Hello, need help choosing telescope!!

Thanks for all the replies. I think im going to have to shelve the telescope for a while unfortunately. Small car, small apartment!

I might go for a nice pair of compact binoculars instead. Any suggestions for around the €300 mark?

Conor,
since the last reply to you, Lidl have come up trumps again with their seasonal astronmical accessories coming in next week.

Thread about it here:
www.irishastronomy.org/boards/viewtopic.php?t=7498

Lidl website showing what's coming here:
www.lidl.ie/ie/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20071210.index

There are 2 bino's availabne, plus a neat little refractor (the Skylux) for €70 which many of us on these boards already have. Why not have a look there?

Seanie.

Cool,I live near a lidl. Thanks Seanie.

What is best in binoculars? Apeture or magnification??

What is best in binoculars? Apeture or magnification??

They are related somewhat when choosing a pair Conor. For a quick lesson, taking e.g. 10 X 50's:

10 is the magnification offered by the objective (front, light-gathering) lens in conjunction with the eyepiece lens (where you put your eye on the binos). Some binos offer a magnification range, which is just an adjustment of the distance of the eyepiece lenses (eye cups) from the objectives.

50 is the diameter of the objective lens. The larger this number, the larger the field of view when seen by the eyes.

So, 10 X 50's offer the same magnification, but a slightly larger field of view when looking at stars as opposed to 10 X 40's.

Then again, 12 X 40's offer a higher magnification but smaller field of view than the 10 X 50's.

It does start to sound confusing after a while, but a recommended 'smallest' size for astronomy is 10 X 50's, which is what the Bressers in Lidl are.

If you could afford 20 X 100's, you're like having a small stereo telescope! They would be cool...

Seanie.

Was hoping to get a pair I could use for wildlife spotting, messing about with,hiding in bushes outside peoples houses too. :oops:

So the front number is the magnification eh?? Good to know. That night vision scope sounds cool, but cant really think of a practical use for it.

Before i give up entirely, Ive been reading through some old posts and guides on other websites.

Maybe I'm looking at this from the wrong angle. Do I even need a Dob? Tight for space in the car and apartment, I would be mad to get a big thing like that.

I would like to look at the planets and probably the stars (havent done much of that because my od scope was rubbish), what type of telescope would be best for that? One that is portable,like a newtonian one?

Edit: Just found a great guide on telescope-service.de and thought this line was great

Rule 3: It's a hobby we're talking about! So don't make the decision too hard on yourself!

Exactly what i was doing. Think I might look into these newtonians until im rich and have a big place.