How to Choose a Telescope

This is spot on advice!

Binoculars are an excellent tool that you will always use no matter how seriously you get into the hobby.

The other advice is after you have determined that you really want a telescope, invest in one with good optics. GOTO functions and other bells and whistles are much less important than good optics. Next is a good mount. The mount and GOTO drives are much easier to upgrade than optics, so I place optics as the first concern.

Nothing will give you a more sour taste for this hobby than bad equipment. Good equipment costs some money, so investing in binoculars first is a good litmus test to see if more investment in a good scope is even warranted.

Lastly, before investing in a scope, join a local star gazing group. You will meet people that already know the ropes and you can try all kinds of telescopes to see which one meets your needs.

"Learn your way around the sky by eye"- a very good tool for this is a program called "Stellarium", available free, here - for Linux, Macs or Windows.

Subscribe to "astronomy magazine" Will give You inciteful views of our amazing universe.

oilcan13

I agree with the above comments. All make very good points.

From personal experience as an avid astronomer and from having taught astronomy to college students and to adult education groups, I highly recommend a refractor as the first scope. Most people unfamiliar with telescopes seem to 'get' the use of a refractor much quicker than a reflector or catadioptric (lens + mirror) telescopes.

Maintenance of a refractor is simpler. The lenses almost never get out of alignment and never tarnish, unlike the mirrors in a reflector (like a dobsonian). Aligning the finder scope or the 'red dot' finder with the main scope is also a bit less cumbersome with a refractor.

I'd recommend a refractor with at least a 70 mm objective lens; 80 mm or larger if the purchaser can afford it. Some very nice 'first scopes' can be found for around $200 or less.

I also recommend the Orion Telescope Company for info on scopes and for buying scopes. The customer reviews are handy and usually very accurate.

http://www.telescope.com/control/telescopes/refractor-telescopes