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Telescopes for Home Use?

Posted by Cliff on from the for-the-budding-astronomer dept.

PDubNYC asks: "Just thought this was a good place to ask about telescopes. My father is turning 70 shortly, and I thought a telescope would be a good gift as he was an air force navigator back in the day, and loves viewing nature's beauty (bird watching, safaris etc...). So, any ideas what to look for in a home telescope, from $500-$1000 (split by 6 kids) that would enable him to punch in coordinates and have the motor turn, give a great view of nearby celestial bodies (maybe Saturn's rings), and it'd be great to hook up to a laptop (a Mac would be even better, but far from necessary). Any advice would be great." PDubNYC is also on a budget, so please refrain from suggesting the ultra expensive $1500 scopes.

4 of 60 comments (clear)

  1. On a budget is fine, but... by GoRK · · Score: 2, Interesting

    On a budget is fine, but $1500 is not exactly an "ultra-expensive" telescope for an amateur.. In fact, it's barely entry-level for a very serious hobbiest.

    Anyway, I don't know that much about specific models, but at least this guy can get what he's after for the price he wants - a scope powerful enough to check out Saturn that can do (limited) tracking, probably with a PC doing the hard work, and an eyepiece adaptor to hook to a webcam or something, and he's got a pretty good setup.

    ~GoRK

  2. Re:Go for aperature by regen · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Aperature is not always best. Often large aperature telescopes are heavier and if the mount isn't upto the task using the scope could be a pain.

    I would look at the Meade ETX-105EC. Check out The Mighty ETX Website for more advise.

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  3. Cheap scopes by PhysicsGenius · · Score: 1, Interesting
    First, you will have to decide if he wants to do terrestrial (birds and neighbors) or astronomical viewing. Astro scopes aren't "erected" (flipped the right direction) because it takes an extra prism, which reduces the quality of the view.

    After you've decided that, go with aperture. With $600 and the right website, you can go pretty far. I'd get this one--with the 8" aperture and EQ drive it can hardly be beat for astro viewing. And erecter attachment can be used for terrestrial viewing and won't hamper the view too much.

  4. beware aperture fever by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Remember that large scopes, while providing the best views, also get to be large and heavy. The effort to move and setup a large scope can make it less and less appealing. I have 2 scoopes and several pairs of binoculars. The binoculars get the most use, followed by a small wide field refractor (not in the price range suggested). The least used is the 9.25 inch schmidt-cassegrain. Don't be fooled by magnification, some of the best views of nebula are at low power.