Telescope ideas...

i have a celestron telescope that cost in the ~$200 range. Not great, but a really nice starter scope. I was amazed that I could see the rings of Saturn and the clouds on Jupiter with it, although just barely. I check out some galaxies and nebulas, although without sophisticated tracking mechanisms on the scope sometimes it's VERY time consuming to get them in view. But I enjoy it. I haven't really spent enough time doing it to justify upgrading. Lots of light pollution where I live. We're moving out to BFE in about a year, so perhaps things will change then.

Celestron NextStar 8SE... or the next size down which is a bit cheaper. If you're going to get one, get one you can actually see stuff with.

My wife got my daughter a telescope without my input. It does not have tracking. It is a PITA to keep adjusting the position.

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My wife got my daughter a telescope without my input. It does not have tracking. It is a PITA to keep adjusting the position.

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Tracking is awesome. You can attach a DSLR camera and take long exposure images that look incredible.

I have the Celestron NexStar 130 SLT.



If you're trying to stay within a certain budget, don't focus on getting the biggest scope you can get for that price. Decide on an adequate size, then allow room in your budget for a good mount and especially some lens upgrades.
The 130 is a great scope, it has a good GPS system that is easy to align, it comes with decent lenses, but the mount is crap. I live near the interstate, and if I set it up in my driveway it vibrates a lot. I have to set it up in the grass and weigh it down with bricks to steady the mount. Also, if you touch it to focus it causes too much movement and vibration. A better mount would make this scope perfect for my needs. Having an electronic focus would be sweet as well.
Mine came with a 9mm and a 25mm lens. My focal length is 650mm. so I get 26x mag from the 25mm and 72x from the 9mm lens. The first purchase I made was an Ultima 2x Barlow. I combo that with the 9mm eyepiece to get 144x magnification. A 2x Barlow is a MUST. With that, I can easily see Saturn's rings, 4 of Jupiter's moons, the Orion Nebula, etc. I also bought a 3x Barlow, which I can combo with the 2x Barlow to get 6x the magnification of the eyepieces. Also bought a 2.3mm lens, which alone gives me over 280x magnification. Magnification that large (due to light limitations) has limited usage, but I can get some amazing views of the moon when I start using different combos of the 2x and 3x Barlows with the high mag lenses. Side note: best moon views are crescent moons, which have lots of shadows - a full moon is worthless.
Barlows are great because the higher the magnification of the lens, the more light is required. A 2.3mm (high mag) lens can be very hard to look through. A lower mag lens paired with a Barlow multiplier often gives you a much better view than a higher magnification lens.

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You could start with a good pair of binoculars. You can see the rings of Saturn with 40x binoculars.

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You'd be surprised what you can see with just 8-10x magnification

I'm really thinking about getting a set up for my kids. This thread is inspiring g. What kind d of gear could I get for 5 hundy?

Last I saw it was turning left

Spot the Station

I got this from someone on here. Hit the link and sign up and you will get an email about half a day early when the space station flies overhead. Tells you coordinates and direction as well as time and duration of time. I get an email a couple times a month so far. My daughter and I try to get outside at 5:54 am or whenever for the about three minutes you can see it. Really cool. Amazing how lit up it is and how fast it's flying.