[way OT] Telescopes for star gazing?

[der_kluge]

Ok, since Mars is so close, I was thinking about purchasing a nice telescope. Now, I obviously want to see Mars all nice and up close, but when Mars decides to go back to whence it came, I still want to use the telescope to see Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. Uranus would be nice, but I suspect that's pushing it a bit in terms of distance.

I could see myself paying as much as $500 for such a thing, because I figure I could get some pretty decent mileage out of it, it will be a good educational tool, and I know that spending $80 on one is a waste of money, since you can't see crap with one like that.

Two questions:
Is that sufficient enough to actually see those planets with, or does a telescope like that cost much more? I mean, I want to see Saturn's rings, and the red spot on Jupiter. I don't want a smudgy bright splotch.

Second question, anyone have any recommendations on what to look for? Particular brand, or level of magnification? I'm not particularly interested in all the GPS/motorized rotation stuff that some of them have. I don't need that level of sophistication. I just need to know which star is which, so I can find it in the viewfinder, and then look at it.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

 

[der_kluge]

For instance, I found this one, which seems like a pretty good one.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...=sr_1_19/104-4657241-6117546?v=glance&s=photo

 

[physicscarp]

Ah, I was wondering when a Mars topic would show up here. I don't know how many amatuer astronomers reside here, but I'll throw my two cents into the ring. To answer your questions..

1. Any telescope will allow you to see the planets, since your able to see them with your unaided eye. The better question is how much detail do you want to see. I wouldn't expect to see the polar ice caps on Mars with a $500 scope, but you can resolve it into a rather large fuzzy red disk. As for how well you can see the rings of Saturn or the Red Spot on Jupiter, well that depends on aperature size (see next answer).

2. Read this site. And then read it again.
Space.com Buying a Telescope

The biggest thing to remember from the whole site though, is this - in general, the bigger the opening on the front of your telescope (the aperature), the better the view. Magnification doesn't mean much if the telescope can't gather enough light. Unfortunately, bigger aperature means more money.

As for the scope you linked too, I'd suggest keep looking for a while. While it is a Meade, and they tend to be pretty solid quality, it only has a 60 mm (2 inch) apearture. The apearture size on my $35 dollar binoculars I purchased at Kmart is 50 mm.

The best thing to do is find local astronomy clubs or amatuer astronomers. They love to have the public come to their meetings (all geeks like to talk about their hobbies, including ENWorld posters! ) and they will most likely have scopes set up for you to look through. If you can't find any clubs in your area, check out a local university's astronomy/physics department. Hope this helps and you get a chance to do some viewing, because there's nothing like it.

Carp

 

[der_kluge]

Thanks, Carp.

This is the one I ordered:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t..._sbs_p_1/104-4657241-6117546?v=glance&s=photo

Incidentally, there are only 5 left in stock! I decided to have a "star gazing" party this Friday, so I went ahead and had them ship it next day (it wasn't that much more), considering I figured I wouldn't be able to find it locally for as good a price, and even if I did, the tax would have been at least that much, if not more. So, it will be here tomorrow. Hopefully, I can get it set up, and figure out how to use it by Friday, so my friends can drop by for some Mars viewing.

 

[cildarith]

This is the scope I've been using for the last four years. It's a little more than you're willing to spend, but in general a minimum aperture of 150 mm (6") is generally required for consistently good views of the stars and planets.


http://www.parksoptical.com/astrolight.htm#1

You should be able to find a 150-mm scope for $500.00, though.

http://www.scopecity.com/lxd55n.htm

This gets a little closer to your price range.

http://www.telescope.com/jump.jsp?itemID=374&itemType=PRODUCT&path=1,2,4,8&KickerID=243&KICKER

And this is well within your price range.

Hope that helps.

 

[eryndel]

I have a 4.5" aperture scope at home (Meade 4504) and I do generally well on skywatching. Saturn's rings come in just fine, though I don't think I can get Jupiters red spot. I tried looking at Mars just recently but there was too much upper level particulates to get a good image.

I also help run the local college's Astronomy viewing and we have a 6" and a 9" scope there. Again the rings of Saturn aren't a problem when Saturn is cooperating and I can usually discern some banding of Jupiter with the 9" but I haven't seen the spot. That might be due to Jupiter's position more than the scope quality.

Hope this helps,

Werner

 

[cildarith]

The "Great Red Spot" on Jupiter has been kind of difficult to see, in recent years, mainly because it is more of a pale pink spot. If and when it darkens up again it should be easier to see.

Edit - Knowing when to look can also help in spotting the Spot:

http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/planets/article_107_1.asp