
Ask HN: Which Telescope Should I Buy? - tzury
Assuming there is a bunch of telescope owners in our community, from professionals experts to amateur astronomers I wanted to get your advice on which one should I start with.<p>A complete beginner, who want to start observing the galaxies and stars.
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JPLeRouzic
The websites like Sky & telescope will tell you something quite true: Invest
in something that you will really use:

This because there is an insane arm race to the most sophisticated telescope.

Also what is important is the diameter, something between 9cm and 13 cm (5
inches) is enough. Use a GOTO system. Try to have something easy to move by
you (especially in the dark). Electronic eyepieces that help to share images
are interesting.

Going to a place where there is a dark sky is helpful.

[http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-equipment/types-
of-...](http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-equipment/types-of-
telescopes/)

~~~
tzury
Thank you JP.

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CaptainRefsmat
I would caution complete beginners from buying a telescope, because learning
to set up and use a telescope might be too frustrating. I would recommend
instead starting with a good pair of binoculars (mine are Nikon Action Extreme
10x50), which are powerful enough for you to find Messier objects. Searching
for Messier objects will teach you how to identify constellations, read star
maps, and how to scan the sky for faint objects. Learning the night sky will
go a long ways toward teaching you how to set up and use a telescope.

~~~
Nomentatus
Seconded (and look for Jupiter's moons first, because you can see those even
in daylight). [https://www.space.com/36733-jupiter-and-moons-mobile-
astrono...](https://www.space.com/36733-jupiter-and-moons-mobile-astronomy-
app.html)

Great advice to start with binoculars because you may find that actually
seeing things through a lens isn't magical compared to TV images or internet
images of the same thing; or discover that seeing Saturn once fer real is
enough. Plus you may find it gets cold at night. I did.

~~~
tzury
thank you both.

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disago
You may want to take a look at eVscope: 100x ($1600 USD - Indiegogo:
[https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/evscope-100x-more-
powerfu...](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/evscope-100x-more-powerful-
than-normal-telescopes-design-community#/)).

It promises a enhanced vision technology allowing beautiful images even inside
the city and also the ability to connect to a mesh of telescopes around the
globe participating in scientific research from SETI institute, allowing it to
be controlled remotely by the object under investigation.

------
Tomte
So You Wanna Buy a Telescope... Advice for Beginners

[http://www.scopereviews.com/begin.html](http://www.scopereviews.com/begin.html)

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arey_abhishek
Do you intend to travel with the telescope or install it in your backyard? Do
you want to use it for photography? Knowing this will help me in suggesting a
telescope.

Avoid refractive ones and go for the newtonian reflector ones or catadioptric
ones to see objects in better color. You'll also get more bang for your buck
in terms of power.

A telescope with an equatorial stand is better than an alt-azimuth stand
because you won't struggle to track objects. But an equatorial stand is
heavier and difficult to set up.

A telescope with an automated GOTO is pricier, but you might end up using it a
lot more because it'll save you hours that it takes to sometimes find and
track an object. Good luck!

~~~
tzury
travel indeed.

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bradgessler
Anybody have recommendations or resources for intermediate amateur astronomers
looking to buy a telescope on a budget between $500-$1000? Ideally it would
evaluate refractor, reflector, and catadioptric scopes that are reasonably
portable. Assume this archetype has mastered solar system observations, knows
how to find their way around the sky with an equatorial mount, and is
interested in more deep-sky observations.

I’ve looked at an 8 inch Schmidt–Cassegrain scope and the thing is a beast.
Would like to know if anybody has a 6 inch they’re happy with and could
recommend.

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slowmotarget
There's a French company named Vaonis, they're releasing Stellina, a smart
telescope ("smart" in a sense that it is interactive and works with a mobile
app).

It's on sale at the MoMa design store for the time being :
[https://store.moma.org/tech/home-electronics/vaonis-
stellina...](https://store.moma.org/tech/home-electronics/vaonis-stellina-
smart-telescope/138977-138977.html)

~~~
perilunar
It's a $3000 telescope you can't even look through.

Great idea if you want to look at pictures on an iPhone. Not so good if you
actually want to look directly at the stars.

It's also not very good value: you can get a computerised scope with a much
bigger aperture for much less.

~~~
slowmotarget
Looking directly at the stars will only show you white dots. Astrophotography
requires long time exposures to reveal the colors and details of outer solar
system objects. That's what Stellina is for :-)

