You will spend more time wishing you didn't have to deal with the unsteadiness than actually enjoying the views. They are unsteady and will sway at the slightest touch or blow of wind. A cheap tripod is an absolute pain to deal with. In order for a tripod to hold a telescope and be rock steady, it will cost as much or more than the actual telescope itself. They sit on the ground and are extremely steady. Dobsonian (Or Dob for short) is the name for the mount/base that the telescope sits in. " Why are none of these on tripods?" Because they are Dobsonians. You'll notice quite the price jump on anything bigger than that. Many people buy/build wheeled transports or something similar to move them, and they usually have them in a very convenient place to quickly wheel in and out. They start to get heavy and super awkward to move.
These are many people's "end-game" scopes, as well as thier first scopes.įrom here, just go with as big a Dob as you can afford and realistically carry/transport. They still easily fit across the backseat of a vehicle with the base in the trunk. They are simply the best bang for the buck. They hit a great balance between size, portability, and value. The 8" Dobs are usually the most recommended telescope here. Great accessories, 2-speed focuser, and a built-in fan for faster temperature acclimation. They can easily fit across the back seat of a vehicle with the base in the trunk if you plan to travel with it.Īpertura AD8 / Zhumell Z8 (probably the most recommended scope. These will get you fairly close to the representative pictures above (again, in a DARK site). The actual telescopes weigh roughly 15 lbs. They are large, almost 4 feet tall when standing straight up. These are the entry-level into "grown-up" telescopes. OneSky and Heritage are identical scopes. They are great little beginner scopes that are easy to use and can help you decide if you want to transition into something bigger. You can get a cheap and stable stool or crate to use instead. They are small scopes meant to be set on top of a table and used. I really do recommend saving up a bit more money and getting something in the next price range, though. Binoculars will also have some cool views as well. If you just cannot save $200 and really want a scope, go with the Z114 or Mini 114. It may be harder to find a particular telescope at the appropriate price.* Since Covid hit, there's been a reduction in supply and an increase in demand.
*Update - These are what the prices usually are/should be. Here's a website to find out how much light pollution you'll be dealing with.
The more light pollution you have in your area, the harder it will be to resolve things. (The pictures are blurrier than they should be, but you'll get the idea). Here are some accurate depictions of what you can see through a decent telescope in a DARK site (little light pollution). It's almost as if your brain gets trained into resolving more and more detail, making you want to revisit them over and over again. The longer you spend observing them, the more details you will start to pull out. That being said, if you go into this with the right expectations and mindset, those faint white smudges are beautiful, fascinating, and awe-inspiring. If you don't have accurate expectations, a genuine love for space, and an appreciation for what you're actually looking at, you will be very disappointed. TO OUR EYES, DSO's (Deep Space Objects like nebula and galaxies) will look like faint white smudges. To get those types of images, you have to take very long exposures many times, run it through a program that stacks the images to pull out detail, and extensively process it in a photo editing program. Nebula and galaxies WILL NOT look like the vivid, colorful, and detailed pictures that you've seen. Stars are just too far away for telescopes to resolve (see more clearly/get more detail). If they aren't, then you're not in focus. When using a telescope, no matter how big, stars will look like stars. The most important thing before getting into this hobby is setting your expectations. What To Expect When Looking Through A Telescope.