My Personal Advice

This section contains my own thoughts and advice on a good beginner's telescope. There isn't a single, consistent recommendation here, because I really believe the ideal telescope depends on the individual user. Perhaps these thoughts will help you with your own selection.

You might also want to read my thoughts on the traditional advice offered to beginners, in which I encourage you to think critically and consider how the advice applies to your situation.

An Analogy: Motorcycle Beginners

I have another hobby too: I'm a motorcycle riding instructor.

What on earth does that have to do with Astronomy? We are often asked to advise beginners on a good starter bike, and I think the advice is very similar. Bikes tend to be very specialized, and a suitable bike for a beginner is not the same as a suitable bike for an experienced rider. We recommend a beginner start with something small and basic while they build up their skills, then trade up to their "dream bike" when they are ready. Students who follow this advice usually thank us later. Many students don't follow this advice, and start with a large sophisticated bike. Many of them do fine too, but some of them have difficulties that turn them away from the hobby.

Don't Buy Crap

Don't buy your telescope from a toy store, electronics store, camera store, or department store.

You get what you pay for. That $79 telescope at the department store is a toy, not an astronomical instrument. It will not work satisfactorily, cannot be made to work satisfactorily, and will ruin your initial experience. Department store telescopes drive beginners away from what could be a rewarding hobby. The same goes for the unknown brand low-priced telescopes that are sold only on eBay.

Here is an excellent article by another writer, Jon Isaacs, in which he purchases a department store telescope (actually an eBay telescope) to see if it is good value at the low end, or even if it is fixable. It isn't.

Jon gives an excellent analogy to bicycles, which I quote here:

Rather I suggest these telescopes are like a $50 department store bicycle, it looks like the real thing, in fact it is made to look like the real thing. One can hop on it and actually ride it up and down the street.

But if one happens to jump on a decent bicycle, one that has real brakes instead of imitation stamped steel brakes, one that fits the rider, one that has been properly put together and assembled, if one gets on a decent bike, then it is immediately apparent that one is but a toy, an imitation made to look like the real thing, the other is the real thing, a tool made to do a job in the best possible manner given the constraints of cost and size.

You can get decent beginner telescopes starting at around $300-$400 (Canadian, $200-$250 US), but you find them in telescope stores. Spending almost that much to buy junk would be a tragedy -- don't do it.

Balance is Key

Start Medium-Small

Taking the above "balance equation" into account, I recommend you start with a small-to-medium sized scope, with special attention to these:

• 150 mm (6") reflector on Dobsonian mount;
• 150 mm (6") reflector on good-quality Equatorial mount;
• 130 mm to 200 mm (5" to 8") Schmidt-Cassegrain on good-quality Equatorial or Fork mount;
• Good quality 80 mm or 100 mm (3" or 4") refractor, on good-quality Equatorial or Alt-Azimuth mount.

These are all selections that will give you optics good enough for a beginner, stable mounts, and portability enough to store, transport, and set up the equipment by yourself. Prices will range from $400 to $1500 (Canadian). These will show you the moon, bright planets, and bright deep space objects such as globular clusters and some nebulae. They aren't big enough for observing dim galaxies: that's difficult and requires a larger instrument and dark skies.

Start Simple

Reading Internet support groups for Astronomy beginners, it seems that most beginners' problems are not with their telescope's optics, but with its electronics. Questions abound on getting the drive to work, getting the go-to system to work, getting the GPS to work, setting the time zone, etc.

All these convenience features are nice to have and can be entertaining, but every convenience feature is also a source of additional complexity that can fail or be configured incorrectly. I recommend you start simple:

• If you live under dark skies (in the country), avoid go-to for a first scope. You can see enough stars to learn to find your way around manually. Or buy a go-to scope because it's really cool (and it is), but spend some time using the scope manually for your first few months.
• If you live in light pollution, or just can't avoid the temptation of the gadgets, buy a go-to system, but get a telescope that can be used without it, so you have the option to work manually if the go-to fails or if you have trouble aligning it. Likewise, avoid computer interfaces, or at least choose a telescope where connecting to a computer is optional.
• I like motor drives because I like having objects held in the field of view. However, I like systems I can use manually in case the electronics are acting up or fail. For these reasons, I prefer Equatorial mounts to computer-controlled Fork mounts. Some equatorials can be used manually, at least to some extent, while Forks require the computer control. (I do have manual fork mounts, which I love for their intended purpose.)
• Omit, or ignore, GPS accessories at first. You can look up the time and location yourself and avoid that complexity.
• Avoid all forms of astrophotography at first.

Plan to Upgrade

As I tell my motorcycle students, start with something small and simple, not with the ultimate device you'd eventually like to have. Spend your first year or two perfecting your technique, and upgrade your equipment only when you have reached the limits of the basic gear you started with. You will outgrow your beginner equipment -- don't consider that a failure of the equipment, consider it part of the plan. Sell your beginner equipment to another beginner (or keep it as secondary equipment for travel or cottage) and then upgrade to what you really want.

Since you're planning to outgrow your initial equipment, avoid purchasing specialized accessories for it that can't be used with other gear. Standards-based accessories like eyepieces, on the other hand, can be transferred to your new gear, and so are a safe buy.

To maintain the resale value of your initial equipment, keep the instructions and all the packaging material, and avoid modifying the equipment.

Don't Let Either Mount Scare You

Equatorial or Alt-Az/Fork mount? Both are good quality mount types that will serve you well. You should try both at a star party before you make this decision. Don't be swayed by urban myths.

I have both Equatorial and Alt-Az mounts. Personally I prefer the Equatorial. It's historically important and helps you understand the movement of the sky. Although there is a bit of a learning curve to set up and align, it's not complex and you'll master it in an hour or two with some help or a good book. It makes tracking objects much easier, can be motorized, and does not depend on sophisticated electronics.

Alt-Az mounts are high-quality and reliable, and would not be a mistake. In particular, they are intuitive and you will immediately understand how to point them, and they are generally more compact and portable than similarly-sized Equatorial mounts. They're not my preferred mount, because motorization requires computer assist and alignment, they have difficulty looking straight up, and they are less suitable for photography without additional accessories.

What About Go-To?

What about getting a "go-to" system or an "object locator" system on a beginner's telescope? Opinions vary on this, but the traditional advice is "no, you should learn to find things manually first".

I think it's more complex than that. Like many other hobbies, you need to decide if you want learning how to use the equipment to be part of your educational experience, or if you just want the results of using the equipment. Think of Personal Computers, for example. You might enjoy building and repairing your own PC, as it's educational and satisfying. But if you are mainly interesting in using, not building, the PC, you'll prefer a name brand.

Don't forget, you can always choose not to use the go-to system. I now have it on my major mounts, and I use it when I'm in a hurry, or look for things manually when I'm in the mood. I particularly like using the go-to when I'm at a public demonstration, or when I have a limited time window for observing.

Should you be interested in go-to, consider these points:

• The advertising is often misleading. Most systems, for example, advertise "40,000 astronomical objects in the built-in database". While this is true, you won't be able to actually see these 40,000 objects. Many of them will be dim galaxies that are beyond the capabilities of your scope. And many of them are just stars, not interesting by themselves even if you could see them.
• It's not magic. If you are imagining you'll take the telescope out of the box, punch in the name of an object, and moments later you'll be observing it, you will be disappointed. Go-to systems require careful alignment and then will bring objects into, or close to, your field of view most of the time.
• All go-to systems require alignment each time you set them up. This means you need to be able to see and identify some of the major stars and constellations.
• A good go-to system requires precise mechanics, precision motors, and a computer. You won't find this for less than many hundreds of dollars. The go-to option that costs an extra $49 on that department store telescope is junk that will disappoint you.

Forget Photography for Now

Astrophotography is difficult, expensive, and requires a lot of time to master. It's a rewarding hobby in itself, but is too complex to try to include in the hobby as a beginner to Astronomy. After department store telescopes, failed attempts at astrophotography are probably the next greatest cause of beginners leaving the hobby in frustration.

In fact, most telescopes will allow you to hold a consumer digital camera to the eyepiece and take a snapshot of the moon. It won't be high-quality but it will still be quite satisfying. And you can image the bright planets with a low-priced webcam and some special software. However, should you become interested in deep-sky, long-exposure astrophotography, you will need to consider the following points:

• The single most important piece of equipment will be your mount. You will need to upgrade it, and will almost certainly end up spending more on the mount than on the telescope.
• Astrophotography takes time to learn and master, and each photograph takes a lot of time to produce. You will spend many hours, possibly many evenings, on each photograph.
• You will also need a good quality computer and moderate computer skills to digitally process the images into a finished product.
• Plan to spend many hundreds to many thousands of dollars. You can do hobby-level astrophotography for a few hundred dollars, but the amazing high-quality photos you see attributed to amateur astrophotographers in astronomy magnizes would typically involve a setup along these lines:
  

  	Telescope	$1000 to $5000
  	Mount	$3000 to $6000
  	Camera	$2000 to $5000
  	Computer, Software	$1000 or more

Summary

Remember the balance equation: optics, mount, and portability.

Start small and simple, with good quality equipment from a specialty store. Plan to upgrade after your skills develop. Visit star parties or other amateurs and try a variety of equipment types before you decide what best suits you.

Comments?

Polite comments welcome at this article's blog entry.