Hi folks
I need to sort a retirement present for a colleague. He'd like to get into astronomy - he knows little about it, but is keen to learn and so would like a telescope.
I know the square root of bugger all about these, so could someone point me at some candidate models / reviews / what I should be looking for for a beginner?
Ta
[url= http://www.harrisontelescopes.co.uk/ ]Could always try ringing this lot[/url], sorry not much help
Depends on your requirements. You've got reflectors and refractors. For £200 you may get a cheap one.
Also depends upon how much space he has (e.g. dobsonians can be huge). Have a look [url= http://www.green-witch.com/acatalog/Starter_Scopes.html ]here[/url] for starter scopes. A 'go-to' is nice to get a feel of things, but you're removing money from the optics if you do.
How far away is the window he is wanting to peep through? 😉
I put the above thread on and spoke to Martin at First Light Optics. Couldn't have been more helpful, spoke about the mounts as much as the scope itself and pointed me in the right direction. Well worth dropping him an email or telephone call.
For that kind of money best thing would be binoculars, lot more light gathering on two smaller lenses for the price. You could get a nice set with a tripod mount and planisphere set etc.
Patrick Moore did really good bino astronomy book too.