night sky crafts

should i buy celestron firstscope telescope?

i found a very good and cheap telescope on http://www.amazon.com/Celestron-21024-FirstScope-Telescope/dp/B001UQ6E4Y/ref=sr_1_11?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1303141509&sr=1-11
i am a first time telescope buyer but i have had experience with a “binocular like” thing used in engineering. i could see moon but not highly magnified.
i want to buy a telescope, so should i buy this one?
its cheap and most people give positive review.
can i view only this much – http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/customer-gallery/A1AZTSXH1QIY7S and nothing farther?
@GeoffG,
Sir,
what are the advantages of the telescope you recommended over the Celestron one I found?

For two dollars more, you can get the Orion version of this telescope which comes with a finder and better eyepieces:

http://www.telescope.com/FunScope-76mm-Tabletop-Reflector-Telescope/p/9766.uts?keyword=funscope

I have one of these, and its fun to play with a few times, better than anything else in this price range, but fundamentally limited by its small aperture and poor quality mirror. You’d be much better off spending a little more money; in this price range even a few dollars will give you significant improvements:

Orion GoScope 80mm refractor @ $100:

http://www.telescope.com/control/telescopes/refractor-telescopes/orion-goscope-80mm-tabletop-refractor-telescope

Orion SkyScanner 100mm reflector @ $100:

http://www.telescope.com/control/telescopes/dobsonian-telescopes/orion-skyscanner-100mm-tabletop-reflector-telescope

Bushnell Ares 5-inch @$160:

http://www.opticsplanet.net/bushnell-dob-5-compact-truss-tube-dobsonian-telescope-opticsplanet-edition.html

What makes all of these scopes stand out is their smooth solid Dobsonian-style mounts, as distinct from the wobbly tripod mounts on the competition. In this price range, slight differences in price make for major differences in quality, so concentrate on items towards the bottom of the list.

For just slightly more money you can get a 6-inch reflector on a true Dobsonian mount.

Here are a few web pages with good information on beginner’s telescopes:

http://www.gaherty.ca/tme/TME0702_Buying_a_Telescope.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/Telescopes/Dobsonian-Telescopes/pc/1/12.uts

http://www.skywatchertelescope.net/swtinc/product.php?class1=1&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).

[Edit]
> can i view only this much and nothing farther?

You can see the Moon, Venus’ phases, Jupiter’s 4 moons and maybe a belt or two, Saturn’s rings (very small), the Andromeda Galaxy, the Orion Nebula, the Pleiades Star Cluster, and a dozen or two other deep sky objects.

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