ROCKY'S TELESCOPE LIST
(Recommended Telescopes for the Beginning Amateur Astronomer)

I first made this list when a personal friend, Rocky, who had long been interested in owning an astronomical telescope, finally decided to take the plunge and purchase his first scope. Since I am no longer a telescope dealer myself, I simply did some research online at the manufacturers' web sites to see what models were currently available and filtered the result, based on my own experience, to create the list you will find below. Since there is no telescope dealer near where he lives, whatever scope Rocky eventually chose would probably have to be purchased online, anyway.

Most of the astronomical scopes touted specifically for the beginner are so limited in either quality or capability (or both) that they will quickly be abandoned or replaced. Such telescopes are a poor investment. If you are reading this article because you are ready to move up from such a scope, you know what I mean.

I have tried to pick reasonably versatile, yet portable, telescopes of the "intermediate" type that would fall within what I consider the medium price class. (Well, okay, Tele Vue scopes are high-priced, but the two listed below are the models they recommend for beginner/intermediate astronomers.) These are actually far better for the beginning or novice amateur astronomer than a department store telescope and offer between 70mm (2.8") and 150mm (6") of clear aperture. Rocky has plenty of storage space, so overall size was not a consideration, except as it affects portability. Like most of us, Rocky will have to take his telescope to a dark sky site to use it. If, for you, space is at a premium, you probably want to confine your selection to refractors no larger than 4" in aperture or catadioptric scopes no larger than 5".

Although Newtonian type reflectors usually give the most light grasp for the dollar spent, I recommend refractors or catadioptric scopes with closed optical tubes and I use them exclusively myself. They are much easier to care for and keep clean. In addition, they are easier to transport and do not need the constant collimation required by Newtonian reflectors. I knew that Rocky would be dissatisfied with a telescope that was poorly made, required constant maintenance, or did not give good optical performance. I therefore tried to stay with recognized and widely available brands that have been around for a while. In this case, Celestron, Meade, Stellarvue, Tele Vue and Orion. I also included a few used/discontinued telescopes that are a very good value if you can find one in good condition at a fair price. Obviously, earlier versions of all the telescopes listed below may be found on the used market at considerable savings.

Pay particular attention to the mount supplied with a telescope. The telescope and mount are a system that is only as good as its weakest link. Beginners tend to under-buy when it comes to mounts. They do not yet know that if a mount looks about right for a given telescope, it is probably too small. The mount must dominate the size and weight of the telescope if it is to provide a stable viewing platform. In this regard, Celestron's CG-4 German Equatorial Mount is the "gold standard" for small telescopes.

Computerized (often called "Go To") mounts are touted for beginners, but most of the more experienced astronomers I know don't have much use for them. They add a whole layer of complexity to what is often already a confusing hobby for the beginner and can be extremely frustrating to set-up and align. When they work correctly, the beginner doesn't learn the night sky nearly as fast as if he or she were "star-hopping" with a manual mount to locate objects in the night sky, thus denying them a major part of the enjoyment of amateur astronomy. While there are go-to mounted scopes on the list that follows for those who demand them, they are not my first recommendation.

Finally, I added some of the most common and necessary accessories, which I knew he would need almost immediately. The short list below is the result and, if you are contemplating purchasing your first telescope, I hope you find it helpful.