need help with telescope purchase

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  • badapples

    Plinker
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    Sep 13, 2013
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    Jennings County
    my daughter is wanting a telescope for christmas. i have no knowledge about them at all. from the research i have done, i think we want a goto system that will show us where things are once we get it aligned properly. have been looking at celestron nexstar 4se and nexstar 130slt or 127 slt.

    any help or suggestions of another scope would be great.

    i will hang up now and listen to your suggestions.

    thanks in advance
     

    Bill B

    Grandmaster
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    Sep 2, 2009
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    The nexstar130 looks like a nice beginner scope. PM me and I will send u some links and info when I am home and not on the phone.
     

    Cameramonkey

    www.thechosen.tv
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    May 12, 2013
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    Based on my experience, get a Reflector design, not a Refractor. The reflectors have larger mirrors so they collect more light. Other than that basic tidbit, I got nuttin.
     

    spencer rifle

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    Don't get a "Christmas trash scope" - it will just cause frustration and turn off the user. If it is sold by magnification or power, run the other way. Avoid non-powered alt-azimuth mountings and small refractors. Get the largest mirror you can afford, and an equatorial mount, unless you are into goto scopes - then you better be able to find the guide stars. Have a good dark-sky place to observe - city lights will kill your experience. And don't forget to treat the most important optical device (your eyes) well - let them adapt to the dark for at least 15 minutes and use red lighting during observation.
     

    badapples

    Plinker
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    Sep 13, 2013
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    Jennings County
    thanks all for the info, that helps a lot. thanks bill for the links, interesting read. going to make my purchase in the next couple of days. going to go with reflector for sure.

    thanks again.
     

    david890

    Shooter
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    Apr 1, 2014
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    Don't get a "Christmas trash scope" - it will just cause frustration and turn off the user. If it is sold by magnification or power, run the other way. Avoid non-powered alt-azimuth mountings and small refractors. Get the largest mirror you can afford, and an equatorial mount, unless you are into goto scopes - then you better be able to find the guide stars. Have a good dark-sky place to observe - city lights will kill your experience. And don't forget to treat the most important optical device (your eyes) well - let them adapt to the dark for at least 15 minutes and use red lighting during observation.


    IMHO, if you're going to spend the money, spend a LOT and get as big a reflector as you can. Resale on the larger scopes is much better.

    I've been able to see Saturn with a 6" reflector (don't remember the brand - it was in my school's science lab, unused), so I'd go at least 8", preferably 10". Look for a big, honkin' mount for the thing; flimsy tripods and mounts are trouble. A powered mount isn't all that necessary unless you want to get into astro-photography.

    Celestron also sells a nice set of lenses of various size for $100 or so (a good set is as important as the scope itself). These will keep their value for resale, so don't be put off by the price.
     

    PappyD

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    Check out this forum Cloudy Nights Forums Cloudy nights is a super forum. TONS of information. I've had an 8" dobsonian-style reflector that was highly recommended as an all around scope. Orion XT8 Skyquest... Big enough to actually see stuff easily and portable enough that you can break it down and transport to a dark sky area. Some folks call them "light buckets" Go to a star party and half the 'scopes there will be dobsonians. Since it is manual you can swing it around easily from object to object and not have to input data. Very kid friendly.... I also added an azimuth ring that allows me to manually point it to an area with surprisingly good accuracy to find things. Built a nice base that makes it easier to use. The advice about getting the biggest mirror is valid- size does matter. Biggest plus is that it is simple enough for all to use. I could go on and on...

    Really, if you want to get hooked on what you can see you have to go up near Frankfort Indiana to a place called Prairie Grass Observatory Prairie Grass Observatory It is located about 10 minutes off I-65. Open to the public most of the time, they have "open house" nights usually every 2 months or so and a very cool "Star Party" for 3 days every summer. The best part is that they have 5-6 different telescope types that are amazing professional instruments. Kids are absolutely welcome. Club members run the 'scopes all night. Pitch your tent or bring an RV, it's a great time. One son took an astronomy class at IUPUI- aced the class and the prof ended up going up to the PG Observatory. Good stuff for all. Oh ya- we wasted $100 or so on the Sam's club type telescope too. Save your money!

    I have 3 boys- all have a great understanding of what you can see. Look up M13- a globular cluster that is easily found- looks like a a clump of cotton or a fuzzy spot- I'm in northern Hamilton county- I could point it out with binos if you know where to look. A star cluster nicknamed the "Coathanger". Another one is called M57 or the Green Nebula. It is close to the star Vega, the brightest star in the summer sky. M57 looks like a greenish smoke ring or donut. First time I found it I thought "it DOES look like a green donut"....You may already know all this........ Amazing stuff. Jupiter's moons, Saturn's ring, etc.

    Goto's are nice but learn the sky- know where to look- get Terrence Dickenson's book "Nightwatch".

    Geez- I may grab the binos and go stand on the back porch for a while!
     
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