MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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My mother is into stars and planets, but we can often only see Venus. What is a good cheap telescope if this even exists.
It very much depends on the sort of things you want to look at. If you're interested in the planets, go for a cheap refractor such as a 120mm Skywatcher. For planets it's also worth investing in a good eyepiece and perhaps a 2x or 3x Barlow.
If you want to see dimmer stuff (galaxies, nebulae etc) and you have suitably dark skies then a Dobsonian (reflector) can be a good investment. Again, on the cheaper end of the scale, Skywatcher are a good brand.
If you want to get into astrophotography, then the word 'cheap' doesn't come into it 😉
J
I want one of these to take with me on mountain camps where we don't have too far to hike:
[url= http://www.f1telescopes.co.uk/shop.php?id=2381&level= ]Meade ETX80 AT Backback Telescope[/url]
I know nothing about astronomy other than I like looking at stuff in the night sky.
Is this a good purchase for a beginner? Would it be too sensitive to being bounced around as I walk?
[url= http://www.skywatcher.com/swtinc/product.php?id=146&class1=1&class2=106 ]Good starter scope for astronomy[/url]
Not good for looking at non-astro objects...
jupiter is easy to see too and the moons are awesome
make s u re it has a good sturdy mount get a play with one first if you can
i got one of these for xmas and its ace, though the mount is a bit fiddly
http://www.skywatcher.com/swtinc/product.php?id=62&class1=1&class2=104
not particularly portable tho!
Ooh -tempting.
At the moment Jupiter and Venus are side-by-side in the western sky.
Mars is also bright at the moment, to the north in Pegasus.
All clearly visible with the naked eye - I can see them from the back garden despite the street lights.
Start with this
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It has a decent section on telescopes, different types and what you need for looking at stars, planets and the moon.
I have a cheap basic refractor and its fine for looking at planets something similar to this
http://www.skywatcher.com/swtinc/product.php?id=1&class1=1&class2=103
Hmmm, Mars would be nice and bright and orangey/reddish to the east in Leo at 20:00...