choosing a telescope

checkers · Guest

I am looking to purchase another telescope. I have a tasco 11TRF that my dad gave me, the eyepieces are poor and viewing is limited. I also have a bushnell voyager that I just got for Christmas, it is a 3" reflector, poor viewing also. I'd like to know what you suggest would be a good scope. I like to view planets mostly and need to see more than a dot. My price range is 600 to 1000$.

Thanks!

opticsplanet.com · Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 8:59 am Post subject:

Hi

Planetary viewing typically means observing at the higher magnification ranges of your telescope's potential. How much magnification will depend on many factors - observing conditions, telescope aperture, optical quality, eyepieces used, filters, mount stability and many other things. Expectations are also a big factor. Just how much can an observer expect to see? For a good discussion on this, see a recent article in Sky&Telescope online concerning Saturn at http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_304_1.asp

Planetary viewing is becoming ever more popular for several reasons. For one, you don't need a light bucket for good views. I've had excellent success with a 4" refractor and a 5" Mak. For another, planetary observing is less affected by light pollution or moon glow than deep-sky observing. In urban areas, this allows an observer to do some serious observing.

For planetary viewing, I like long focal length scopes. Since I wear glasses, I like longer eye relief eyepieces. It is easier to get higher magnifications in telescopes with long focal lengths when using longer eye relief eyepieces. Longer focal length scopes also are more likely to have better optics for the dollar than short focal length designs. A quality reflector with a long focal length is a pretty good planetary scope, but these are getting hard to find. That leaves refractors (expensive per inch) and Maks and SCTs. Although a Mak and an SCT suffer some resolution loss from secondary obstruction, a good quality Mak or SCT does a great job on planets and will also do a nice job on deep-sky stuff with the right eyepieces.

For arounf $1000, try the Meade ETX-125, I've used this one at 200x with a good eyepiece and had great images of Saturn and Jupiter. I've also heard good things about the Celestron 100ED refractor, http://www.opticsplanet.net/celestron-advanced-c100-ed-r-telescope.html though I haven't had a chance to use one. You might also look at an 8" SCT on an equatorial mount such as the Celestron CS Advanced, http://www.opticsplanet.net/celestron-c8-s-advanced-series-telescope.html or the Meade LXD75 EC, http://www.opticsplanet.net/meade-lxd75-sn-8ec-schmidt-newtonian-telescope-with-uhtc.html

oon glow
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checkers · Guest

Thanks for the quick response! What do you think about the Galileo 1000mm-120mm reflector go-ts-g102md2? I don't know if I want a motorized mount or not. I would love to have a gps scope but afraid they are way out of my range. Would you suggest a refractor or reflector? I did look at the ETX-125 you suggested and like it, I am new to this stuff and need all the help I can get. I did purchase the plossl eyepiece kit from optics planet and it did help with the bushnell 3" reflector I have but it is a poor quality scope and I am looking for better. I don't want anything too complicated but I want a good scope. I also looked at the Konus Konusky-200 KO-TS-1793, Does it come with the tripod and is it motor driven? Please let me know what you think about these scopes and any other suggestions you might have would be appreciated.

Thank you again! Checkers