Astronomy Buffs - What Do You Think About This Telescope?
 

http://www.celestron.com/browse-shop...ized-telescope

My daughter has taken a real interest in astronomy and has a particular fascination with Mars. Is the above a 'scope a good one, particularly for viewing Mars?

Thanks for any advice.

11 inch SCT? Uhhh.... yeah thats a really good one. I'm not sure how newbie-friendly it is since I don't have experience working with beginners and I just know what worked for me, but I've been at this for 3 years, and the next step up for me when I can justify the expense would probably be something similar to that scope.

Obviously the safest option and the standard "correct" advice given to all beginners is to find some kind of local astronomy club so you can get a chance to use several different telescopes and find out what you are actually going to be able to see with them before buying your own. Thats really the best way to see what you would be interested in before spending money. Also sometimes people don't realize what they are actually going to be able to see with their smaller telescope vs images from a huge observatory, and its hard to describe it to manage expectations, you just have to see it yourself and decide if you are still into the hobby given the scopes you can afford.

That said, if money is not an issue and you don't mind taking a loss by re-selling it used to somebody else if she decides she's just not into it anymore after a year, then this looks good to me. The only things I would add are 1 or 2 more eyepieces (it comes with a 40mm, maybe you'll want a 20mm or 15mm to really zoom in on the planet). You may also need a power supply for the tech it comes with (not necessary), and of course some star charts.

I like astronomy. The problem with looking through a telescope is that the Earth is spinning constantly and you have to keep moving the telescope. I had to give up. Oh yeah, and tree branches are a bitch. They can block out a whole universe.

I like it. But I am keeping mine for now.

hah, a step up from this scope would be something with a motorized equatorial mount that you can hook up to a battery to slowly move the scope for you to keep whatever you are looking at in centered in your view. Thats obviously more money, and its necessary if you ever want to take photos.

Celestron I hear is good and not near the cost of Meade. However, I have been told that the larger the aperture the more things like atmospheric anomalies you will see. Such as heat waves and what not. I was looking at getting this very scope until someone who claims to be in the know said to make sure I use it in high elevations. Take it FWIW

How old is the daughter?

Paging Dave Lane.....Paging Dave Lane. Phone call for Dave Lane.

This.

From my relatively uninformed perspective, $3k is a shit ton to spend on a first telescope, but it'd certainly do the trick if it's inside your price range.

It's a tarp!

Thanks everyone. I might scale it back a bit, I suppose.

Ship it to me and I'll let you know how well it works.

I use to love my telescope but then I moved into the city. Light pollution killed it for me. Someday I will get back out in the country to live and get another one.

PM me if you want some ideas Donger.

PS its a decent scope but might be frustrating starting out. Maybe the 8" version would be a better starter scope. To pull anything useful out of Mars though the 11" with a barlow (magnifier) will probably be needed. So there is a trade off to consider.