My son Nathaniel (6) is asking for a telescope for Christmas this
year. I am looking to spend about 100-150 dollars for it (I have
always wanted one too!). What would be a good new model in that
price range?
As far as I know, there are no good new telescopes for under $300 -
400. However, you may be able to purchase a good second hand
telescope for $100 - $200.
Do not buy anything with less than a 6 inch (150 mm) aperture (diamter
of the lens or, more likely, main mirror). Smaller telescopes don't
gather enough light, so they are only good with bright objects like
the moon and planets, and even then, they are not so good since you
cannot increase effective magnification much. (If you see an
advertisement for 600x on anything less than 6 inch (150 mm), you are
witnessing a fraud.)
If you live in an area with light pollution, sky contrast decreases
and you need a telescope with even more light gathering power to see
the same.
`Sky and Telescope' <http://skyandtelescope.com/> is aimed at
semi-serious amateurs, but advertises books for beginners -- for
buying your first telescope. If I remember rightly, a book called
`Turn Left at Orion' is good for beginners; but there are many others,
too.
--
Robert J. Chassell Rattlesnake Enterprises
http://www.rattlesnake.com GnuPG Key ID: 004B4AC8
http://www.teak.cc [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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