Buying a telescope

[FlamboyenceofFlamingos]

I'm looking into buying a telescope as a gift but I know nothing and have no idea where to start. It's for a novice but potentially serious stargazer so I don't want to get the most basic. Maybe middle of the range. Any ideas?

Are you looking to learn the skies or have the telescope find everything for you?

Good question, I'd guess the latter maybe. It's a gift for someone who is very interested in space and knows far more than I do, but wants his first telescope. An adult, not a child by the way

Do they live in an area with dark skies or is it fairly light polluted?

Fairly close to the Peak District, so I guess much better than myself in a polluted city!

Something like this? Gets great views.

www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/skywatcher-heritage-130p-flextube.html

I can highly recommend this website for advice.

Also worth asking how much you want to spend.

The one I linked to stores really well and is easy to use out of the box.

Thank you, that site looks promising

The one I linked to is a reflector same as this m but different mount and can store more easily:

www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-130p.html

Another choice is a refractor - the traditional looking telescope.

Probably a stupid question but what is the difference between a reflector and a refractor telescope? I promise I'm not this clueless in other topics!

Hi OP,

There's a great Sky at Night episode on iPlayer all about the basics of stargazing, there's a specific bit about telescopes that you can skip to, but I'd recommend watching the whole thing if you fancy it, it's great.

They specifically talk about the differences between reflector and refractor telescopes, etc.

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000db8r/the-sky-at-night-a-beginners-guide

@TheMadShip that's great, I'll check it out! Thank you

Really decent binoculars are worth exp!oring, too. Much better than a telescope that's difficult to fix on an object.

See, I’ve never got on with binoculars. Big enough to be useful are heavy and hard to keep still. Mount them on a mount and you're standing at an awkward angle.

A reflector uses a parabolic mirror to gather light which is then sent to an eye piece, usually via a flat secondary mirror. A refractor uses a lens to gather light. A larger telescope will generally be a reflector. An equatorial mount is generally better
than an alt azimuth mount.

@Brahumbug

A reflector uses a parabolic mirror to gather light which is then sent to an eye piece, usually via a flat secondary mirror. A refractor uses a lens to gather light. A larger telescope will generally be a reflector. An equatorial mount is generally better than an alt azimuth mount.

But there’s better and better... a dobsonian mount is easy to point and go.

www.go-astronomy.com/telescopes/telescope-mounts.htm

Are they upside down when you look through then? I'm sure I heard that somewhere. OP they can be a pain in the bum to use, I had one as a kid but could never see anything except black, I had no idea what the twiddly bits and bobs did but neither did any adult I asked for help and eventually I gave up.
Look for easy to use, if thats an option.

22:19ThunderSkies

Brahumbug

A reflector uses a parabolic mirror to gather light which is then sent to an eye piece, usually via a flat secondary mirror. A refractor uses a lens to gather light. A larger telescope will generally be a reflector. An equatorial mount is generally better
than an alt azimuth mount.

But there’s better and better... a dobsonian mount is easy to point and go.

True a Dobsonian mount is easier to 'point and go', but it makes tracking much harder, especially if you are doing photography. Also on an equatorial mount you have setting circles for locating objects.

Try contacting your local astronomy club. You may be able to pick up a good second hand one.