Nifty little telescope

[AmbulanceDriver]

So, a couple months back, I had some Amazon gift cards and decided to go ahead and get the telescope I'd been eyeballing for my 3 year old daughter.   Then, I decided to do the smart thing and went up a step from what I'd been planning on getting.  So instead of a 60mm reflector, I got a 100mm reflector.

Specifically, this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Orion-10012-SkyScanner-Reflector-Telescope/dp/B00D05BIIU/

This thing is neater than kitten toes.   Comes w/ two ocular lenses, giving you 20 and 40 x magnification.   Also comes with a little red dot sight for quickly lining up on objects in the sky.   It can easily be converted to mount onto a tripod (haven't done that yet).  One of the reviews that I had read had mentioned being able to spot Saturn's rings.  Personally, I thought someone was exaggerating a bit.  But I had hoped it was true.  So tonight, while looking to see if the moon was visible from our yard, I pulled out my phone and fired up Google Sky Map.   Lo and behold, there's Saturn popping up on my screen.   And a quick glance where it was pointing, and sure enough, there was a nice bright object in the sky.  So I set up the scope, and popped on the 10mm lens (40x).   And there it was.  Tiny, but there it was. Saturn, with the rings clearly visible.

So yeah.  If you're looking for a nifty little starter scope, especially for younger kids (my daughter was able to look through it and see Saturn, although she didn't really get what the big deal was - but she'll get it as she gets a little older).  If you're looking at the full moon, you'll want a moon filter (13% transmission) to avoid it washing out, especially with the 20x lens.   But for the price, I was amazed at the optical quality of this little scope.  Bright, crisp, and for just over $100, I think it was well worth it.

[K Frame]

Nice.

Years ago on a whim I bought a Meade 60mm.

Just enough to see the large moons orbiting Jupiter and to see the an indication of rings around Saturn.

When I finally retire and move to somewhere with a lot less light pollution I want to invest in one of the 8 or 10 inch Celestrons.

[mtnbkr]

Added it to my wish list in case I get wild hair for a telescope.  My yearly deer camp is great for stargazing.  We've had folks bring out nice telescopes for that purpose.  While I live in light polution hell, a full moon is nice and bright from our back deck.  This could be good for that.

Chris

[AJ Dual]

Good call on going a size larger.

For most all purposes, almost everything else about a telescope is secondary to getting as big an objective as you can.  Light gathering is much more important than magnification.

[K Frame]

"Light gathering is much more important than magnification."

Ding! Ding! Ding!

We have a winner!

[Ben]

When I finally retire and move to somewhere with a lot less light pollution I want to invest in one of the 8 or 10 inch Celestrons.

I bought a used Meade some years ago from a friend at work. Can't remember which one, but it had the computer positioning (which was fairly new at the time) and  I had some fun with it at the farm, but I never got out there enough back then to really use it so I got rid of it. When I move to Idaho, I'd also like to get an 8-10" since I'll have the time, and skies with little light pollution, to use it a lot.

[Regolith]

Good call on going a size larger.

For most all purposes, almost everything else about a telescope is secondary to getting as big an objective as you can.  Light gathering is much more important than magnification.

Yup.

A telescope with interchangeable eyepieces can technically be set up to provide whatever magnification your heart desires, but in practical terms, you're only going to get about 50x of useful magnification per 1 inch of objective diameter. Anything more than that is going to be too dim.

So, you generally want the largest practical aperture you can afford. ETA: Within reason, of course. You don't want one so big that hauling it out to use it is a PITA, because then you just won't use it.

[K Frame]

"So, you generally want the largest practical aperture you can afford. ETA: Within reason, of course. You don't want one so big that hauling it out to use it is a PITA, because then you just won't use it."

Which is why I wand to go with an 8" or so Celestron or similar.

The bottom image of this pair is from an 8"



There's a spectacular image on the page from a 20" (http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/see-saturn-best-in-2014/) but that size of scope is getting to the point where it's difficult to handle and you need a really solid base. At that size a Dobsonian telescope would be along the lines of 6 to 8 feet tall.

[TechMan]

AD, thank you...I put that on my Amazon whishlist for the 6 year old and 3 year old.

[HankB]

Yup.

A telescope with interchangeable eyepieces can technically be set up to provide whatever magnification your heart desires, but in practical terms, you're only going to get about 50x of useful magnification per 1 inch of objective diameter. Anything more than that is going to be too dim.

You potentially get higher resolution with larger objectives; you can get more magnification by selecting a shorter focal length eyepiece, but you won't necessarily resolve more detail.