Index | Links | Contact me
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Index | Links | Contact me |
| An excellent source for Telescopes, accessories & more |
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| B & H carries the TeleVue 13mm Ethos Eyepiece |
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| for Beginners |
| Introduction | ||
| Most of the e-mail I receive comes from beginners. With each e-mail, I relive all the mistakes I made when I first entered the field of Amateur Astronomy and Telescope ownership. It is my hope that this page will be of great help to those who are interested in Astronomy and in buying a Telescope. It will be updated frequently. | ||
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| What do I recommend for Beginners? | ||
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For most people starting out, I recommend a Dobsonian Reflector
Telescope between 6 to 10
inches in mirror size. There are many inexpensive ones available. The
Optical Tube Assembly (OTA) is a manageable 4 feet in length. They will
fit in almost any vehicle. They offer excellent light gathering power
for deep sky objects and planets. They are easy to set up and use. I
recommend a good red dot finder and a good low power wide field eyepiece
to locate objects quickly. You will likely use your lowest power
eyepiece the most. I own 2 Dobsonians, the 24 inch and 10 inch. I use them
a lot because they are
simple and fun. Get a good Atlas/Book for finding the "best" and
brightest objects. Cumbersome, difficult to set up and difficult to use are what puts a Telescope into permanent storage. |
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| 10 inch f/5 Dobsonian | . | |
| Reflector Telescope | ||
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| Reflector Refractor | ||
| Links | ||
| Choosing a Telescope | ||
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| My take on the beginner's "Go To" | ||
| There are a lot of inexpensive "Go To" Telescopes available for the beginner. I like the "Go To" concept a lot. I DO NOT recommend them for the casual or beginning Astronomer. The advertised advantage of the Go To is that it will automatically aim your Telescope at a chosen object, thereby sparing the user of that sometimes frustrating task. But unless it is a high end GPS model, you must "calibrate" the Telescope by aiming at 3 known stars and entering them into the computer. This gives the Telescope a reference for locating all other objects. It is often the case that I have looked at several objects by the time others have finally calibrated his/her Telescope. These Telescopes are often difficult to use, especially for a beginner. The truth is, we still need to know where objects are and what is worth looking at. We need to know that an object is actually above the horizon before we ask Telescope to aim at an object. By now, you have done most of work you were expecting the Telescope to do. | ||
| Did you buy a Telescope at a garage sale? | ||
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You will probably notice 2 things. First the manual is lost and
second, the eyepieces are missing or broken.
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| Eyepieces-Refractors | ||
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The eyepieces that came with these telescopes
were often .965 inch size. .965 designates the barrel
diameter. It is the portion that fits into the
focuser. These eyepieces were among the worst ever
made. Replacement eyepieces in this size are not easy to come by. If you purchased a refractor telescope (right), it
would be best to purchase a "hybrid diagonal" (figure 2) that
converts a .965 telescope into a 1.25 inch eyepiece telescope. Now
you have countless eyepiece choices. I recommend Plossls or better
eyepieces. |
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| Jason 60mm Refractor Telescope-Equatorial Mount | To find a "Hybrid" diagonal click the "B&H" banner above or below and enter .965 into the search. | |
| Telescope Manual Downloads | ||
| If the manual is lost, don't worry, your telescope is not unlike many sold today. Orion Telescopes provide manuals for their telescopes. Find the manual that most closely matches your Telescope. | ||
| for Refractors | ||
| Download Equatorial Mount Refractor Manual | ||
| Download Altazimuth Mount Refractor Manual | ||
| for Reflectors | ||
| This is important since it will show you how to align the optics of your Telescope. | ||
| Download Equatorial Mount Reflector Manual | ||
| Download Altazimuth Mount Reflector Manual | ||
| I would like to know if these downloads are useful to you e-mail me and let me know. | ||
| Choosing your Eyepieces | ||
| No one says it better than Al Nagler (click here) | ||
| A few words about Eyepieces... | ||
| For years, power or magnification was over-rated with the quality of eyepieces underrated. A telescope's magnification was once a marketing deception. Today, it is, and properly so, the aperture or lens size that is the selling point. But the eyepieces often remain an after thought accessory in terms of quality. Remember, no matter how good the optics are, the image can be ruined by poor eyepieces and you may think your Telescope's Optics are poor. Don't give up on your scope yet. If your eyepieces are less than the quality of Plossls, it is likely you will want to replace them. If you can, borrow a friend's eyepiece or two. It is a great way to judge your scope's true performance and to shop for the right eyepiece. | ||
| About my first 60mm Refractor Telescope | ||
| Why multiple Telescopes? | ||
 24 inch / 10 inch Traveler / TV 85mm / TV76mm-Solar Scope |
I currently own 4 Astronomical Telescopes,a Spotting Scope & 12x60mm Binoculars. The 24 inch Dobsonian is the "Flagship" light bucket used primarily for deep sky viewing. It is easily transported by SUV to a favorite observing site, but it can't fly. So for that, I have the 10 inch Dobsonian "Traveler" to carry on a plane to see the Southern Sky. The 85mm does what the Dobsonian's can't. It is a great "grab & go" scope & is wide field (4.7 degrees) companion to the 24 inch, often assisting in locating objects. It is an excellent for Planetary & imaging use, & it can fly. The TV76mm is the H-Alpha Solar Telescope, but is great for night viewing when traveling. The Nikon 60mm Spotting Telescope is a Terrestrial scope, but at just 2 pounds it travels as a visual companion to imaging scopes. | |
| Download full article | ||
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Product Sources |
| An excellent source for Telescopes, accessories & more |
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| B & H carries the TeleVue 13mm Ethos Eyepiece |
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| An excellent source for Astronomy books & Software |
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| Suggested Books for Observing | ||
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The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Sun by Kenneth Lang Click image for reviews, latest prices & to purchase |
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Click image for reviews, latest prices & to purchase |
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.The
Year-Round Messier Marathon Field Guide With Complete Maps, Charts and Tips to Guide You to Enjoying the Most Famous List of Deep-Sky Objects by H. C. Pennington; Hardcover Getting Started Click image for reviews, latest prices & to purchase |
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Sky
Atlas for Small Telescopes and Binoculars: The Beginners Guide to Successful Deep Sky Observing by Billie E. Chandler, David S. Chandler Getting Started Click image for reviews, latest prices & to purchase |
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Index | Links | Contact me |