Telescopes for beginners

[ATB]

I am looking to buy my husband a telescope as a graduation gift. I know absolutely nothing about them, so I'm hoping to find some info through this forum. We live in Baton Rouge now, but will soon be moving to a rural area with much less light pollution. He is an amateur, so he won't likely need anything too high tech. I'd like to spend less than $200. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Poppa-Chris]

For a first scope for an adult I would reccommend a Dobsonian mount reflector of 6" to 8" aperture.

http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/Dob ... egoryId=13

But at $200 your budget is a tad light. There will be accessories (added eyepieces, filters, charts, books, etc.) that he will want/need that will also effect the total cost.

But most scopes that are smaller in aperture or have flimsy mounts that will fall into your price range will be very disappointing in the long run. If you wish to give him something to truly enjoy for many years, you will really be looking more along the lines of $500.

[Christopher K.]

It is true that $200 limits your choices. Lack of electronics is no problem; you want the telescope to be manual, especially if it's a surprise and he didn't have any active role in choosing the model.

One alternative might be to buy a nice binocular, say anywhere from 6x to 12x, along with a BRAS membership and a good book on binocular astronomy for beginners. An advantage would be the chance of actually being able to locate a good binocular in or near town, rather than ordering a telescope from out-of-town.

The BRAS membership would allow use of the club's dark-sky site in Maringouin.

[Christopher K.]

HRPO will present its annual "Buying Your First Telescope" lecture on Friday 2 November at 7:30pm. This talk increases the patron's chance of getting the best deal for the money, and increases the chance of the scope being used on a regular basis. The talk has no admission fee and is aimed at a general adult audience.

[Christopher K.]

HRPO will present its annual "Buying Your First Telescope" lecture on Friday 20 November. The presenter will be Merrill Hess. If HRPO personnel are allowed by that time to invite an in-person audience, the lecture will take place on site at 7:30pm. If a "Phase" restriction is still being imposed, the discussion will be remote at 6:30pm.

The remote instructions are between the dotted lines.

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Instructions removed after event.
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[Allthestars]

HRPO will present its annual "Buying Your First Telescope" lecture on Friday 2 November at 7:30pm. This talk increases the patron's chance of getting the best deal for the money, and increases the chance of the scopes being used on a regular basis. The talk has no admission fee and is aimed at a general adult audience.

Great! When will be next event? Are the records available for viewing somewhere?
Best wishes
Frank

[Christopher K.]

Well...we're not in the habit of placing entire presentations online, although some pertinent points may be mentioned on this Forum or on the HRPO site. Particularly the information for buying astronomical equipment is timely and can change from year to year.

[Reberary]

With plenty of binoculars and telescopes on the market, it can be quite confusing to choose which one is right for you. Binoculars are available in two styles; Porro prism or roof prism. Either style will binoculars work fine and will only really offer a preference of use between them. The main difference however, is that roof prism binoculars usually have a narrower field of view than Porro prism.

[huntdm]

My wife and I have been star and satelite gazers for a while and are wanting to do more exploring. We are looking at the Sky-Watcher Virtuoso GTi 150P for $470. We want a portable because we go RVing. Is this a recommended first time investment or is there something else that would be recommended? We want to attend the learn your telescope course, but it states to bring your personal telescope. Will there be another purchasing your first telescope course?