Telescope Recommendations

[Saaf_laandon_mo]

I want to buy a telescope for my other half. Her interest in Astronomy has really taken off lately and I want to buy her a telescope as a result. Does anyone have any recommendations, as well as tips including what to look for and how much I should be spending.

Thanks in advance.....

[Graham M]

Check out http://www.telescopehouse.com/ ?

[Vlad_Dracul]

I want to buy a telescope for my other half. Her interest in Astronomy has really taken off lately and I want to buy her a telescope as a result. Does anyone have any recommendations, as well as tips including what to look for and how much I should be spending.

Thanks in advance.....


Something i've considered dabbling in for some time but have not got round to it. Like many other things !

I do know though that you should not buy one of the cheaper ones as seen in argos catalogues etc. True you will see something but the crucial bit is light gathering ability,quality of optics and rigidity/integrity/quality of the mounting/gearing/focussing mechanisms.

I know of a shop which unfortunately isnt daaannn safff but there is some useful guidance on this page;

http://www.telescopesandbinoculars.co.uk/acatalog/index.html

bear in mind that in an urban environment,there may be too much light pollution/cloud. It is therefore useful if your scope can easily be transported and set up in an out of town location.

[Uncle Peter]

First of all: avoid anything you buy in Argos or Dixons at all costs! (ie. Tasco refractors and reflectors).

Go for a Newtonian reflector as they offer the best light gathering capability for the money. Good refractors of comparable capability are much more expensive but offer better optical quality. There are other types of scope such as catadioptrics which offer their own portability advantages but once again are more expensive than newts.

In terms of specific makes and models: for the price you can't really go wrong with TAL telescopes as a first scope. They're Russian, solid and no nonsense designs with sturdy mounts.

If you look at the link Vlad posted above for the Stockport Binocular & Telescope Centre they are doing the TAL 150P for £299 which is a 6" Newtonian and is probably the minimum in terms of light gathering capability you'd want to consider. That also includes a generous set of accessories. The eyepieces inparticular aren't half bad.

We've got a 150P here and have taken ours out to Bala during the clear, cold winter months to take advantage of the relatively dark skies out there and had some excellent results. Definitely check out your local astronomy clubs too as they will be able to advise you on anything in terms of equipment puchases, techniques and where the best dark sky sites are in your area, not to mention any organised sky parties where you'll probably get a chance to try out some really big scopes :)

[zing_deleted]

I would throw Celestron in the bad as a maker

[Saaf_laandon_mo]

First of all: avoid anything you buy in Argos or Dixons at all costs! (ie. Tasco refractors and reflectors).

Go for a Newtonian reflector as they offer the best light gathering capability for the money. Good refractors of comparable capability are much more expensive but offer better optical quality. There are other types of scope such as catadioptrics which offer their own portability advantages but once again are more expensive than newts.

In terms of specific makes and models: for the price you can't really go wrong with TAL telescopes as a first scope. They're Russian, solid and no nonsense designs with sturdy mounts.

If you look at the link Vlad posted above for the Stockport Binocular & Telescope Centre they are doing the TAL 150P for £299 which is a 6" Newtonian and is probably the minimum in terms of light gathering capability you'd want to consider. That also includes a generous set of accessories. The eyepieces inparticular aren't half bad.

We've got a 150P here and have taken ours out to Bala during the clear, cold winter months to take advantage of the relatively dark skies out there and had some excellent results. Definitely check out your local astronomy clubs too as they will be able to advise you on anything in terms of equipment puchases, techniques and where the best dark sky sites are in your area, not to mention any organised sky parties where you'll probably get a chance to try out some really big scopes :)

I was all set to spend a couple of hundred quid in Argos before coming to my senses and deciding to post here first. I'm going through the recommendations on the links posted above so hopefully should be able to make a decision soon. The budget was a couple of 100 quid but I will strectch that a bit further by putting the plans for a 360 on hold for a while, lol.

Is it worth going for one of the Go To models (i.e auto seeking ones) or is my money better spent on a manual model as such?

[Hom3r]

There is a make (cannot think of its name at the mo) that you tell it you location an it can tell/show you the stars you can see

[Uncle Peter]

I was all set to spend a couple of hundred quid in Argos before coming to my senses and deciding to post here first. I'm going through the recommendations on the links posted above so hopefully should be able to make a decision soon. The budget was a couple of 100 quid but I will strectch that a bit further by putting the plans for a 360 on hold for a while, lol.

Is it worth going for one of the Go To models (i.e auto seeking ones) or is my money better spent on a manual model as such?

You're better off putting the dollar into the optics rather than features like go-to. Nice idea but really decent go-to scopes are a bit more than a few hundred quid.

[ikthius]

i got a telescope from aldis about 2 year ago for £50, i set it up and could not use it, so I will be looking to get rid of it.......

I dont know how much it would be to deliver but you could have it if you paid for delivery and maybe a 310 for the scope and case??????

only if you want.

ik

[sammiefields22]

Ahh, well they say the best beginner telescope is the Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope. Here's a descent review:

Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope (http://tedthane.com/orionskyquestxt8classicdobsoniantelescope)

[roger skillin]

I have a sky watcher and i think it's brilliant, my one is a little more advanced than this one but i think it would be a good starter
http://www.opticalvision.co.uk/astronomical_telescopes/sky-watcher/newtonian_reflectors/explorer-130P_auto

[Wayfair]

As the thread is coming up to 3yrs old, I think they may have one now, or got fed up waiting and started doing something else lol.. :)

[roger skillin]

As the thread is coming up to 3yrs old, I think they may have one now, or got fed up waiting and started doing something else lol.. :)

Lol i only replied because i say it on the recent posts, didn't look at the date hehe