. I have others. I've read around and the main 'review' on 8" is that whilst it's a good 'beginner' one, it doesn't harness much in terms of views. Is it worth spending more for something bigger, and if so, which? ):
It's a little late right now, and i'm certain i'm missing some things, but i'm working tomorrow so it might give some time for some replies on questions to build up for when I get back. (:
Thanks alot,
David.