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“Starter” Telescope Recommendation?

-- | February 22, 2013

Question: I am 22 years of age and have suddenly wanted to engange in astronomy (after watching various Brian Cox programmes). I am keen on getting a telescope very soon and was wondering what a good ‘starter’ telescope [would be that] I could purchase. At present, I dont have a great deal to spend, so the cheaper the better really (good quality still). — Jamie

Answer: I will give you my usual recommendation when asked this question…consider buying a good pair of binoculars first. If you are just getting started in stargazing then using a telescope as that first step might be a bit disappointing and/or frustrating. Take a look at a Sky and Telescope article which describes binoculars for astronomy. There is lots of good advice in this article. If after looking over this information you have further questions let me know.

Jeff Mangum

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