Beginners Telescope

[BRT]

I am just starting in telescopes and would like to know what a good beginners telescope would be.

Thsnks!

mod edited, please do not post personal emails on public boards.

[AstroBee]

The Million $ question. One that is not so simple to answer with no information given other than you are a beginner.
Rather then throw out a model I'll ask for more info and let others chime in based on your answers.
1. Budget?
2. Interests? Moon & Planets or faint deep sky objects?
3. Any limitations like weight or size?
4. Visual & imaging
5. Budget? I know, it's here twice but probably one of the most important on the list. No sense in recommending a TOA150 if your budget is $200.

[BRT]

$600-$800.
Moon and Planets
No limitation on weight or size
Visual and imagery

[AstroBee]

https://www.telescope.com/Orion-SkyQues ... 102005.uts

This is going to tick everything off your list except for deepsky imaging. You will still be able to do lunar imaging, even with your cellphone.

[AstroBee]

And you might have enough left over for a decent 2x Barlow.
That magnifies your image 2x.
FYI, the magnification is decided by the eyepiece, not the size of the telescope. Well, partly, anyway.

[BRT]

Thank you for your reply. I am going with it. Can you use 2” eyepieces or do you have to use the 1.25” eyepieces? What Barlow 2X eyepiece do you recommend?

Thanks so much!!

[AstroBee]

Thank you for your reply. I am going with it. Can you use 2” eyepieces or do you have to use the 1.25” eyepieces? What Barlow 2X eyepiece do you recommend?

Thanks so much!!

Yes, it will accept 2" eyepieces. Orion also offers several 1.25" & 2" barlows. The Barlow is used with your existing eyepiece to double the magnification. personally, I've never been a fan of barlows and have just bought eyepieces to fit the magnification I was trying to reach. That can get very expensive though.
The scope comes with a single decent 25mm 1.25" eyepiece that will give you a magnification of around 50x.
You are going to want a collimator as well. I've found the laser type to be the easiest for beginners to use. https://www.telescope.com/Orion/Orion-L ... ollimators

Before you jump off the deep end and make this investment, I would hope that you understand this scope, like most, has a learning curve. Before jumping into an expensive purchase, I would rather see you join your local astronomy club and go to one of their meetings and/or star parties and actually look through a few different types of scopes to get a better idea of what you are getting into.
I did not expect my recommendation to be the only one here and for you to immediately take my advice as gospel. I'm sure there are others here that may recommend a different setup.

[chris_g]

Another option, though for planetary, you really need an 8" aperture to make them start to pop out, the Dob will do that for you but it is manual. The 8-inch version is way outside your budget. You could go up to a 5 or a 6" and stay close to your budget on the 5 and just over budget on the 6.

Don't buy the first pretty bauble, take some time to research what you want and make sure it's what you want. When I first started, I had G.A.S. and a lot of it, (Gear Aquisition Syndrome) and this hobby gets expensive, very quickly. And ask lots of questions! I did.

https://agenaastro.com/celestron-nexsta ... scope.html

Clear Skies,
Chris

[AstroBee]

Another option, though for planetary, you really need an 8" aperture to make them start to pop out, but the 8-inch version is way outside your budget.

With an interest in Lunar and planetary, that's why I recommended the Orion XT8.
Maximize aperture over electronics.
At $650 it's on the low end of his budget allowing a bit left over for maybe an additional eyepiece and/or Barlow and collimating tool.

[chris_g]

With an interest in Lunar and planetary, that's why I recommended the Orion XT8.
Maximize aperture over electronics.
At $650 it's on the low end of his budget allowing a bit left over for maybe an additional eyepiece and/or Barlow and collimating tool.

Another option, though for planetary, you really need an 8" aperture to make them start to pop out, the Dob will do that for you but it is manual.

Sorry, you missed the edit and you're right. I offered another option that was electronic, so he knows there's lots of options out there.

[BRT]

Can anyone tell me the size of the large and small adjustment screws on the primary mirror?

Thanks

[JayTee]

If you have existing screws (the other screws in the mirror cell) take them to ACE Hardware and use their screw sizer to determine what size they are. The screws you are seeking (or a reasonable facsimile) can all be obtained at your local hardware store.