OT: backyard telescopes

[slowgoing]

Any stargazers out there who can recommend a good backyard telescope? Good brands, models, etc. would be appreciated.

[JohnS]

Celestron.

[97CSI]

What's your budget? Do you want a reflector, refractor, SC or SM?

And, plenty of good ones (except Meade - they are sort of like Shimano - trying to crush the competiton thru marketing).

[rnhood]

I have a Televue Pronto and its a fairly nice scope assuming you're not going into deep space. Comes in a nice carrying case with all accessories and, is compact. For deeper looking the larger Celestrons and even the Televue 4" models fit the bill nicely. There are many other good scopes too.

[pbbob]

I have celestron and meade 8" schmidt. I'm not sure what your reasons for buying a telescope, but do consider the use of a good pair of binoculars especially if the person using them is new to astronomy or young. It's a relatively low cost investment and a lot of fun. what is more simple than going outside to your favorite lawnchair, sitting down, and starting to observe?
there is a lot of info available in past issues of astronomy or sky&telescope that addresses first telescopes.

bob, who got an honorable mention in the 8th grade science fair for his astronomy related project. :banana:

[csm]

Leupold mounted on a barrets .50 cal.

[jburt]

Depends where you live, but a Dobsonian reflector was what I chose as best bang for the buck. It has a simple but very stable mount, but at high magnification, you need to constantly nudge it to keep the object in the viewfinder. I have an Orion (good web site), and the optics are very good. I went with the 8 inch. There has been a lot of development where I live, so it is almost too big due to light pollution. In dark skies, though, it is great. Many books say that a 6" dobsonian is the best "serious beginner scope".

[Kevan]

but this little guy, the Astroscan Telescope, works great for the casual enthusiast. Stores easy too:

http://www.scientificsonline.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_3002001

[H.Frank Beshear]

We have a 6" Celestron, it's cool to see the rings of Saturn. A nice place to shop and some genuine good guys can be found here (http://www.astronomics.com/main/Telescopes_and_Telescope_Accessories.asp/catalog_name/Astronomics/category_name/Home) It's a lot of fun for the kids even the 40 something ones :D Frank

[FierteTi52]

Slowgoing,
I can help you out. Your best bet is to find your local club and attend one of their public nights. Astronomy day is coming up, so they may have an event planned you could attend.
First few questions:
1. Price range?
2. Do you want to use the scope for terrestrial viewing and or birding?
3. Do you have access to dark skies?
4. Will children be invloved during you observing sessions?
Feel free to PM me.
Jeff
PS. It's great to see other forumites have an interest in Astronomy. I plan on having a scope with me for the Fingerlakes ramble.

[Larry8]

I second Fierte, Find the local club and go to one of their star parties. Our local observatory has a free telescope making class where they teach you to grind your own primary mirror. I made a 6in mirror there for the fun of it years and years ago. John Dobson himself used to also have telescope making classes with the Sidewalk Astronomers in San Francisco.

http://www.e-scopes.cc/ You can build your own Dobsonian from one of the Coulter Optical kits.

Orion Telescopes are pretty well respected and not too expensive.

Truthfully, I use astronomical 10X70 Binoculars from Orion more than my telescope.

Cool hobby, good luck

Larry

[slowgoing]

Slowgoing,
I can help you out. Your best bet is to find your local club and attend one of their public nights. Astronomy day is coming up, so they may have an event planned you could attend.
First few questions:
1. Price range?
2. Do you want to use the scope for terrestrial viewing and or birding?
3. Do you have access to dark skies?
4. Will children be invloved during you observing sessions?
Feel free to PM me.
Jeff
PS. It's great to see other forumites have an interest in Astronomy. I plan on having a scope with me for the Fingerlakes ramble.

Thanks to everyone for such great responses. Fierte, here's the profile:

1. price range is open depending upon what the additional $ buys.
2. skies only. I don't watch birds, I eat them.
3. not too many dark skies in the LA area, but we go to the mountains and desert a lot and could use it there.
4. This is intended to be a father/son activity. It's introduction to astronomy for both of us.

[97CSI]

Check here. http://www.telescope.com/jump.jsp?itemID=0&itemType=HOME_PAGE Excellent range of good quality 'scopes.

If you want portable, go for the SC or MC model. For planets, refractors are generally considered the best and for deep sky, the larger reflectors. Of course, additional money in each category greatly modifies this statement. You might start by purchasing a beginners book on viewing and telescopes and reading about advantages and disadvantages of each. Then attend your local clubs starparty and talk with folks and look through their 'scopes. As a general rule, larger is better (gathers more light) and more money gets you better optics and a better mount.

If you go for binoculars, then I suggest you get a good mount for same. There are mounts that allow you to recline in your backyard lounger and view with good binoculars. Really not that much less expensive when compared to a decent 5-6 inch reflector or 80-100mm reflector.

If you want something larger, my brother is selling his 5" Meade refractor with a GE mount after purchasing the 100mm ED Apo from Orion. The 80mm ED Apo from Orion is a very nice and quite protable refractor, as well. Sells for about a grand with a decent mount. There is a "Learning Center" in the above catalog which has some info worth reading.

[slowgoing]

Thanks. This will give me something to do while I self impose a week-long forum ban for having suggested that 93legendti has an insecurity complex in the Red Meat thread. DOH! I just did it again! Ok, two weeks!

[Tom]

Grind your own mirror. When he was in high school he wanted to be an astronomer so he made his own 8" reflector telescope from scratch. He did everything except plate the mirror. Casting the aluminum fork was fun! I watched that part.

He's a worm doc now.

[Kevan]

get one of these. This simple device makes it possible for you to find the planets as well as other heavenly bodies. (No Sandy, this is not about you.)

http://www.scientificsonline.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_3009227

Cheap and no batteries required.

[39cross]

I have a Meade ETX-90 I bought about 4 years ago. Nice scope, I felt I got a lot for the money. If you're going to pack it up and travel with it, this is a nice compact unit. FWIW, a couple of years ago they were very favorably reviewed by Sky & Telescope, which is a good place to read up on equipment (or at least it was, I haven't looked in a while).

But if you can join a group some evening and check out the equipment people bring, that would be best, you can then try before you buy. Like bike folks, most people in that world are happy to share their hobby with you.

[FierteTi52]

slowgoing,
LA has plenty of retailers to help you out. Orion Telescopes as prevoiusly mentioned is an excellent resource. You may want to try Woodland hills also.
IMHO, don't fall into the 15,000 object go to type telescopes, of which you will not see more than a few objects in the LA suburbs. You need to learn the night sky on your own to be sucessful in this hobby. Many beginners buy telescopes without knowing where to point them and loose interest very quickly. Invest in a good pair of Binos, a star chart, and learn the night sky.
Attend local public nights and look through various scopes to see what each type will show you. You will not see images like from the Hubble. If possible get out to a dark site, it makes all the differnce.
Good luck
Jeff

[alienator]

Where I work and study, all the folks seem to make their own. Of course, I work and study at a place that makes 8.4m telescope mirrors, so I guess you'd expect that. Most of the guys 'round here are sporting homemade Schmidt-Cassegrains.

[nicrump]

Any stargazers out there who can recommend a good backyard telescope? Good brands, models, etc. would be appreciated.

Backyard telescope, in the city? Are you a newby? I would recommend a tripod and serious binoculars to start. If you progress from that, so be it but binocs are the best way to start.

10x50 is good enough for in town gazing newbys. Buy the best optics you can afford.

This gives you time to learn more and make educated decisions about your future scopes.

When you do buy a scope, both you and your son are gazing simultaneously as you still have the binocs.

[BarryG]

A good choice would be an 8 inch Schmidt-Cassegrain. It's big enough to serve you for a while if you get semi-serious. Good on both deep space and planetary objects. It's a popular size so easy to buy/sell on the used market. It's fairly portable as well.

If you've got a big vehicle, a big Dobsonian can't be beat for major bang for the buck and lotsa oohs/aahs viewing deep space objects.

As far as SoCal skies, eastern San Diego county and Joshua Tree are great overnight trips. Used to haul my C-11 around there in a former lifetime. I also owned a 5in AstroPhysics refractor and this wouldn't be my choice as a first/only scope.

[Samster]

http://www.company7.com/astrophy/maks/250f146.html

It's about $10,900.

Dont forget a nice solid mounting system with dual drives...

http://www.company7.com/astrophy/mounts/900gem.html

That one's about $7,950.

You're on your own for a tripod, or something, that'll hold it all up.

Some consider Roland Christen's (the owner/artisan of Astro-Physics) various pieces to be the absolute state of the art in telescopes and related accessories.

[97CSI]

Astro-Physics at the 'big-end' of personal 'scopes. But, at the 'small end' of things, the takahashi is considered tops: http://www.optcorp.com/takahashi.aspx?gclid=COiS_Oz8goQCFRZHSQodsguhgA

Yuck!! Did I just recommend something Japanese. That's almost as bad as ShimaNo. :D

[Samster]

Astro-Physics at the 'big-end' of personal 'scopes. But, at the 'small end' of things, the takahashi is considered tops: http://www.optcorp.com/takahashi.aspx?gclid=COiS_Oz8goQCFRZHSQodsguhgA

Yuck!! Did I just recommend something Japanese. That's almost as bad as ShimaNo. :D

well... takahashi isn't exactly that small, and for that matter, AP introduced the 90mm version, which is small indeed. On top of that, takahashi quality is absolutely first rate. if you want to go American small, TeleVue by Al Nagler is a very good option... their TV 85 can't be beat for the size and price range.

http://www.televue.com/engine/page.asp?ID=9

[BarryG]

I've got a better idea. Head up to Big Bear on Memorial Day weekend for the RTMC (http://www.rtmcastronomyexpo.org/). There will be hundreds of friendly folks with the whole range of telescopes - from 3 inch refractors to 20+ inch reflectors. All night people bop around and look through each other's instruments. It's a blast and you'll totally jumpstart your intro to the hobby. There are also some great buys on used and closeout telescopes, so bring some cash.