Telescopes?

[Guest C-21 Pilot]

Any space geeks out there?

We (my family) are thinking of buying an telescope, but don't know much about them. I'm doing my research now, but for any of you that own one=, any advice what to look for, stay away from, etc?

Thanks

[ClearedHot]

Not a space geek but I have a good friend who is really into telescopes. I think the key question is how much do you want to spend?

The telescope he has goes for $1500-$2000. It has a GPS system, so you can take it to a dark spot out in the country and it will align itself with GPS and star shots. Once aligned it has a control panel that you can tpye in codes so it will automatically reposition and point at objects it has in it's database. He brought it to a party last year and we were able to clearly see the rings of Saturn.

I know there are others like his that go for a bit less. If you want more info PM me and I will get the brand and model number from him.

[M2]

C-21

I got a nice telescope while stationed in Germany. We lived out near Sembach, and had some roof windows in our house that made it easy to gaze at the stars (the area behind our house was basically fields, looking across the B40, so no lights to interfere; and the clear skies of Germany made for some excellent viewing!). That was the same year Hale-Bop was visible (1997, same year as my first son was born). It was amazing to look at through the scope. I would sit with a Bischhof and stare at it for hours!

If this is a family hobby, then I would recommend something for between $100-200. AAFES has them, you can order them from their web site if the local über-BX at Ramstein doesn't stock them.

Unfortunately, the haze-filled skies of Belgium aren't as condusive to stargazing... . Must be from all that diesel oil they burn here for heat. Check out this image of the nitrogen dioxide (NO²) air pollution cloud, guess which country it sits directly over?? You can almost make out the borders of Belgium from this image!

Scary, isn't it??

Cheers! M²

[ClearedHot]

Here is the company that makes the higher end GPS guided telescopes.

Celestron Telescopes

[Guest MitchBaernet]

The Meade ETX-70AT is an excellent entry level scope, and right now they are going for less then $300 (they retail for about $500). Don't expect to spend less then this and not get anything better then a toy. The astro community has been raving about the ETX series ever since they came out (The ETX was my first scope, and I still use it al the time).

check out

http://www.meade.com/catalog/etx/etx70.html

[ 05. February 2005, 18:09: Message edited by: Mitch ]

[Guest skipplet]

I too have a friend who's really into astronomy. The guy built himself an observatory and he's now building a Dobsonian telescope. Currently, he has this telescope. You can see the rings of Saturn, the moons of Jupiter (look like little star-like bright spots), and Jupiter's red spot with it.

Here are some links from google about reflector and refractor telescopes, and choosing a telescope: Link 1 Link 2 Link 3 Link 4

My 2 cents on buying a telescope: you might as well get a pretty good one that you can enjoy. If you get a telescope with which you can only look at the moon, it'll get boring quick.

[ 05. February 2005, 21:52: Message edited by: Karl ]

[Guest C-21 Pilot]

Thanks to all who replied...

Very informative.

-Cheers