On 08 Mar 2006 22:27:33 GMT, Scoop wrote:

Partly inspired by the excellent film "My Date With Drew," my wife and I had
resolved to buy a telescope with whatever windfall might come our way. Now
it has; a small sum ($200), but enough to purchase something more powerful
than the 8x50 binocs we currently own. (We live just north of San Francisco,
so rather than pay shipping I'll take a day off and visit Scope City --
unless someone has a better visitational recommendation).

As a former amateur astronomer (20+ years ago), I've been doing a ton of
online/magazine research and am amazed at what's now available, and for
versatility's sake will likely go with an 80mm refractor (Celestron or
Konusmotor) on an EQ mount so as to combine terrestrial/planetary
observation with hints of DSOs, but could really use a bit of specific
input:

1. One article (Sky and Telescope's '05 Buyer's Guide) suggests that any
finderscope less than 6x30 is a waste of cash. True or false?

Lots of people have used a 5 x 24 (I think that is the size) coupled with a
60mm refractor for years and have been happy. It is all about
expectations.


2. Two different vendor websites say that an 80mm refractor either will or
won't show galaxies and/or nebulae. Come again?

That is not true. Furthermore, the binoculars in your possession will do
quite nicely for several of the brighter nebula (and your bare eyes for at
least one). Additionally, three galaxies come to mind which should present
themselves in the binoculars.




--
Martin R. Howell
"The Astro Post"
www.theastropost.com