At 03:59 AM Thursday 12/10/2009, Charlie Bell wrote:
On 10/12/2009, at 6:26 PM, Bryon Daly wrote:
> *Delurking*
>
> I could use some telescope purchasing advice, if anyone's
interested in helping. My astonomy knowledge is quite limited.
Try these resources from the web sites of _Astronomy_ and _Sky and
Telescope_ magazines for some information.
Astronomy.com - How to buy your first telescope -
http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=8038
SkyandTelescope.com - Homepage Equipment - Low-Cost Starter Scopes -
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/equipment/home/69745547.html
(I believe both have links to follow for more info.)
Also, if you can find an amateur astronomy group in your area,
contact them. (I believe the one here locally covered "buying a
first 'scope for kids" last month at the November meeting.) They can
probably give you lots of advice, perhaps even give you a chance to
check out some 'scopes that they own, and tell you if there's any
good place to go locally to get one (as well as where to avoid!) or
if you'd be better off ordering one.
I'd say you'd be better off getting a decent 'scope for the family
and getting the lad a good book on how to use it as a present. Go to
a telescope shop.
Or a mail order place which specializes, frex
http://www.telescope.com/control/main/.
(Despite their seeming arrogance in claiming that domain name ;) ,
I've had good luck ordering stuff from them since the early 80s.)
Don't get one from a toy store.
Or a department store or a "big-box" store, unless you've checked it
out elsewhere and found you can get a better price and good guarantee
(return or service) from there, which is unlikely. (Several years
ago I did buy one of those "Magnifies 450 Times!" ones from Wal-Mart
that was on sale after Christmas to use in the classroom to
demonstrate some of the basic principles of a telescope, and it
turned out to be somewhat better than I expected (though I had more
sense to expect to see anything at 450x!), but I still probably
wouldn't recommend one like that for anyone getting one for
themselves or a kid, esp. one who has shown any serious interest in
astronomy, or if you hope to plant such an interest . . . )
. . . ronn! :)
Ronn Blankenship
Sometime Adjunct Instructor of Astronomy/Planetary Science
University of Montevallo
Montevallo, AL
Disclaimer: Unless specifically stated otherwise, any opinions
contained herein are the personal opinions of the author and do not
represent the official position of the University of Montevallo.
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