Absolute newbie questions - First telescope

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"Jim Mosquera" wrote in message
...
Orion has a good reputation... but I would stay away from a Mak-Cass as a
first scope because their large focal ratio means a narrow field of view,
which makes for some frustration in the ability to find what you are
looking
for (as a beginner) and does not allow viewing some objects in their
entirety that require a larger field of view. A six to eight inch
dobsonian
reflector from Orion or Celestron would fit the bill... also consider a
well-made compact refractor... see Stellarvue ...
http://www.stellarvue.com/newtoastronomy.html and
http://www.stellarvue.com/at1010order.html and
http://www.stellarvue.com/809dm.html . I have a reflector and 2
refractors,
that offer complementary capabilities. Also consider purchasing two
books... "Left Turn at Orion" and "Nigh****ch," which are classic
beginners
books.

Good Luck
Jim


" wrote in
message ...
My father is getting ready to do an extended trip of North America
camping much of the way. This is a trip from the mid-Atlantic region
to Florida to New England across the northern US and southern Canada
into Alaska, etc.

I'd like to get him a telescope for his trip and have just recently
started looking into them. Like anything new along these lines, the
information can be overwhelming.
He's had binoculars for a while and used them minimally for looking at
the sky. He's interested to the point where he reads several NASA,
JPL, astronomy Web pages on a regular basis and I think he'd really
enjoy using a telescope.

Budget is one criteria - I really can't go over about $500.00.
Portability would be a big factor as space is limited. Ease of
setting it up would also be somewhat of a concern.

When I just started browsing for information, one of the first
retailer sites I ran across was Orion's. They've got a 102mm
Mak-Cassegrain with a Plossl 25mm eyepiece, mount, tripod, etc. for
$389.00. Specs are 1300mm focal length, f/12.7. Includes a carrying
case and a copy of TheSky tracking software.

Am I headed in the right direction looking at this? Is this brand
worth considering? What else should I be looking at?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Orion has a good reputation... but I would stay away from a Mak-Cass as a
first scope because their large focal ratio means a narrow field of view,
which makes for some frustration in the ability to find what you are looking
for (as a beginner) and does not allow viewing some objects in their
entirety that require a larger field of view. A six to eight inch dobsonian
reflector from Orion or Celestron would fit the bill... also consider a
well-made compact refractor... see Stellarvue ...
http://www.stellarvue.com/newtoastronomy.html and
http://www.stellarvue.com/at1010order.html and
http://www.stellarvue.com/809dm.html . I have a reflector and 2 refractors,
that offer complementary capabilities. Also consider purchasing two
books... "Left Turn at Orion" and "Nigh****ch," which are classic beginners
books.

Good Luck
Jim


" wrote in
message ...
My father is getting ready to do an extended trip of North America
camping much of the way. This is a trip from the mid-Atlantic region
to Florida to New England across the northern US and southern Canada
into Alaska, etc.

I'd like to get him a telescope for his trip and have just recently
started looking into them. Like anything new along these lines, the
information can be overwhelming.
He's had binoculars for a while and used them minimally for looking at
the sky. He's interested to the point where he reads several NASA,
JPL, astronomy Web pages on a regular basis and I think he'd really
enjoy using a telescope.

Budget is one criteria - I really can't go over about $500.00.
Portability would be a big factor as space is limited. Ease of
setting it up would also be somewhat of a concern.

When I just started browsing for information, one of the first
retailer sites I ran across was Orion's. They've got a 102mm
Mak-Cassegrain with a Plossl 25mm eyepiece, mount, tripod, etc. for
$389.00. Specs are 1300mm focal length, f/12.7. Includes a carrying
case and a copy of TheSky tracking software.

Am I headed in the right direction looking at this? Is this brand
worth considering? What else should I be looking at?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Orion has a good reputation... but I would stay away from a Mak-Cass as a
first scope because their large focal ratio means a narrow field of view,
which makes for some frustration in the ability to find what you are looking
for (as a beginner) and does not allow viewing some objects in their
entirety that require a larger field of view. A six to eight inch dobsonian
reflector from Orion or Celestron would fit the bill... also consider a
well-made compact refractor... see Stellarvue ...
http://www.stellarvue.com/newtoastronomy.html and
http://www.stellarvue.com/at1010order.html and
http://www.stellarvue.com/809dm.html . I have a reflector and 2 refractors,
that offer complementary capabilities. Also consider purchasing two
books... "Left Turn at Orion" and "Nigh****ch," which are classic beginners
books.

Good Luck
Jim


" wrote in
message ...
My father is getting ready to do an extended trip of North America
camping much of the way. This is a trip from the mid-Atlantic region
to Florida to New England across the northern US and southern Canada
into Alaska, etc.

I'd like to get him a telescope for his trip and have just recently
started looking into them. Like anything new along these lines, the
information can be overwhelming.
He's had binoculars for a while and used them minimally for looking at
the sky. He's interested to the point where he reads several NASA,
JPL, astronomy Web pages on a regular basis and I think he'd really
enjoy using a telescope.

Budget is one criteria - I really can't go over about $500.00.
Portability would be a big factor as space is limited. Ease of
setting it up would also be somewhat of a concern.

When I just started browsing for information, one of the first
retailer sites I ran across was Orion's. They've got a 102mm
Mak-Cassegrain with a Plossl 25mm eyepiece, mount, tripod, etc. for
$389.00. Specs are 1300mm focal length, f/12.7. Includes a carrying
case and a copy of TheSky tracking software.

Am I headed in the right direction looking at this? Is this brand
worth considering? What else should I be looking at?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.