Convince me to buy a telescope.

In My Humble Opinion
1

Great Telescope with Tripod, great Condition. 35 inches long, about 6 inches diameter. FirstScope 114. F=900mm F/8, MOdel#31044.
Tripod is adjustable. $180.00 (Canadian).

I want this. It’s for sale here via Craigslist, and I want it. I’ve kind of wanted a telescope for years, and every time I go outside, I look up.

But I am afraid that I’d just be indulging myself in a whim, and the thing would sit in the back bedroom after a while, just another discarded toy.

But… but… last night, I swear I could see how Saturn was kind of blobby through the binoculars, and I want to see more.

Should Savannah blow $180 on a telescope (used) in general?

Is this an okay telescope for an amateur?

Is this a reasonable price?

I do not have children and the bills are paid and I’m employed and if I want to, can’t I buy it?

What do you think?

2

check out Orion

You can get any number of decent scopes with good mounts for very good prices. Example
Have you tried binocs yet?

ETA: in general, YES, buy a scope. A good, usable one. One that will actually get used. And then have fun!

3

Not what I’d choose, but if you really want to, and have the disposable cash at-hand… shrug

You really ought to attend a few classes at your nearest observatory - many smaller observatories conduct them. I’d recommend, if you’re a first-time sky watcher, that you get a good pair of night glasses and tripod mount for same. They can be surprisingly inexpensive, and can allow you to do a LOT of sky-watching without blowing a wad of cash. In fact, though I have access to a 125mm Schmidt-Cassegrain 'scope, I use my generic, mil-surplus nightglasses far and away most often. I paid US50 for them, including tripod adapter and tripod. I can see 80% of the things I want to look at quite well, including a large number of the Messier objects.

4

If you get the telescope, get some astronomy software, such as this, to help locate objects to view.

5

The scope you describe doesn’t sound like an ideal first instrument, but then your rather impulsive move isn’t ideal either. If you’ve got the $180 to blow any way you want then go for it, but as has already been pointed out you can see more for less if you ease into it with a little less emphasis on the equipment and a little more emphasis on experience. First discover what intrigues you - star hopping or finding objects with bearings (if you find that you enjoy star hopping you might find a large diameter dob reflector better suited to your interests).

But the bottom line is any amount of money spent will be worthwhile if it gets you started. You won’t be sorry.

6

The comment on “buy some binocs” spend that cash on some powerful binocs instead!

Binoculars , with even basic optics will open up the “universe” for you.
Of course you will turn them on the moon first… WOW! That little moon has texture, character and “detail”…

Then, if you know some one, or can find out on your own, will turn it on the local planets… not so much… a small blurry dot becomes a larger blurry dot… Guess what, the telescope you describe won’t do much better… With good binocs you can see the phases of venus (it has phases just like the moon). On a clear nighyt, away from the city, you might see some moons of Jupiter, or see saturn as an oblate (wide) disk), depending on the current tilt of the rings… Galeleo saw far less with his intruments…

Now (an prepare to shit yourself)… turn to the milky way… that foggy band of glowing light becones a kazillion individual stars…

some of those are stars just like the sun… and I think it is a safe bet that some one there is turning binocs on us… or at least “us” as we were 50 to 100 million years of light travel time ago…
FML

7

Don’t buy a telescope.

8

pah! Buy it, it’s educational!

9

Specific recommendations:
Don’t worry about magnification - most magnifications are enough, down to 8x. 12x is OK, but the higher you go, the more you sacrifice - The greater the magnification, the dimmer the image. Indeed, light-gathering is something you do want to worry about. Bigger objective lens is generally better. Nothing less than 35mm. Go 40mm, 50mm, or even 60mm if you can. Lens coating is important too - up to 5% of gathered light can be reflected at each lens/air interface, so anti-reflective coatings are important, especially if you’ve many lenses in the optics. Reflected light tends to ‘wash out’ the image, so you’ll want to pay attention to this. A good coating can reduce reflection to less than 1%, down to maybe even 0.25%.

Pay attention to exit pupil size. If you’re young, 7mm is good. As you age, your pupils lose the ability to fully dialate, so 6mm, or even 5mm, may be sufficient. The idea is to match exit pupil to your own eyes’ ability to dialate. Too small, and you’re not seeing all you could. Too big, and you’re wasting capability on eyes that can’t use the extra light.

Eye-relief - look for good eye relief. That’s the distance from the pupil lens to your eye. I like 20mm or more, because I wear glasses. If you’re not wearing glasses, 13-15mm is a decent number, though you can go closer. Longer eye relief means that you can among other things, line your eyes up more easily, and over a greater range of wobble.
What I use, most often, is a pair of mil-surplus nightglasses, 8x45, with a 6mm pupil and 23mm of eye relief. I got them from an online surplus site, and paid, IIRC, US$35 for them, and another US$10 for a tripod. I got a binocular/tripod adapter from a local camera shop for US$4. This rig usually travels with me in my car at all times. I don’t bother with my reflector 'scope at all, unless there’s something special coming up.

10

A simple refracting telescope will become easily redundant. Spend some real money on a Schmidt-Cassegrain. The refracting scope will be OK for the moon, otherwise you’ll only see white dots.

11

If you don’t buy a telescope, I will hunt you down and destroy you, with otters.

Are you convinced now?

12

I agree - buy some decent image-stabilizing binocs first. They take up less room than a telescope, and are quicker and easier to transport, set up, and use. And if your interest in astronomy wanes, you will still be able to use them for other things.

IME, few people are satisfied with their first scope. Either they do not continue with the hobby, or if they do, they want something other than what they initially bought. You can lessen the chances of being dissatisfied with your scope purchase by getting involved in the hobby first. Find a local astronomy club, and attend some of their viewings where you will be able to check out a variety of scopes.

13

I got my first telescope in high school, and it was a cheapo.

You were supposed to be able to set up the dials so that you could turn one, and track the stars, but that never worked, and then the gears “broke” so that it wouldn’t even turn.

Still, I had a lot of fun with it; I could see Saturn’s rings distinct from the orb. It was a piece of shit, but I still feel like I got my money’s worth. I learned a lot about the stars, and paths of planets, and comets, and you really figure out why the sun changes angle, and why we see different stars different times of year. Of course, none of that is really tough, but once you’re out there doing it, it makes a lot more sense. I used to toss it on my shoulders and lug it out to a field behind my house.

If I ever get back into it, it’s going to be when I’m retired and/or living in a place where it makes more sense to have one. You can also use a small telescope for on-land viewing if you live in an appropriate place.

14

Thanks for all the feedback!

I do have a pair of binoculars–Bushnell 10x 50, and I actually passed Astronomy 100 at UVic (which astounded me–I am not math/science oriented). I’ve been a skywatcher all my life. (Thanks mum, for encouraging us to join her in the back yard each summer to watch the meteor showers and satellite flybys and so on. Some of my favourite memories are of those summer nights, and the comets I’ve been lucky enough to see, and the eclipses, too.) I’ve dragged my husband out for meteor showers, the moons of Jupiter and so on, but he’s not interested, and I’m not that keen on wandering around in our limited dark-ish places alone at night.

This is just an impulse want in a lot of ways–Saturn has been nicely situated in the western sky lately, and I’ve been peeping at it through the binoculars and getting frustrated with jamming them against the tree to stabilize them, and I checked Craigslist for a used telescope, and there was one.

However, I also have: a sewing machine, knitting supplies, jewellery-making stuff, a guitar, a novel in progress, a garden, a new digital camera, a gajillion books to read, a dog to play with and explore the city/countryside with, many DVDs to watch, and even more things to do in my limited leisure time. I don’t want to acquire a relatively expensive toy that I don’t use. And ING Direct is having a bonus interest program this summer, so I was going to try and sock away extra money this summer to take advantage of that.

The left lens of my glasses fell out the other morning, so after repairing it (try and find that teensy, tiny screwdriver in a crowded house without your glasses!) I went and got set up for a new pair of glasses as the present pair are nearing the end of their life. That was $350, and I’m getting new contacts, too. So, that’s a chunk of money spent.

Property taxes are due July 3.

So… thank you for the encouragement to continue exploring what is up there–and isn’t it amazing? Oh–I also spent $30.00 US to join/donate to the International Dark-Sky Association, which I’d meaning to do for ages. And I bought a new comforter at Costco for $80.00, so even more money spent.

I will definitely keep using the binoculars, and I will definitely keep learning and observing. Come reluctant husbands or not, I will drag him out for some sky viewing this summer. And I will drag him up to “the centre of the universe” for Saturday Nights Under the Stars.

I’ve bookmarked this thread for the recommendations–for when I do eventually buy a telescope. It just won’t be today after work. I’m going to email the Craigslister and explain that I have re-thought the purchase for now.

Thanks everyone! I appreciate your help!

15

Given that background, I don’t think you’ll go wrong with a telescope. The person whose telescope gathers dust is usually the person who tries to leap directly to telescope viewing without any experience in naked-eye or binocular sky-watching.

The little dot-shadows of the moons of Jupiter on the planet, visible even in a small refracting telescope, are inexpressibly cool.

16

Thank you thank you thank you !!!

I’ve been a member for years. It’s amazing how many communities are being educated about taking back the night. Just a simple thing like a downward directing shield for street lamps helps a great deal. Puts more light on the street where it does good, keeps light from bleeding up where it blocks our heritage of star viewing.

Thanks again!

17

Tranquilis, can you point out an example of the type of glasses you’re talking about? Google turns up lots of stuff that looks like junk.

Thanks!