What would you recommend?

I'm a total beginner at astronomy and every couple of years I get close to buying, but don't. It's that aperature thing. I've seen the shadow of Saturn's rings on the planet through someone else's dob, as well as very clear cloud belts around Jupiter, and I'd like something close to that. Also, some Messier objects for the rare weekend out of the city. Trouble is, a big scope isn't going to be cool for traveling with my family of four. And my willingness to spend is limited to around $500 or $600 tops. So, with all that in mind, here's what I'm looking at. Please let me know what you think of these... or if you have a better suggestion.

> Used Nexstar 5 ($600... read a review, guy said he couldn't make out the divide in Saturn's rings and saw no deep space. Others seem to really dig it.)

> Stargazer Steve's Sgr-4 ($400ish by the time all's said and done. Sounds reasonable to travel with, easy to set up and start looking.)

> Discovery 90mm Refractor ($200 Discovery Web close out. Couldn't find any reviews and it's going bye-bye. Makes me suspicious.)

> Forget it for another year or two and be happy with the occassional public star party the local club has. ($0)

Thanks for taking the time.

Brian

If someone couldnt make out the division with a N5 then the scope was probably not properly collimated or the seeing conditions were terrible. Its also possible that he just had a bad sample. Deep space will be better than either of the other two options you mentioned because of the larger aperture.

The 90mm on Discovery's website I believe is a short tube 90mm. This scope while great for low power scanning of the MilkyWay and star clusters would not come close to the other two you mentioned on most anything. At that focal length an achromat will suffer from chromatic abberation.

There is a website called Cloudy Nights. Read all you can there. Still its best not to base your decision on others reviews. The best thing is for you to look through some of these scopes. If there is a local club in your area--join as soon as possible. Most clubs charge a modest yearly membership. Then you can go and check out many different scopes side-by-side in many cases. Then you will be able to make a better decision--that is right for you.

Of course if there is not a local club nearby, then you will have to go on the reviews. Just try and take each review with a grain of salt and I believe you will make the right choice. Either way, very few people buy one telescope and stop at that. It takes a while to find what is exactly right for each person.

Donnie

Brian,

I bought a Stargazer Steve 6" Reflector from the first production run. I believe it is still ~425 shipped to the continental US. It's not real hard to put together and it's only about 25 lbs finished. Steve supplies a Rigel Quikfinder for this scope and the SG4, which is much easier to use than the 6 x 30 finderscopes supplied with other scopes. I had a few minor problems which were my fault. Steve Dodson (the owner) went out of his way to take care of me, including supplying a new diagonal at cost when I scratched the original. I sent him quite a few emails before I decided on the scope, all were answered quickly.
The base is very compact (~1 x 1 x 1.5H). The tube is ~51" long, I can fit it in the back seat of my Dakota Pickup Extended Cab.

On the other hand, last year I picked up an Orion XT8 used. I can see more with it, but it is much heavier (~47 lbs). I also put together an XT6 for a friend. I was also impressed with quality of construction and the views through the scope. The base is considerably larger than the Stargazer 6".

If you want a scope with a little character that can be as nice as you want it to be I would go with the Stargazer 6". I would get rid of the XT8 and keep the 6", but I am sentimental about the 6". The collimation requires a little more tweaking, but its easy to do.

The XT6 and XT8 are lower maintenance but everybody has one, plus you are going to have to get a bigger finder to replace the 6 x 30 or a Rigel Quikfinder or Telrad. Still they are good solid scopes.

I have seen the Cassini Division on Saturn and Jupiter's belts and the GRS with both scopes. It's not just the scopes though, the more I observe what was once difficult to see is now easy.

Good luck,

Ed B.

Brian,

You've received a lot of very good suggestions about your first telescope purchase. Here is one more suggestion of a slightly different type.

Before you spend your $600 on any equipment, spend $29.95 on Terence Dickinson's book, "NightWatch". Not only will it give you a better perspective on what "Backyard Astronomy" is all about, it will give you a good overview of the various options for your first scope and their pros and cons.

After you've read Terence's book, you will be able to judge all of this good advice for yourself.

Good Luck,
Randy

To all those who provided input, it's much appreciated. Your experience and advice has provided greater clarity and diretion to my search. I'm planning to attend a star party next week and another at the end of the month, I've visited a local shop and will hit the library for Nightwatch. In short, I'm doing my homework. Thanks for the assigment.

Brian