How to look for a good telescope.?

[Vpm913]

I want to buy a telescope. I am very interested in astronomy. My budget about $300. What kind of telescope should I buy. Thank You.
I think my budget is too low. My parents don't want to buy a costly one for me. They have set a target, 'get a good score in your exams and you can choose what to buy, if not we will choose it for you.' I am trying my best.
The thing is that I am posting from Singapore. However I just meant USD for most people to understand. It was an accident that I put it as UK. Thanks to all those who have been answering.

[Peter Curran]

i suppose if you want a new one your not going to get alot for that price, you can go to a local large photographic outlet, and they will probably offer lower priced ones within the range that you require, though the chances are you won't be that satisfied, because they are really hard to point and focus. you could of course check your local freetrade places for a quality second hand one, but then you need to know what your looking at, make sure that you choose a scope aimed at(pardon the pun) astronomy, not nature watching, or looking at aircraft, ships etc.
Another suggesttion i could make is that you google astronomy telescopes, and do a bit of study before you decide which one you want.
just remember don't buy in haste, take your time 'Buy in haste, repent at leisure'
all the best
pete

[keyur G Suthar]

Finding good telescope in about 300$ is very very hard indeed ....

[Tom A]

You say $300, but your posting from the UK. How much exactly abd where?

If we're talking $US, read this:

http://www.astronomics.com/main/product....uct_id/Q8D

I suggest this or something like it, i.e. the biggest aperture Dobsonian you can afford. The six-inch may also be fine for starting, even though it isn't a "starter scope". Plenty of advanced amateurs use scopes like these.

Go to a telescope shop. Not a department store, not a camera shop that also sells scopes. A telescope shop.

[GeoffG]

Here are a few web pages with good information on beginner's telescopes:
http://www.gaherty.ca/tme/TME0702_Buying...escope.pdf
http://www.scopereviews.com/begin.html
http://observers.org/beginner/j.r.f.beginner.html

For more advanced information, read Phil Harrington's Star Ware, 4th edition (Wiley).

You'll get the greatest value for your money with a Newtonian reflector on a Dobsonian mount, such as these:
http://www.telescope.com/control/categor...ZE=1000000
http://www.skywatchertelescope.net/swtin...class2=106

Buy from a store which specializes in telescopes and astronomy, either locally or online; don't buy from department stores, discount stores or eBay as mostly what they sell is junk. Find your local astronomy club and try out different telescopes at one of their star parties:
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/organizations

I strongly recommend that beginners steer clear of astrophotography until they have learned their way around the sky. Astrophotography is by far the most expensive and difficult area of amateur astronomy.

Many people who buy telescopes have no idea how to find interesting things to observe. A good introduction to finding things is NightWatch by Terence Dickinson (Firefly). A more advanced book is Star Watch by Phil Harrington (Wiley).

[P. Edward M]

First you need to learn the sky...the constellations so that when you do you will be able to find galaxies and star clusters.

Binoculars are well suited to this first expedition into the heavens.

Joining your local Astronomy Club is a most helpful exercise in that you can meet other folks who are interested in Astronomy and they have telescopes and will be able to give you some guidance. Most Astronomy Clubs have events open to the public in which members bring their own telescopes to a dark sky location such as a park that enables you to see both the different telescopes and moon, planets and star clusters.

[Mike]

Actually, for $300 (USD) you are on the low end of good telescopes but you *are* starting to see a few decent telescopes. (Not the toys and junk-scopes that get passed off far too much)

I would give you two strong options.

(1) if the $300 is pretty solid top limit, and you can't scrounge up some spare funds on the side somehow (grandparents, lawn-mowing, birthday money saved aside), then I would suggest you look at the Orion XT4.5 (see source.) Its about $230 USD (you might research and find it a bit less).
Its large enough to give you decent views of the planets, the bright stars, some of the very nice binary stars, and quite a few of the brighter galaxies. Its small enough that it won't take up too much space in the house, and light enough that anyone can carry it around easily. You can even put it in the backseat of a car if you go on a trip camping or similar.
Use a bit of the extra money you *might* be able to finagle from your folks for (1) a decent pair of binoculars, (2) a subscription to Astronomy or Sky & Telescope magazine, (3) a membership with a local astronomy club.

(2) If you can squeeze just a bit more out of the budget (or can wait for a couple of the extras I mentioned above) then about the best you can find for the money you are considering is the Orion XT6 (see source) About $280 (possibly a bit less if you search a bit) not counting shipping and so on. No question - this is a very good starter telescope. If you have a pair of binoculars at your house already, and can use the local library for reading astronomy magaizines, then you may be set for several months, perhaps several years of good astronomical observing.

[jonal]

Singapore has some very good astronomy clubs. I lived in Singapore for three years.
Here are some sites.
http://tasos.org.sg/ . . . . .
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=50543565959 . . .
http://spastro.blogspot.com/ . . . .
http://agastro.sg/ . . . .
http://www.singastro.org/web/mediawiki/i..._Singapore . . . . .
If you go along to some observing night meetings or one of the public star parties they organise at times you can see what telescopes people have and look through them.
Get in touch through the websites or ask in the library when the meetings and star parties are. Libraries keep lists of local clubs and societies for all sorts of interests.

For USD300 you can get a very reasonable telescope.
You may find that one of the astro club members has got a good telescope for sale and then you might get a bigger one for the same money as you would have spent on a small one.
Astro clubs are very friendly and they always welcome visitors and new members, so it would be a good idea to get in touch with your nearest one and go along.

Here are some telescope suppliers in Singapore. Good brands for the cheaper ranges are Skywatcher, Orion, and the budget price Celestron and Meade telescopes.
Many of the cheaper telescopes use the same optics made by Synta in China which are very good for the money.
http://www.astrobargains.com/ . . . . . .
http://www.astro.com.sg/index.php . . . . . .
The next link is the dream-price stuff but they do cheaper ones as well.
Nice, but you'll get very good views of the planets and stars and nebulae with much cheaper telescopes than the top ones here.
A small increase in quality can take a lot of work on the optics to achieve so really good ones are very expensive.
http://staropticsscientific.com/ . . . . . .

The problem in Singapore is finding dark skies.
There are trips out to the islands sometimes to get telescopes set up with darker skies. There was one for the Perseid meteor shower as well.
Sisters Island is favourite for it.
Also there are better skies across the causeway on the east coast, just across the water from Changi, east of the Pasir Gudang terminal.
There's a small road leading to the east coast from there or you can go by boat from Changi past Pulau Ubin to get there. The currents are strong around there sometimes so if you go by boat take it steady.
I used to go to St. John's island for astronomy nights in a little sampan with a motor and a bamboo and cotton sail.
Over the other side at Jurong it used to be very good for dark skies but there's a lot of development now. It's a lot better than Singapore city though, or along Pasir Panjang where I used to live, which is also so much developed the night skies are ruined.
I live on another island now the same size as Singapore island but with very dark skies and only 100 000 population instead of millions.
Have fun with the stars and good luck with your exams. Work is the way to get good exam results though.
And play. It's better then. Keeps you fresh instead of just working all the time.