Telescopes

[Martlet]

I've been thinking of picking up a telescope, but I know nothing about them beyond a book I picked up.

I have no idea if I'm going to "get hooked", so I'd rather not spend a fortune.  If I decide I enjoy it, I can always upgrade.  Does anyone have a suggestion for a starter scope?

[icemaw]

Altho I have never dont it they are very easy to make. Check the internet for plans and places to buy optics. You can build a very powerfull scope for very little duckets. The more powerfull the more fun to use.

[Ozark]

I have no idea if I'm going to "get hooked", so I'd rather not spend a fortune.  If I decide I enjoy it, I can always upgrade.  Does anyone have a suggestion for a starter scope?

Start with binoculars.

[APDrone]

Look up a local Astronomy club.

Chances are very good that they have equipment, regular meetings and stargazing parties. Some clubs have telescopes you can check out, like library books.

Being in Boston, There should be active astronomy clubs affiliated with local colleges and universities.   Contact the science buildings/departments and they should have a wealth of contacts for you.

Personally, I started with an Orion 8" Dobsonian. Works great, but can be a bit clunky to move around and it doesn't track automatically. ( new ones have the hardware to do that for the $$$ )

Bottom line is there are a whole lot of considerations before dumping bucks in a scope.  You'd be doing yourself a favor to spend time with the different varieties before committing.

Good luck!

<.S>

[vorticon]

dont get sucker ed into buying anything less than 6 inchs...anything smaller is a waste of money...

[Martlet]

Originally posted by APDrone
Look up a local Astronomy club.

Chances are very good that they have equipment, regular meetings and stargazing parties. Some clubs have telescopes you can check out, like library books.

Being in Boston, There should be active astronomy clubs affiliated with local colleges and universities.   Contact the science buildings/departments and they should have a wealth of contacts for you.

Personally, I started with an Orion 8" Dobsonian. Works great, but can be a bit clunky to move around and it doesn't track automatically. ( new ones have the hardware to do that for the $$$ )

Bottom line is there are a whole lot of considerations before dumping bucks in a scope.  You'd be doing yourself a favor to spend time with the different varieties before committing.

Good luck!

<.S>

Good advice.  This observatory http://www.marinescience.neu.edu/solarobservatory/ is less than a mile from my house.  I'll bet they have something going on.