Choosing and Buying a Telescope

I have no interest in star gazing, but got totally engrossed in a book on constructing Dobsonian telescopes, leant to me by a friend. Essentially, a bunch of amateurs have used sound engineering principles to evolve a telescope design that holds the ...  

Good news, everyone! A new circulating collection of Dobsonian telescopes is now available. The Orion Starblast 4.5 Astro Reflector Telescope is an incredibly powerful yet fully accessible scientific instrument, recently described by one library patron as "The best telescope I've ever looked through." That is going to be true for most of us, so reserve your place in line now. This scope's particular strong points are viewing the moon...  

Big light-gulping aperture and simple intuitive operation give Orion's StarBlast 6i a strong edge among low-price Dobsonian telescopes for neo-astronomers. There are no motors to drive it but the "IntelliScope" computer helps you find targets.  

Low maintenance, excellent optical quality, a fine Go-To computer and the capability of daytime use for targets on Earth persuaded our reviewers to name Meade's StarNavigator 102 the best refracting telescope for beginners of 2012.  

How to Become a Planet HunterDiscovery NewsAnother cause of poor image quality is collimation, particularly in reflecting telescopes that use mirrors. Make sure the optics are all aligned properly and you can be sure you are getting the best out of your telescope. Venus is generally quite bland ...and more »  

NOLA.com (blog)Barataria Preserve visitors delighted by star-gazing eventNOLA.com (blog)By the end of the evening, most could point out Venus and Mars with ease and note the difference between refracting and reflecting telescopes. This zeal resulted in the program going over its allotted time, but LeCompte brushed off the thanks and ...