Telescope help please

[DmansPadge]

Thanks a bunch for those last few replies. They were very helpful. Thankfully (for me atleast) she decided to hold off on a telescope. After I talked to her she figured it'd be best to get some more info out of him as far as what he wants, what he wants to use it for, etc.... and there isn't time for that before his B-day. Once I started to look at them... I quickly realized there was a lot to learn and I had no clue what I was really looking at.

Thanks again.

 

[rozett]

Does anyone have any comments about Meade telescopes? I was looking at the Orion StarBlast 4.5 EQ and see that Meade has a similar model. Just wondering how good the Meades are?

Thanks...

 

[RedRocker]

I'll tell you what we did, I bought some 20X80 binoculars, you can reach out and touch the stars as well as use them for terrestrial viewing if the stars don't hold your interest. That way the "telescope" doesn't sit in a corner with clothes thrown over them like the treadmill.

 

[mwechtal]

Does anyone have any comments about Meade telescopes? I was looking at the Orion StarBlast 4.5 EQ and see that Meade has a similar model. Just wondering how good the Meades are?

Thanks...

Over the years, I've often heard that Orion makes slightly better optics than Meade. However amateur astronomers can turn a discussion like this into a holy war. On the lower end scopes like we're talking about, I would be surprized if you could see any difference. Besides, the optics for the lower price scopes are probably made in China at the same plant. I haven't had a chance to use any small current Orion scopes, but the Meade 4.5" that one of our club members has is quite acceptable. The one he has is similar to the DS2114ATS-LNT but it is a few years old, and doesn't have the Level North Technology, which speeds up the allignment procedure (alligning the scope's electronics with the actual sky).

Mike

 

[Alan L.]

I bought a dobsonian 8" reflector from Orion a couple of years ago. I think the quality is very good, but finding enough nights when conditions are good is hard. Even on a clear night, sometimes the atmosphere causes the planets to be wavy and blurred and no amount of optics can change that. Also, I have found finding faint objects like galaxies and nebulae very difficult to see. It takes a lot of patience and practice, and for this reason my telescope gets used maybe 3 or 4 times a year, in cool weather.

One night I did something very interesting. I used low power and got my dob focused on an airliner almost straight up and followed it over the horizon. Amazingly I could see the definition of the wingspan until it disappeared over the horizon (the flashing lights, it was at night). The scope was nearly horizontal for a full 20 minutes watching that plane, I figure had to be 150 to 200 miles away by then.

 

[BobRip]

Does anyone have any comments about Meade telescopes? I was looking at the Orion StarBlast 4.5 EQ and see that Meade has a similar model. Just wondering how good the Meades are?

Thanks...

I have an 8 inch smidth-cassegrain that I am very pleased with. If I were going to do this again, I would go with a dobsonian. They are the best light gathering bang for your buck. I don't have a catalog handy, but Orion has some scopes for under $500 that will gather light. Expect to get at least two or three extra lenses. The dobsonian does not allow picture taking, but I say buy your pictures or down load your pictures.