hi everybody pls help. newbie to telescope.
hi everybody pls help. newbie to telescope.
hi everybody. my name is jia siang. im 24 years old. i started to read astronomy books since i was little and i like it very much. i did not think about owning a telescope until last week when i went to eat sakura at science center and i came upon a shop there selling telescope. my passion fired up again. i would like to know is the shop at science center a good place to buy telescope? sorry everybody, im quite new to telescope so can someone advice me on which telescope i can start on with beginners? i quite like the refractor type like its old school telescope. i wanna see the planet mars very clearly. sorry if this is a stupid ques... im new to telescope. pls help thanks alot.
Welcome!
No question is ever stupid or else we will still be living in the stone age!
Like all newbies will be advised, read the FAQs and come to our observation sessions and try out all the various scopes including binoculars to help you understand and decide which is best for your needs.
No question is ever stupid or else we will still be living in the stone age!
Like all newbies will be advised, read the FAQs and come to our observation sessions and try out all the various scopes including binoculars to help you understand and decide which is best for your needs.
Last edited by 10,000rpm on Mon Jun 07, 2010 11:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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weixing
- Super Moderator
- Posts: 4708
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Hi,
Welcome to SingAstro!
Make sure you do your research first before buying anything. Remember if you don't drive, portability will be importance. Also, as what 10,000rpm suggest, join some observation session first to look through and look at others telescope setup. Please note that telescope look small on paper, but actually might be bigger, bulkier and heavier than you think.
Good luck and have a nice day.
Welcome to SingAstro!
Make sure you do your research first before buying anything. Remember if you don't drive, portability will be importance. Also, as what 10,000rpm suggest, join some observation session first to look through and look at others telescope setup. Please note that telescope look small on paper, but actually might be bigger, bulkier and heavier than you think.
Good luck and have a nice day.
Yang Weixing
"The universe is composed mainly of hydrogen and ignorance."
"The universe is composed mainly of hydrogen and ignorance." 
Hi Jia Siang,
Welcome to Singastro forum and it is good to hear that you have passion for the night skies since such a tender age. As much as you are interested in getting a telescope, I would seriously caution you against making such a quick decision. Getting a good scope is only getting half the job done, good in depth knowledge of the night skies and superior observational techniques are still required to enable you to enjoy this hobby. For Mars, even in a 4 inch telescope, without proper training and techniques, it would be nothing more than a featureless orange disc. Before getting a scope, ask yourself how much of the night skies do you know. How many constellations can you identify? Do you know how to read a star map? How do you do star hopping? As for the logistics and technicals. You got to ask yourself how do you want to transport it and where to store it. These are just some considerations that you have to factor in before getting a scope.
Wow... this may sound intimidating, but hey... it is not rocket science. Our forumites frequently conduct group observations, thus keep a look out for observation sessions posted under the events section and join one. You can easily pick up skills and knowledges through these easy, informal interactions. They can also answer most of your enquiries and provide some pointers to make your endeavours into this hobby less ardous. If you stay in the east, there are frequent sessions held at the ECP carpark C4/D1 and there are also sessions held at the marina barrage.
If you really wish t get your hands onto any equipment; for the time being, try getting a cheap pair of bino instead. A 7X50 would come in handy, while 10X50 would give more magnification, but more heavy to handle
Welcome to Singastro forum and it is good to hear that you have passion for the night skies since such a tender age. As much as you are interested in getting a telescope, I would seriously caution you against making such a quick decision. Getting a good scope is only getting half the job done, good in depth knowledge of the night skies and superior observational techniques are still required to enable you to enjoy this hobby. For Mars, even in a 4 inch telescope, without proper training and techniques, it would be nothing more than a featureless orange disc. Before getting a scope, ask yourself how much of the night skies do you know. How many constellations can you identify? Do you know how to read a star map? How do you do star hopping? As for the logistics and technicals. You got to ask yourself how do you want to transport it and where to store it. These are just some considerations that you have to factor in before getting a scope.
Wow... this may sound intimidating, but hey... it is not rocket science. Our forumites frequently conduct group observations, thus keep a look out for observation sessions posted under the events section and join one. You can easily pick up skills and knowledges through these easy, informal interactions. They can also answer most of your enquiries and provide some pointers to make your endeavours into this hobby less ardous. If you stay in the east, there are frequent sessions held at the ECP carpark C4/D1 and there are also sessions held at the marina barrage.
If you really wish t get your hands onto any equipment; for the time being, try getting a cheap pair of bino instead. A 7X50 would come in handy, while 10X50 would give more magnification, but more heavy to handle
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timatworksg
- Posts: 767
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Welcome jia siang!
Yes! Every question is never a stupid or crazy one. If so, it wouldn't be a question would it?
As 10.000rpm has already mentioned, take your time to read up as much as you can here. And do try to visit one of the Ob sessions. Doesn't matter if the skies aren't to clear, as nothing beats a good face to face interaction where lots of different experiences and passions, can help you decide what you can start with. This is, and can be, very costly, but with some patience, forethought and case history it will help you feel more at ease in your decision!
In the end, HAVE FUN!!!
Yes! Every question is never a stupid or crazy one. If so, it wouldn't be a question would it?
As 10.000rpm has already mentioned, take your time to read up as much as you can here. And do try to visit one of the Ob sessions. Doesn't matter if the skies aren't to clear, as nothing beats a good face to face interaction where lots of different experiences and passions, can help you decide what you can start with. This is, and can be, very costly, but with some patience, forethought and case history it will help you feel more at ease in your decision!
In the end, HAVE FUN!!!
My wife never complained about how much time, effort & money I spent on my Astronomy hobby!................suddenly I met her!!!
Welcome Jia Siang. Borrow and read this book from national library --> Star Ware : the amateur astronomer's ultimate guide to choosing, buying and using telescopes and accessories. Or you can read/buy it at Borders/Kinokuniya. Go to the observations and events section of this forum to find out when is the next observation session and try to attend as many as possible.
plan to get a bino
hi ok now i plan to get a bino first. can anyone suggest whether a pair of bino is good enough to see mars? my bugget is s$800.bino is not as big and heavy as telescope and somemore i dont drive.. the place where i live in jurong doesn,t have stars to see either. i think its because of the light pollution.
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orly_andico
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weixing
- Super Moderator
- Posts: 4708
- Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2003 12:22 am
- Favourite scope: Vixen R200SS & Celestron 6" F5 Achro Refractor
- Location: (Tampines) Earth of Solar System in Orion Arm of Milky Way Galaxy in Local Group Galaxies Cluster
Re: plan to get a bino
Hi,
Anyway, depend on the aperture of the bino, some bino setup (include tripod and mount head) can be as heavy and as bulky as a small telescope. If you looking for hand holdable bino (50mm aperture or smaller), most good one will cost less than S$500, such as Nikon 8x42 and 10x42 Monarch bino.
Happy shopping and have a nice day.
You can see Mars using naked eye, but if you want to see it clearly, you either wait until Mars is closer or you use very high magnification on a big telescope at a super good seeing night.jia siang wrote:hi ok now i plan to get a bino first. can anyone suggest whether a pair of bino is good enough to see mars? my bugget is s$800.bino is not as big and heavy as telescope and somemore i dont drive.. the place where i live in jurong doesn,t have stars to see either. i think its because of the light pollution.
Anyway, depend on the aperture of the bino, some bino setup (include tripod and mount head) can be as heavy and as bulky as a small telescope. If you looking for hand holdable bino (50mm aperture or smaller), most good one will cost less than S$500, such as Nikon 8x42 and 10x42 Monarch bino.
Happy shopping and have a nice day.
Yang Weixing
"The universe is composed mainly of hydrogen and ignorance."
"The universe is composed mainly of hydrogen and ignorance." hi any recomendations for a mount on Galileoscope?
yo there. thanks for all the advice so far. i have settled my mind on the Galileoscope on astrobargains website. so do i need a mount on that? without a mount, means using my hands, will i have difficult tracking objects in sky?