Can anyone recommend a half decent telescope.

[leo79]

Hi

I'd like to buy a telescope for an employee.

He's always had an interest in astronomy but not in a serious way. Anyway he borrowed a friends telescope a few months back and it's all he went on about.

He had to give the telescope back and I'd like to get him one for Xmas (bonus).

I've come across this one but I haven't got the faintest idea what I'm looking for Jessops Astronomical Telescope 1100-102 - Jessops - Telescopes

Any help always appreciated.

Thanks

Leo

 

[imightbewrong]

What sort of telescope did he borrow? Does he stand a decent chance of getting away from city lights?

You might want to try the photography forum.

I think Ultima is an astro-photographer - might be worth seeking him/her out.

 

[danmc_82]

I will follow this thread with interest. I want to get someone one for xmas for around £60 and have seen this...

eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

Any good?

 

[nheather]

Would love to get into it myself and have come close and done a lot of pre-sales research in the past. But in the end I decided that my house is just too light polluted and a lot of the sky is obstructed by trees.

Still considering doing an OU Astro Physics degree as a hobby to fuel my interest.

Anyway the key points I picked up when I did my original research were

(i) What do you want to observe. Deep space (e.g. nebulae) or close space (moon and planets). The tye of scope reflector or refractor will depend on your answer.

(ii) Don't get sucked in by high magnifications. The cheaper end acheives these by poor optics. But regardless you should be concentrate on light collection rather magnification. Besides a high mag has a very small field of view which makes it very difficult to find what you are looking for.

(iii) Be prepared for the realistic results. We are used to seeing fantastic coloured pictures of nebulae and planets but these are taken from large astronomies and space located scopes (hubble). What the amateur can acheive even with expensive equipment is significantly less.

In this case the guy has done it before and knows what to expect. I'd try and find out what sort of scope he borrowed before and get the same type - not necessarily the same model, just the same type (reflector\refractor).

Cheers,

Nigel

 

[leo79]

Thanks for the replies.

I know the one he borrowed was bought from Costco. Although I have no idea what kind of range they sell there I don't believe it would have cost more than £100 (I half know the people he borrowed it from).

He lives in a town on a new estate near to the motorway so I'm guessing light pollution might pose a problem.

I think he will mainly be looking at close space because he was always telling me locations of planets.

I could try and speak to the person who's telescope it is but I think it was bought on a whim with no research into telescopes, so I'm thinking if he was impressed with that chances are he will be happy with any other. I just don't want to buy a lemon, I also wanted to keep it secret.

Cheers

Leo

 

[imightbewrong]

My main concern was that he had borrowed some amazing telescope and would have too high expectations. I borrowed one a while back from our local astronomy club to look at Jupiter's moons and Saturn's rungs and it was pretty special.

Anyway, it sounds like that won't be an issue.

 

[leo79]

My main concern was that he had borrowed some amazing telescope and would have too high expectations. I borrowed one a while back from our local astronomy club to look at Jupiter's moons and Saturn's rungs and it was pretty special.

Anyway, it sounds like that won't be an issue.

I actually deleted the last part of my previous post which said:

'I might be completely wrong and the telescope he borrowed might have cost thousands'

Should have left it in

Anyway, I'm 99% sure it didn't.

 

[leo79]

I will follow this thread with interest. I want to get someone one for xmas for around £60 and have seen this...

eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

Any good?

The description in that ebay listing nearly had me buying one for myself, can something be that good at that price?

 

[logiciel]

The prices of the two links are a lot lower than I'd have guessed, but you do need to know if it was a reflector, like those, that he had.

 

[leo79]

The prices of the two links are a lot lower than I'd have guessed, but you do need to know if it was a reflector, like those, that he had.

Is a reflector used for close space and a refractor deep space?

 

[imightbewrong]

other way around although a reflector will let you view pretty much anything.

 

[danmc_82]

Looks like your buyer number 801 then

 

[leo79]

Just a quick bump on this thread.

Has anyone got any more info/suggestions?

Thanks

Leo

 

[danmc_82]

Just a quick bump on this thread.

Has anyone got any more info/suggestions?

Thanks

Leo

No but I did buy the one I suggested. Will let you know what its like when I receive if you like?

 

[steffparry]

I don't have any suggestions I'm afraid but wanted to give you some serious kudos for being a manager that obviously listens to his employees and values them enough to reward them with something personal that will really mean a lot to them.

Fair play to you mate!

 

[Robothamster]

No but I did buy the one I suggested. Will let you know what its like when I receive if you like?

The eBay one?

I'll be interested to know how it is too.

 

[Ultima]

Looking at telescopes with a budget of £100 is not going to get you a state of the art product. However, the Jessops telescope linked to in the OP will give reasonable views of the moon and some planets and looks like it will be a reasonable starting telescope. I think the main problem with all telescopes kits at the cheaper end come with cheap and flimsy tripods. I would actually go for a dobsonian style like this one CLICKY. They are easy to use than EQ mounts and easy to store away. Very easy design to work with.

I know it's more money than your budget but I think it would be easier to use for a newcomer and potentially offer better views than the Jessops one......larger diameter objective makes for a brighter image.

Saying all that I'm an imager not an observer so take my post with a pinch of salt.

p.s. don't increase magnification to more than double the size of the objective lens....130mm = 260 times magnification maximum. Anything above that will push the telescope beyond its realistic limits and lead to distortion of the image. Sorry I'm babbling on.

 

[Ultima]

The eBay one?

I'll be interested to know how it is too.

I wouldn't touch the ebay toy with a bargepole. They are absolute trash.

 

[nheather]

A good friend has just bought himself one of these

Skywatcher Dobson

Looking forward to going round for a visit to try it out.

Cheers,

Nigel

 

[Ultima]

A good friend has just bought himself one of these

Skywatcher Dobson

Looking forward to going round for a visit to try it out.

Cheers,

Nigel

Best bang for the bucks views you can get imo.....It really is a superb telescope for the money. Have a look at Saturn and Jupiter through it......beautiful. Also at this time of year The Orion Nebula (just under the Orions Belt) is a sight to behold.

 

[leo79]

No but I did buy the one I suggested. Will let you know what its like when I receive if you like?

If you don't mind, I'd appreciate it.

 

[leo79]

Looking at telescopes with a budget of £100 is not going to get you a state of the art product. However, the Jessops telescope linked to in the OP will give reasonable views of the moon and some planets and looks like it will be a reasonable starting telescope. I think the main problem with all telescopes kits at the cheaper end come with cheap and flimsy tripods. I would actually go for a dobsonian style like this one CLICKY. They are easy to use than EQ mounts and easy to store away. Very easy design to work with.

I know it's more money than your budget but I think it would be easier to use for a newcomer and potentially offer better views than the Jessops one......larger diameter objective makes for a brighter image.

Saying all that I'm an imager not an observer so take my post with a pinch of salt.

p.s. don't increase magnification to more than double the size of the objective lens....130mm = 260 times magnification maximum. Anything above that will push the telescope beyond its realistic limits and lead to distortion of the image. Sorry I'm babbling on.

Thanks for the reply, I was looking to spend around £100, would you say the extra £40 is money well spent if I went with the one you suggested? http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/new-skywatcher-130p-heritage-flex-tube_d3617.html

I wouldn't touch the ebay toy with a bargepole. They are absolute trash.

That bad?

A good friend has just bought himself one of these

Skywatcher Dobson

Looking forward to going round for a visit to try it out.

Cheers,

Nigel

A bit out my price range but thanks anyway.

Cheers

Leo

 

[imightbewrong]

A good friend has just bought himself one of these

Skywatcher Dobson

Best bang for the bucks views you can get imo.....It really is a superb telescope for the money. Have a look at Saturn and Jupiter through it......beautiful. Also at this time of year The Orion Nebula (just under the Orions Belt) is a sight to behold.

Interesting - I've been thinking of picking something up to view the moon, planets and nebulae - especially with Jupiter shining own on me every night

Out of interest, can one attach a camera to a telescope like this?

Edit: <reads site> yes you can.

 

[Ultima]

Thanks for the reply, I was looking to spend around £100, would you say the extra £40 is money well spent if I went with the one you suggested? http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/new-skywatcher-130p-heritage-flex-tube_d3617.html

That bad?

A bit out my price range but thanks anyway.

Cheers

Leo

The extra £40 would be worth it IMO.

The eBay telescope is a pile of poop, please do not buy it.

 

[Ultima]

Interesting - I've been thinking of picking something up to view the moon, planets and nebulae - especially with Jupiter shining own on me every night

Out of interest, can one attach a camera to a telescope like this?

Edit: <reads site> yes you can.

You can but it would be pointless really. It doesn't track and isn't an eq mount which is needed for long exposure astro imaging. You could possibly get away with attaching a webcam for imaging planets but it really is for observing only. The facility to attach a camera to it is just a gimmick.