how to pick a telescope

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nevers

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There are lots of "best" 'scopes. How much do you want to spend? I may also suggest to read through many of the other recent "my new 'scope" and so-on threads - you might find some useful information.
 
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toothferry

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If you still can't make up your mind after reading about all the different telescopes available, this one is a fantastic bargin and could be your best bet for only a little bit of money. You would never get tired of it....<br /><br />http://hardinoptical.com/terrahoc90.html
 
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petepan

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I have heard, that at the very minimum, you would, or should be looking for at least an 4.5" (114mm). But as they say, bigger is better. <br /><br />I have a 4.5' tasco reflector, it's better than nothin' <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" />
 
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petepan

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<font color="yellow"><br />90mm f11 is pretty decent for a refractor </font><br /><br />To be honest, i'm not all that familiar with refractors, so you could well be right <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />As reflector's go, a 4.5" would be your minimum you would want. Iv'e seen a 3" reflector and the mount was so absolutely hopeless, it's really not worth the effort. IMO.
 
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bbrock

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Absolutely<br /><br />For a first telescope, go with a Dob. A 4.5" Dob (112.5mm) beats 90mm, even with the secondary mirror. However, if you can go to a 6" Dob, you will be ahead in a lot of ways. www.telescope.com, XT6 Dobsonian Telescope.<br /><br />Clear Skies<br />Bill
 
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petepan

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<font color="yellow">Better still, however, is a 6" F/8 reflector on a dobsonian mount</font><br /><br />Couldn't agree more! <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />Although, personally, i quite like the equatorial mount.
 
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bbrock

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If you purchase an Orion XT6 Dob, and you then crave an equatorial mount, you can buy an Orion AstroView mount and rings for a 6" tube. When you want to use tracking, mount the tube in the rings and mount the scope on the AstroView mount. When you want a Dob, take the scope out of the rings and place it on the Dob base. -- Orion has never marketed this capability and should. <br /><br />The scope would then be the SkyView Pro 6LT Eq. I did this with the XT10 using an Atlas Mount. I know it works. I have a Dob and an EQ scope with one tube.<br /><br />Clear Skies. <br />Bill<br /><br />
 
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toothferry

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Refractors have an additional benefit in that they can be used as a spotting scope. You can take it too Yosemite for instance and use it during the daytime. At nighttime its great on the moon, planets and splitting double stars. F/11 will cut down on the chromatic aberrations and increase contrast compared to the modern short refractors F/6 and below. <br /><br />If it was good enough to keep Crazyeddie interested as a beginning armature... that's a powerful endorsement <img src="/images/icons/cool.gif" />.
 
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