Telescope purchasing.

[pioneer0333]

Anyone have any ideas on purchasing the most powerful but at the same time not too expensive telescope? I am looking for "more bang for my buck" sort of speak. Also, does anyone know if it would be cheaper to wait till Christmas, or just go ahead now and purchase? I search the Orion telescope catalog regulary, but the prices almost never change. My last telescope was stolen, but now I finally have saved enough money to go shopping for a new scope.<br /><br /> Just send me a few links please.<br /> Thankyou. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[bbrock]

To answer your question depends on what you mean by powerfull. Did you know that the purpose of a telescope is to gather light and focus it, not magnify it. <br /><br />OK, the most bang for the buck will probably be a Newtonian Reflector. Perhaps a Dobsonian Reflector. Not a Refractor or Cassigrain. With that, I suggest you consider the Orion XT12. You of course can go for much larger reflectors, depending on how much money you have to spend. The capability to go real high in magnification depends on the light grasp of the scope " Aperture ". The rule of thumb is approximately 50 x inches of aperture on dim deep sky objects. For bright planets, lunar and multiple stars, you can go 1.5 times that. So a 12" will give 600x DSO and about 900x for bright objects. <br /><br />The down side is that high magnification is rarely what you will want to use. Usually you will view around 100x to 200x. The reason is that atmospheric seeing doesn't cooperate with power. The objects are much clearer and brighter and give better contrast at lower magnification. Most globular clusters are best viewed at this magnification. Going over this is just not good viewing. Galaxies and Nebula don't take high magnification well, but rather require high light grasp and lower magnification. <br /><br />You can spend $12000 on a 20 inch Obsession Dobsonian. But the most practical bang for the buck will probably be the Orion XT12. <br /><br />Clear Skies<br />Bill

 

[mpai]

Since you have mentioned that your last telescope was stolen, I would recommend that you go for a medium sized, inexpensive one. Preferably a Maksutov, so you can always carry with you and also lock it somewhere, when not needed. <br /><br />Expensive scopes attract burglars, who can always find a buyer for stolen scopes - cheap. Note, even a large scope can be robbed at gun point. Buy a new scope, so you can insure it.<br /><br />Take care and enjoy stargazing