Which Telescope To Buy?

[AliFlump]

Every year I watch Stargazing Live and think yes I will get a telescope this year. Well, this year I am! I would like to see the distant galaxies but also focus on the planets and ive read that one type of telescope is better for galaxies and another better for planets

Can anyone recommend a good all round telescope for a beginner around £200 - 250?

Thanks

[jomifl]

This question has been answered many times on AB so type telescope into the search bar at the top of the page. If you have £250 to spend go for a 'scope with a GOTO computer star finder. Don't expect too muchfrom a cheap 'scope of whatever kind. There are only 2 planets that will yield any detail, Saturn and Jupiter everything else will be blobs. For looking at galaxies a large reflector is probably best such as a dobsonian,(8" from telescope house for £275,) You don't get a GOTO but won't need it for this type of 'scope. What you get is light collecting power.

[Prudie]

I have to agree with jomifly about cheap ones and blobs, I have one from the National Geographic range and everything is blobs. I did once find Saturn (looked like a fluffy tennis ball with white rings - none of the clear colours you see in photos). I was so excited I knocked it and have never been able to find it since. You also need a good place to set it up permanently otherwise it's a faff. Mine now lives unused in the corner of the dining room.

[jomifl]

for example
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SKY-WATCHER-SKYLINER-200P-203MM-8-F-1200-PARABOLIC-DOBSONIAN-TELESCOPE-/271365759844?pt=UK_Photography_Telescopes&hash=item3f2ea8e364

[jomifl]

Yup Prudie, you ain't wrong. A neighbour's daughter had cheapy (with an equatorial mount for christmas a few years back, I offered to set it up for her but as she said her uncle had done that for her (it was in a corner of the living room) I realised that is was best to say no more. I later heard that all she ever saw when she used it was blackness, which is very easy to find.

[jake-the-peg]

You might not want a telescope at all!

As others have explained, amateur telescopes give very disappointing results.

However technology is to the rescue.

Digital cameras can be used to take numerous pictures and then these images can be combined using 'image-stacking' to iron out all the atmospheric variations and the results can be spectacular.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Astrophotography-Star-Photo-Stacking/

Now ideally you'd want a suitable camera mouted on a good telescope on an equatorial mount but as the article explains you can get some good results just with a camera that does raw images and a tripod.

If you get into it you can get a telescope then

Oh and of course when you're not using it, you've got a camera!

[jomifl]

Jake, image stacking may get rid of aberrations caused by the atmosphere but it doesn't improve the resolution which is fundamentally limited by the diameter of the objective.

[Teddio]

Accessibility is important. A telescope that is bulky, heavy and difficult to set up is likely to sit in a corner gathering dust. I would recommend a decent pair of binoculars. 10 X 50s are light, portable and will give an excellent view of star clusters, the moons of Jupiter and the Milky Way.
A pair of Celestron 20 X 80 binoculars has excellent light-gathering ability and will allow you to see many fainter objects such as the Ring Nebula in Lyra, the Andromeda Galaxy and Saturn's moon Titan.
The Celestron 20 X 80 binoculars will cost around £ 120 and are quite heavy. Ideally they should be mounted on a sturdy tripod.

[jomifl]

Teddio has a good point, binoculars are more versatile too.

[cole1]

Hello Ali, I'm Cole and I reside in Australia. I love stargazing as well and I have been looking at purchasing a telescope since long myself. I have just a couple weeks back bought a telescope and its a Bresser Telescope. I have bought it from an online store and you too can probably have a look at the entire product range of telescopes at http://procular.com.au/telescopes-beginners-easy-buyer-guide-review/. The site offers a complete resource for telescope for beginners.