Need recommendation on 1st Telescope

jh3 · Guest

I've been researching your site for help in picking out a 1st Telescope for my family ( 2 adults, 2 young children). I've decided on a refracter due to ease of use and set up, portability, and kid friendliness. We are primarily interested in looking at planets and the moon, and some land viiewing (Mountain viewing and ship spotting on the Great lakes). None of us have any astronomy experience and are the typical time crunched family, so I really like the idea of a Go To telescope.

I would like to stay in the $200 - $300 range, and like the Meade DS 2080 AT-LNT and Celestron 80 SLT. Do you recommend one over the other in terms of ease of use (they appear to be very similar otherwise)? Or, would it make sense to look at a C4-R with the better optics, but lacking the computerization? I'm concerned I would not be able to keep the interest level up if we are struggling to locate objects in the night sky.

Looking forward to your recommendations!!

Thanks,

Joe

Jne_K · Site Admin Joined: 24 Sep 2003 Posts: 5402

Hi

You are really comparing Ford to Chevy on these two - either is a good choice in an 80mm computerized refractor and are nearly identical, feature for feature.

A computer does make navigation easier for a beginner and most are relatively simple to get set up and aligned. This is the most practical option for a light polluted area, since learning to navigate manually is tough to do when you can't see a lot of guide stars. Meade and Celestron both make good computers. If you like computers and are technically inlcined, this is the way to go.

On the other hand, you can buy a bigger scope for your dollar with a manual scope, since you are not buying a computer. Learning to navigate the old fashioned way takes more initiative and effort and it is slower, but in many ways more enjoyable. It is also quite practical if you observe from a dark or mildly light polluted site.
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Guest · Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2007 8:03 pm Post subject:

Just realized that Celestron also makes a series of telescopes in the Astromaster series that they recommend for land and sky - how would a 90 mm AZ compare for sky viewing to the computerized telescopes mentioned above? I realize it is also manual, so I still have to consider if I really want to go manual vs the easy computer solution (although when I first started shopping, I didn't even realize that there were computerized telescopes, adn was fully prepared to go the traditional route!!)

Thoughts?

Jne_K · Site Admin Joined: 24 Sep 2003 Posts: 5402

Hi

An alt-az refractor is a very good choice for land viewing, but then, you sacrifice some tracking ability when doing astronomy. Even a manual equatorial, without a computer, makes it easier to track, especially when equipped with a slow motion control. Can't have it both ways.
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