Send your email comments to ngcview@rainman-soft.com.This section of NGCView's website is dedicated to helping you enjoy the hobby. If you have any suggestions for improving this section, or wish to contribute your own information, please use our feedback form.
These are only suggestions, and should be taken with a grain of salt. Please feel free to send us your comments and suggestions.
Some would recommend purchasing a telescope to meet your current needs, and trading up as needed. If you are just starting, you might find the following progression helpful:
While we do not endorse a particular brand or make, we strongly encourage you to explore the pages of astronomy magazines like "Sky and Telescope" and "Astronomy" to familiarize yourself with both the mainstream and lesser known manufacturers. The brands you see in department stores represent an extremely small sample of the products that are available. You can participate in the discussions at news groups like sci.astro.amateur to get a feel for a manufacturer's quality, reliability, time to deliver and service after the sale. You certainly won't find a lack of opinions!
This point cannot be emphasized enough: join a local astronomy club and look through other people's telescopes before purchasing your own!
Binoculars are typically specified by two numbers like 7 x 50. The first number is the magnification and the second number is the diameter of the primary lens in millimeters. Beginners will want to start with a magnification between 7 and 10 since these can be held by hand without too much jitter. Diameters of 50-80 mm can also be hand held. Cheap binoculars are only suitable for day use, as they lack corrected optics which prevent distortions away from the center of field. They also tend to have small exit pupils resulting in light loss. You should probably stick to astronomy vendors when buying a pair of binoculars, and pay attention to the eye relief if you wear glasses for astigmatism.
Telescopes also use a two number system, but they represent different metrics. The first number is usually the diameter of the main mirror or lens, and is typically in inches until the diameter is below 3 inches, when it switches to millimeters. The second number represents the focal ratio: the focal length of the primary mirror or lens divided by the diameter. For a given eyepiece, a longer f-ration will result in a smaller field of view but a higher magnification. Beginners typically want to stay below f8.
Whether you are purchasing binoculars or a telescope, the diameter gives an indication of the light grasp (how well you will see dim objects) and the focal length / magnification will impact the magnification / field of view. Beginners should put more emphasis on light grasp and less on magnification. A small diameter telescope with a high f-ratio is no fun for a beginner.
A child's zeal for astronomy can be easily squelched with a difficult to operate telescope with poor light grasp or optics. Expect to pay at least $250 on a telescope. If that is beyond your budget, join an astronomy club and use other people's scopes or a club 'loaner'. If that isn't possible, a good pair of binoculars would probably be a better choice than a cheap 80mm f15 refractor.
If you plan to do visual astronomy only, consider a Dobsonian or Alt-Az mount. They are easier to use, cheaper and usually more stable than a comparable size equatorial mount. These mounts are also very easy to setup and don't require any polar alignment or assembly. The downside is that they don't automatically track the heavens, so you will have to manually nudge the telescope along to match earth's rotation, and this is why they are unsuitable for astrophotography or CCD. These mounts can also be ideal for children because the eyepiece is often low enough to reach without a stool.
Equatorial mounts are usually heavier, bigger and considerably more expensive than a comparable Dobsonian mount. They can take quite a while to setup and polar align, however they are a must for CCD or astrophotography.
You don't need a ton of eyepieces, especially if you are beginning. Quality and not quantity is important. You will pay more for wide field eyepieces, however, they make it easier to locate objects and provide some beautiful vistas, especially the ultra wide field eyepieces. Avoid non standard eyepiece barrel sizes: stick to 1 and 2 inch eyepiece barrel sizes. If you wear glasses and have astigmatism, you want eyepieces that have long eye relief (>12mm). Don't confuse the eyepiece relief with the focal length. If you can only afford one good eyepiece, lean toward a focal length of 14-32mm. Don't fall into the 'magnification' trap. While shorter focal length eyepieces will increase the magnification, they also decrease your field of view and reduce contrast.
Highly recommended: Telrad Finder. The Telrad is in a family of finders know as "zero power" finders. They do not magnify or increase your light grasp, but they do make it very easy for you to align your telescope relative to anything you can see with your naked eye.
Send your email comments to ngcview@rainman-soft.com.