J. Kelly Beatty from Sky and Telescope Magazine offers a guide to choosing your first telescope. Observatory Night from December 19, 2013 at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
@@rooftopastronomer2697 no no, it was great! I could see stars!! I tried looking at galaxies but the telescope fell apart. I forgot to put some motor oil in it. On the second attempt the eyepiece fell through the focuser, hit the secondary, and the secondary fell off of the spider, slid down and hit the primary mirror, which fell out the back of the tube and smashed into the pavement. The the base of the dob also collapsed. But I still saw the stars.
He gave that lecture almost 7 years back, but it's still one of the best astronomy videos I ever saw. Every detail in it was priceless and that man... I can truly feel his passion for astronomy.
2023 I agree with you, he knows his stuff and knows how to transmit his knowledge. I'm watching the video because I just ordered a similar model ( Orion 10012 Skyscanner) for my daughters. Were in Baja ( TJ ) and the Perseids meteor shower is this month. we had been using a pair of Steiner 10 * 50 binos to watch the sky and an old set of AN/pvs 7s. Have an awesome time watching the sky.
England is my city and you may realize the balls you believed in are just lights in the sky where no one can go and that stars spin in circle above stationary, leveled ground. You may also bring ships that have gone over the ‘Curved’ horizon, with my p 1000 😂😂😂 but, sure anyone can believe children’s fantasies, they can just never prove it 😂😂😂😂 so, keep on spinning and developing your imagination that’s created by others 😂 and don’t get emotional because earth is flat 😘
As an active amateur astronomer involved in a lot of outreach, I have had to do this very presentation a number of times. Its always educational to see how others approach the subject. I also want to mention that the Starblast telescope (And other similar telescopes by other manufacturers) you were primarily using for your talk is one of the best little telescopes out there. Great beginner's 'scope. But good enough that it will put even a high-end Nagler eyepiece to the test. I have one as my 'grab and go' telescope as well.
He set aside (put away) longest refractor. 60/1000. For me instrument like this one with supercomat eyepiece (rare in production) is #1 for Jup. Saturn and Moon at 50X
I like it a lot! He is a good speaker. I am planning to buy my first telescope and from this video I get a clearer idea on what thing that I should look at when I'm doing my window shopping. Thank you!!
Very informative. I belong to an astronomy club and we do public outreaches all the time. This is one of the questions I get asked most. We usually have an assortment of scopes so that I can explain the pros and cons of each. I also tell them that for starters, use binoculars, which most people already have and learn the sky.
For me I would like to get a telescope. I Have tremors. Binoculars and me cause the image to go everywhere. I tried to look at a planet. It was all over the place. I would like to join a club !
@@wayneklein2018 I have a small case of tremors as well. I purchased some Canon image stabilizer binoculars. They are a bit expensive, but boy do they make a difference.
He hit all the basic points that I used to give, when my astro-club did public outreach. Great job! My first REAL telescope was an 8" Celestron Starhopper (Dang, I wish I still had that scope)! That scope was the easiest to setup, by far. As the presenter stated, after awhile, you will start to feel the need to upgrade to a better scope. I had to sell that Starhopper to get my 10" Meade LX-50 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. This scope was a whole 2" bigger in diameter than the Starhopper, and had the ability to track objects, when put on an equatorial mount, such as a wedge. That scope stayed with me for awhile, until my back started giving me problems, and I could no longer lift it onto it's mount. So, I had to go back to an 8" scope, but stayed with the Schmidt-Cassegrain design. I was not too pleased to have to loose 2" of aperture, but I made sure that the new smaller scope had all the "Bells & Whistles" on it. That new scope was an 8" Meade LX-200 GPS. That scope lasted me forever (I still have it), along with a small 3" short-tube refractor. With the LX-200 alone, I did more stargazing than the previous two scopes combined!
This is a good question. I think it's important to do a lot of personal research. To be frankly honest, you can easily get started with a not-so-popular brand, if it's a decent scope. For me, I started with a 114mm off-brand reflector with a 600mm focal length on an equatorial mount - no go-to features - just a basic analog, sidereal motor. It cost around $250 in 2010. Originally I used it for observation and later for basic astrophotography with a DSLR. Taking the time to learn how to polar align the mount, find and track stars, fine-tune focus, etc. was well worth the effort. There's also a lot to learn about stacking and processing images. So to answer the question, there are a number of scope/tripod packages available in that price range to get you started. If you think you want to do imaging, I'd suggest learning how an equatorial mount works. For the scope, find the biggest diameter reflector that fits your budget - perhaps between 114mm and 150mm (bigger diameter means more light gathering).
IMO, 8 inch newtonian with a long focal length is about all you should ever need, cheaper to just dive in and purchase it to start with rather than moving up the sizes. dobsonian mount for ease of use. Only need for anything else is if you want to get into astrophotography, then you need a quality refractor with a equatorial motorized tracking mount.
i am a beginner but i want a telescope which can take me to other galaxies and nebulae.. not only nearby planets.. please suggest me the most budget telescope of the type
Hello! This was wonderful to watch and very informative. I'm having some trouble as the last person was about selecting a telescope to buy mainly to be used for astrophotography. At the moment I'm out almost every night with my 200mm lens on my canon, just trying to see what I can see with long exposures. But now that I've started I want so much more! Haha. My interest is mostly in the stars, I want to be able to capture as many as I can! But I also wouldn't mind seeing a planet now and then. So far I have had my eye on orions short tube refractor, or a celestron. But now I think I would love to have something like the pink $400 one you were talking about with the goto guide on it, only because I'm just starting out and I think that would be a great help. My budget is about $400 which I know is not a lot but I think is good for practice. So any suggestions at all would be so wonderful. I know you linked some short tubes below, but could you also point me in the direction of a goto Mount? Thank you so so much!
You can see planets pretty easy. I have an 8 inch basic Orion and you can see the rings of Saturn. If you're talking about seeing planets in other solar systems thats not going to happen.
@@hxhdfjifzirstc894 How about an Orion XT8? Is that good? Can you recommend me a good quality but not crazy priced telescope that I can use to see planets as far as Neptune and Saturn?
Then you want a pair of Military-grade rubber-armored binoculars with a STRAP around your neck to keep them from falling to the ground. Your "first telescope" doesn't HAVE to be a "telescope". Binoculars are a VERY good way to get to know the night sky. But if you are talking about the one the speaker has precariously hung one of its feet off the edge of his table, I think he did so intentionally to make room for the second scope he put on the table with it. In plain terms, that first one is described as an "Altazimuth-mounted Newtonian Reflector". It is probably a 4" mirror size, and could be a good choice for youngsters up to age 10 or 12, but bright young minds grow quickly, and can outgrow such an entry level scope after only a year or so. YMMV. Be sure to get something with 1-1/4" eyepieces, NOT .965". They will be more usable with the next scope when you upgrade.
Thank you Mr. Beatty! We had no idea where to start in buying a telescope and after watching your video, we decided on the Orion EZ table mount. You rock!!!
unlike so many people aren't these days..whingy whining millennials that have no respect for anything or anyone...give them the 10 Commandments and a good beating!! LOL
Flat earther and own a telescope. Yes, are stars , wondering stars( planets) ,sun and moon. Diferent things. Now if you belive that in 1969 they reach moon and all comes frome nothing ( big bang) , then you trully brainwashed hard.
@@1878religion Why are you so aggressive about flat earthers. If they are wrong then what has it done to you. Too many people have strong opinions on these subjects and for truth to be told too little knowledge.
@@bighands69 First of all - that's called a JOKE, not AGGRESSION. Can't you make the difference? Second of all - In order to have two strong opinions - the coin should have two different sides. In our case - it has been proven thousands of years ago, millions of times, that the Earth is round and rotating around the Sun. There is no other opinion in this case. The flat-earth nonsense must stop. It only requires little knowledge and understandings for one to realize the things he don't understand. But unfortunately "thinking and using common sense" is not the strongest side in the heads of those flat-earthers. And Third of all - Thousands of years exploration, countless proves, countless experiments, countless space missions, several governments funded and independent space agencies, all sort of scientists involved - and you are telling me that small group of uneducated people are right? Think again. And watch "Behind The Curve" documentary, starring some of the flat-gurus, you will enjoy it. Also you can read this article: creation.com/flat-earth-myth You might learn something. Have a great day.
@@1878religion I will be truthful to you very few people who mock flat earthers have the required knowledge to prove that the earth is spherical like in shape. Even though I have post doctoral research I still could not prove that the earth is Spherical like in shape.
Hi..What telescope would you recommend to me .to see stars,planets,solar system....I'm a beginner suggest me a telescope between 180-130 us dollars... as good as possible.....
Adi J Joking right? With a decent telescope in his price range you can watch a ton of stars and even see some distant galaxies. Educate yourself before making a stupid ass comment like this.
Yes, it was a poor analogy. A much better one might be, "You buy a really nice helmet for riding a Motorcycle. You can KEEP that nice helmet and continue to enjoy using it when you upgrade to a nicer Motorcycle."
"Telescopes do not have to be expensive" Yet here in my country. A single portable hobby telescope with a diameter of 3 inch is sold at $300. That's equivalent of having a cheap telescope!
Telescope Celestron NexStar 130SLT Computerized Telescope Select from a database of more than 4,000 stars, galaxies, than 4,000 stars, galaxies, nebulae, and more. The telescope locates your object with pinpoint accuracy and tracks it automatically. buy now : amzn.to/2QkMry6
Juan Pedro Mariano Actually, saying “Holiday morning” would be PC. Saying it’s called Christmas is not. Remember that politically correct people say Holiday morning “out of respect” to all of the non-Christians out there.
@@albertog8459 Nope, saying it's Christmas "out of respect for Christians because the holiday is theirs" IS PC. Christmas is not an original Christian tradition. It's a pagan celebration they adopted and now falsely claim to be theirs. Jesus wasn't born on the 25th of December.
warning: do not buy one if you believe the earth will end in 12 years, because you'll probably smash it when you find out you've been lied to all those years.
+Sean O'Brien I live in Rural US and it also has great night viewing with no light pollution. I love going up mountains and doing astronomy as the atmosphere is less dense.
I live in the north part of Canada, Im on the only street of my town where I can have Internet, and its on a mountain. The highest town of the province. Sadly I do not yet own a telescope =(
I like the concept to teaching your children at a appropriate age to admire the Stars. I remember my son at 10 years old said dad look it only cost $9.99 at the store, our job as parents are they giving the best tutelage life has to offer even though we're still a student in our own atmosphere. That would be a truly counter tuitive approach to see it any other way I love this video very educational I'm getting started
I've got the extendable 'TELESCOPES WITHOUT BORDERS'. It's amazing for $200 and the profits go to this great organization. I can always enjoy about 5 of Jupiters moons and it's stripes. Can also see a little ring delineation in Saturn and maybe 2 of it's moons. The site scope is a bit tricky but you'll find how to finesse it after a little while.
NEVER, NEVER buy a telescope WITHOUT a battery powered motor drive. You will spend ALL of your observing time trying to keep the object in the field of view.
@@issac3100 there's a difference between a goto scope and an equatorial mount with a motor drive. The goto scope makes it a LOT easier to find stars. The motor drive makes it possible to keep the image stationary without constant adjustment. For wide angle visual astronomy, it's not too hard to find an object and hand it off to a kid, then for them to grab the knob and keep the image steady. For astrophotography/astroimaging, you're not going to get a single decent image without a motor drive.
David, I’ve had a 10” dobsonian for 25 years and never had a motor drive. Hunting for and the thrill of finding objects is part of the fun. It also teaches you the sky. Like the video says, it depends on what you are interested in.
@@issac3100 I'm telling you that because you wrote, "A motorized telescope is kind of cheating because It's the lazy way to find stars." which is quite simply incorrect. A telescope with a motor drive doesn't help you find stars. Finding stars on such a scope remains a completely manual process. A motor drive tracks the earth's rotation and that's all. You also wrote "the point of Astronomy you got to learn how to track them manually." which is also wrong, for different reasons. Manual tracking is completely irrelevant to most astronomers and somewhere between annoying and a deal breaker for many others (astrophotography). For visual astronomers with inexpensive dobsonians or alt-az mounts, manual tracking is somewhere between annoying and unobtrusive, but in no way is figuring out how to manually track "the point" of looking up at the stars.
I don't often add comments on YT, but as a bright person, yet dim beginner, and someone illuminating my young children with the beauty of the sky at night, I was taken aback at the way you immediately chose to display a refractor telescope and instantly dismiss it (considering the wealth of great online advice on this subject). Like a badly chosen eyepiece, I have to disagree with you. I could buy an expensive / different telescope, but chose not to do so for the simple reason they had great fun looking through a neighbors refractor telescope. I deliberately bought the same one ($180) as they love looking at the moon and find new things to look at. They want to engage with me and be part of it. If they develop an interest, we will upgrade in time and in line with what they themselves start asking about and want to see. This doesn't mean refractor telescopes are junk. There's no profit in being deliberately dismissive in this manner. I measure profit in terms of engaging young children in the wonders of the places they will fly to when we parents are gone.
The way i see it, apocromatic refractors are really nice scopes, but the thing that hurts them the most is the fact that you need to shell out about $900 ~ $1700 for beautiful views. and tbh no new amateur astronomer is going to pay that amount for their first scope. dobs are among the best value with respectable views for their aperture sizes and this is why they are usually recommended
John Manthorpe An inexpensive refractor telescope is not going to render colors accurately. Galaxies nebulae and star clusters will be dim and blurry with a cheap refractor. The Dobsonian scope like he had on the table is a good choice.
@John Manthorpe It is his presentation and he has the right to choose what is in it. And I don't think that you or anyone else in their right mind honestly believes that dismissing a refractor over a reflector telescope is harmful to children.
Celestron Starsense. Any of them. The Starsense model is a "Push to". Your phone attaches to the telescope with a special mount and a special app. It is freakin amazing for learning the sky and finding objects when you are new to astronomy. Last night, in less than 5 minutes, I looked at Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Andromeda Galaxy, and 2 other star clusters. The app gives you a list of everything in the sky at that exact time and day. Click what you want to see, and then move the telescope and follow the arrows on the screen of your phone.
I have my Orion Starblaster 4.5 eq sitting in my room that I got two years ago and have been wanting to point it at stuff for some time now (damn you school work). He said that eq mounts aren't always the best thing but I have been making good purpose of it from the times that I have tried it out. I've seen someone look at jupiter with this thing lol. I can't wait to learn how to track planets and clusters and point it correctly.
