I am thinking of buying the Orion SpaceProbe 130ST EQ Telescope.
I was just wondering if anyone out there could let me know what the best telescope is to get. I am also considering price here, too, so I need something between one-five hundred dollars...
Anyone with information, please let me know what I should do!
Location: Shoveling snow from my driveway into your driveway.
Posts: 8,326
My son purchased a Meade 90AZ-ARD telescope D=90mm F=900mm. It's a refractor not a reflector and does not need an additional erecting prism mirror.
We paid about $200 for this out the door on the net. This is a non motorized scope. This is what you want. The motorized models are junk and don't last very long. Don't listen to salespeople about motorized scopes. He got on a website that explained that motorized scopes are not fixable and go bad sometimes right from the box.
This is a very new Meade product and is very highly rated.
He has all sorts of lenses 4mm through 40mm and has #2, #3 Barlows. This telescope is very well made and easily folded down for transport. The tripod extends out much higher than his previous model did.
You won't go wrong with this telescope.
Buy yourself a good compass and a star map. The pros don't use motorized scopes.
This Meade model is good for amateur and pro alike. It has slow motion tracking controls which smoothly track your object in the sky.
Little conused with twinkies response. The Sky is constantly moving. Tracking will stay on your object, tracking uses a Motor. I feel Motorized(Tracking) is the way to go. I may be missunderstanding Her, or something?
If you Have Google Earth, click on SkyMode, and type in your object, it will show where its place is in the stars.
Location: Shoveling snow from my driveway into your driveway.
Posts: 8,326
Google Earth is ustterly unless. Buy a NightWatch book by Terrence Deckinson about $29. In the back of the book it has star charts for all the seasons. Use a compass and a red lens flashlight. My son does just fine. The knobs you refer to are for slow tracking when the objects move in the sky. No motorization required. When the motors go out your scope is useless and you end up with a very expensive paperweight.
Look up motorized telescope problems and you'll get lots of folks complaining about condensation and high battery usage in the winter. You can also get junk scopes that cannot be ever set as they come messed up from the factory.
If you want a really good scope buy a $500 Dobsonian mounted Newtonian Reflector. These telescopes offer the best combination at a modest price.
Check out Sky and Telescope.com. In the forums section ask your question there. Or look for other astronomy sites that have forums.
I just put what works best for my kid.
Also, your light pollution has a lot to do with what type of telescope you can or cannot use.
The Meade that I mentioned works well with light pollution that's why I bought it for my son.
Most of the time he uses a 2X Barlow with a 15mm lens. Sometimes he uses a 3X Barlow with 25mm and he can see pretty much what he wants to even in deep space. He has lots of light pollution here and he never has complained once he got this Meade of not being able to get deep space objects.
You need to remember that just the telescope alone is not the entire picture in viewing the sky. You need Barlow lenses to help boost your lens power enabling you to view far away objects.
I have to disagree with Twinkie, With GoogleEarth, Skyview, you can type in Saturn, Orions Nebula, or whatever, and you can view for FREE. Get the Book she mentions, on the site she mentions, their is also a Star Chart Book for $35 on that site, Get that as well, I never have a problem with FREE, I like many sources, than just 1 book. Plus you can check out the Sky when it is Cloudy?
IMO
Hey, I just wanted to thank everyone for the responses! I appreciate your time! =) I've decided to purchase the telescope I asked about, so when it gets here, I will probably most some more questions for all you out there who are far more experienced than I when it comes to viewing the beautiful night sky!
Linear Mode
