Was looking to purchase one (or ask for one as a birthday present), preferably around the $300 range, give or take.
Any suggestions?
Any suggestions?
Was looking to purchase one (or ask for one as a birthday present), preferably around the $300 range, give or take.
Any suggestions?
I bought one a couple of years ago hoping that the kids would get into it, but they have not been really excited about it yet. We now live a couple of hours from the only Dark Sky Reserve in the US and one of 13 in the world... Really hoping to get them more into it when we go out there this summer. I imagine it will be amazing vs the massive light pollution we experienced in TX.
I bought a Celestron Powerseeker 127EQ a couple of years ago based on the recommendation of the local astronomical club. It was just under $200 on Amazon. It was great for checking out the moon and the comet last summer, but I think the light in the city prohibited us from getting to much into other stuff.
This is a pic I apparently took through the eyepiece when I first bought it.
View attachment 19881
Spend enough on one to see Uranus.
Wow, that looks cool as hell. Amazon has that at $875 though?
Damnit man. I didn't realize that... It's backordered for 4-6 months everywhere. Amazon seller jacking up price.
You think the 130 eq would be good? Looks similar, says it includes “astronomy software package”, not sure exactly what that means.
It’s only $279, and it says it’s in stock.
The Astromaster 130EQ is basically a little nicer version of the 127EQ that I have. The "software" is just a CD. I have never used it. For $100 the difference in the Astromaster and Powerseeker isn't there for me. The only real differnces are a longer focal length on the Powerseeker (better for viewing planets and galaxies) and a better finderscope on the Astromaster.
If you want something quick, the Powerseeker is the best bang for the buck I found. People always say you either get into it or you don't. If you spend $300-500 on a telescope and peter out it's going to sting. If you spend $180 it's fine to use 2-3 times a year if you don't get into it... You will always break it out for celestial events like eclipses and comets. It also is nice to have as a second telescope if you go bigger down the road. We took mine out for the comet and the neighbors came over and everyone ended up fighting over it.
The guys at the astronomy club told me not to spend too much on your first telescope, because you will probably go $800-1000+ on the second one (that was before the StarSense came out.) If you get into computerized. And $1500 or more if you get into astrophotography.
I thought the StarSense really kinda fit the bill and was close enough to your budget. Sucks it's not available.
ETA. Pay attention to weight. The 127 EQ is 22lbs and I would not want to go any heavier. The are awkward to transport and some of those suckers are close to 40lbs.
I just stuck with what came with it. Seems fine to me... The reason the StarSense or a computerized telescope was in my radar is that it was a real turd for me to find stuff manually. I think that had a lot to do with the light pollution from the city though.
Also, if you live in a bigger city (I think you are in Nashville) use a dark skies map to find somewhere to go to get a better sky. It makes it a lot more fun. I took mine about an hour outside of the city (Dallas) once and it was a game changer.
View attachment 19882
Was looking to purchase one (or ask for one as a birthday present), preferably around the $300 range, give or take.
Any suggestions?
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