Well, I'm graduating in two weeks, and three months after that I'll be moving into a dorm. My current telescope, an Orion 8" dob with some modifications, is wonderful but too large and heavy to use in a dorm. I will be moving from a fairly dark location (the entire Milky Way, including some structure, can be seen on the best nights) near Stillwater, MN to the University of Minnesota St. Paul campus. It's smaller than Minneapolis, but still far more light polluted than Stillwater. I will also be working on a limited budget; I'll probably only be able to throw in $100 on top of what I get for the scope. The good news is that I already have two very nice wide field 1.25" eyepieces (24mm TV Wide Field and 15.5mm Meade RG Erfle), an Ultima barlow, and a Rigel Quickfinder.
So the telescope I'm looking for needs to be:
Light, portable, and small
Simple to use (I can't use EQ mounts, only alt-az)
$650 absolute maximum price for everything
Good for casual, general use in a light polluted area
So the telescope I'm looking for needs to be:
Light, portable, and small
Simple to use (I can't use EQ mounts, only alt-az)
$650 absolute maximum price for everything
Good for casual, general use in a light polluted area
