Beginning Astronomy
Getting Started:
Choosing a Telescope
What telescope is best? This is the most common beginner questions asked. The answer... there is no best scope. You want to find the scope that best suits your needs.
There are many different types of telescopes with a wide range of uses and prices. The first decision you have to make is what do you want to look at. The second is how much do you want to spend. There are a few basic types of telescopes and mounts you'll be deciding between. So lets break them down.
Refractors
Refractors use lenses to refract the light for magnification. The more expensive refractors are called called apo or apochoromatic. This means the lenses are specially designed to focus all colors of light at the same point. This produces clearer and halo free images. Cheaper achromatic refractors don't have this precision and will show blue halos around stars and bright objects especially in astro photos. These scopes come in many different focal lengths for looking at a wide range of subjects.
PROS - They tend to have slightly better contrast. Once set properly rarely requires any adjustment.
CONS -Usually smaller apertures and quality apo can be expensive.
Reflectors
You guessed it. Reflectors reflect light to magnify the image. There are various types of reflectors. There are a few types of reflectors.
PROS - Easier to manufacture. Usually much cheaper for the same size aperture. No chromatic aberration.
CONS - Slightly less contrast. Optics must be kept in line with collimating adjustments.
The Next thing to think about is what focal length to choose. The largest error most people make when purchasing a new telescope is choosing a scope with too much magnification. The magnification factor depends on both the focal length of the telescope in combination with the eye piece. Basically, a simple way to think about it is: The more magnification, the larger the object will look, however it will be darker and appear more blurry. With a wider view and less magnification the object will appear brighter and crisper. Additionally a shorter focal length makes the effects of atmospheric distortion less noticeable. A focal length of 500mm-800mm is relatively wide and you'll see a greater area of the sky. A focal length above 2000mm is small and is great for things such as planets etc.
So, the question still remains, which scope to buy? Here are a few of my suggestions at different price ranges.
Orion AstroView 6 (Less than $500)
There are many scopes to choose from for under $500. However I would probably suggest the Orion AstroView 6. This is a good (better than beginner scope). It comes with a sturdy equatorial mount and everything you need to begin viewing.
Orion ED80 (Price with a mount: $500-$1000)
This scope is awesome. It has unbelievable quality for the price. This is a very popular scope and a large number of astrophotography is done with this scope. It is great for visual observing as well. You'll still need a mount for this scope. If your using it purely for visual observing the mount choice isn't that important. However if you plan on taking long exposure astro photos you'll need a steady motorized mount.
Meade LX200 UHCT (Price: $2000-$4000)
This large reflector is pretty pricey but amazingly stable with great optics. This is a
great scope right out of the box and has been proven over the years. I would recommend the 10" version of it.
It makes a great platform to mount another scope piggyback. This scope has
a pretty high focal length but still is wide enough to see most of what you want. Even though this is a top of the line scope, the motorized goto ability, makes it a great choice for a beginner also as long as the wallet can handle it.