[Chaos-l] telescope recommendations

[Robert Nielsen]

Jeff,

You are probably going to get more advice here than you imagined ... but 
I'll start ...

Assuming you are like I am, and want to see all there is to see in the 
sky, I would go for as much aperture as I could for the money.   If you 
are more interested in specific objects in the sky ... like double stars 
or planets or the moon ... then I would suggest something different.  
But if you want to see things like the Whirlpool Galaxy or some of the 
smaller globular clusters (which I like a LOT) or fainter nebulae, in 
addition to the moon and Jupiter and big things like the Andromeda 
Galaxy ... you're going to need more than 5" of aperture.

So I would suggest something like a Meade Lightbridge Dobsonian 
(http://www.meade.com/lightbridge/index.html).  I know one of our club 
members who has one (Mark South) and he is pleased with the quality of 
the mirror and how easy it is to put together and operate.  I say "put 
together" because it is a "truss tube Dobsonian" telescope (you'll 
understand when you visit that web page) and comes apart for easy 
storage in a car.   It doesn't take very long to put back together at an 
observing site (10 minutes?)  The MSRP for the 10" version is $599 ... 
which is probably good to start and then I would spend the rest of the 
$1000 on a couple of good eyepieces ... which is a completely separate 
discussion.

Does the Dobsonian design scare you (because it isn't go-to)?  Do you 
want to use it for astrophotography?   There are a bunch of reasons you 
might not want to use a Dobsonian, but dollar-for-dollar, they really do 
provide the best experience ... based on my use of other folks Dobsonians.

You should come to MASP in a couple of weeks (near Rollins, NC ... about 
1.5 hours from here).  It is a star party ... and you can try out 
probably 30 different models of scopes down there and talk to owners 
about how they like them!

Robert (who, believe it or not, has never owned a Dobsonian ... but who 
is very impressed with almost every one he has viewed through)

Jeff Wright wrote:
>
> I am thinking of buying a new starter scope, something in the $1000 or 
> less range, that I can also use as a decent portable scope at dark 
> sites. I have found a few Maksutov models in the 5" range that look 
> fine. I am leaning toward a Meade or Celestron, just because of 
> previous experience with them, but am open to other suggestions.
>
> Anyone have any experience they can share? Thoughts on 5" scopes in 
> general? I have considered going with an 8", but of course, now we are 
> talking $2000.
>
> BTW, I don't mind manual polar-alignment either.
>
> Also, any recommended dealers/web-sites? I am familiar with ORION, but 
> don't have experience buying from anyone else.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Jeff
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