<p>There are many aspects that should be considered, but a few very important ones are:</p>

<ul>
<li><p><strong>New or secondhand?</strong> With your budget, buying a new telescope will only get you so far. But if you try to look into secondhand products, you might be able to find something more advanced—well-kept telescopes last years. Of course, you must be careful with whom you are buying it from, and make sure to try it before buying as well as asking about the last time the mirror was cleaned, what eyepieces are included, etc.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Dobson or not?</strong> There are many upsides to having a Dobson-type telescope: you get a much larger mirror for the same price, it's easy to set up and maintain... However, it does take more room than other telescopes, and you will have to do more maneuvers to aim and track things with it.</p></li>
<li><p>On the same vein, <strong>does size matter?</strong> If you are looking for the most compact and lightweight telescope possible? If yes, that will have an impact on the kind of telescope you should buy: maybe you will want a Maksutov instead of a Newton, maybe you will want a tripod mount because it can fold and takes the least room.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>What do you want to see?</strong> As StephenG said earlier, it is important to know your expectations as for what you want to observe with your telescope. If you live in an urban environment and/or are unable to go to spots free of light pollution, that severely limits your possibilities to (mainly) planets and the Moon. To that effect, you might be more interested in a telescope with a bit more focal length. If you are indeed able to go to spots free of light pollution, then you probably want to maximize the diameter of your mirror, because if you get a mirror that is 20% larger, you will get 44% more light.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Some other questions that may influence your choice are: is this a long-term investment or are you looking into making an upgrade in the next few years? Do you want to try astrophotography? How much time are you willing to take to set up your telescope before observations? Do you enjoy using a sky atlas to find the exact object you are looking for? Etc.</p>

<p>To give you an example, I was a similar situation a few years ago. I had a budget of $400, and I wanted a telescope for visual observation only. Because I had access to good observation spots and size was not an issue, buying a Dobson was an easy choice. I joined an astronomy club and a member was going to upgrade his own Dobson (<a href="https://www.astroshop.eu/gso-dobson-telescope-n-250-1250-dob/p,6680" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.astroshop.eu/gso-dobson-telescope-n-250-1250-dob/p,6680</a>) to a bigger one, so I was able to test it and buy it secondhand knowing exactly what I was getting.</p>

<p>You should also have in mind the fact that a telescope will often require a few accessories (eyepieces, filters,...) that you might need from day one, so do look at what is included with the telescope you buy, as good eyepieces are things you can keep with your next telescopes, and bad accessories can affect the quality of your observations.</p>

<p>Astronomicably,</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-31T06:34:56.647Z
2018-01-31T06:34:56.647Z
Romain P.
<p>I'm new to astronomy and I have a Celestron 50Z but I'm thinking of buying a better telescope. 
I see that there are many options out there but I'm not really sure as to which aspects I should consider that make a good telescope.</p>

<p>Can anyone point me to the right direction? If you ask how much I'm willing to pay, I'd say up to US $300.</p>

<p>Any suggestions not just on telescopes but as I said, things I should be considering which make a good telescope worth buying.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-31T03:27:10.577Z
I'd start by reading [What Can I See With a Telescope](http://www.deepskywatch.com/Articles/what-can-i-see-through-telescope.html) which is a good article to get a feel for what is needed to see what and managing expectations for beginners.
StephenG - Help Ukraine
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-31T14:32:38.647Z
Possible duplicate of [A good telescope for the viewing of Nebulae, Stars and Planets](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/2193/a-good-telescope-for-the-viewing-of-nebulae-stars-and-planets)
zephyr
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-31T17:42:26.877Z
I live in an urban area so considering that from what I read is I can't see much more then planets correct? 
in that case what would be a telescope that I would be able to see saturn with sharp images, details(of course wihtin this context of amatour ones)
Diego
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-31T19:15:14.470Z
You can see all Messier objects from the city in a small scope, but yes they don't look very spectacular due to light pollution. The planets, the Moon, the Sun (with the appropriate full aperture filter) are all easy to see from the city. Some folks find double stars interesting to look at, and that's very doable with a small scope.
Florin Andrei
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-31T19:20:05.250Z
Your budget is below the price for an 8" dobsonian, which is not a bad place to start. Look into a 6" dobsonian such as Orion SkyQuest XT6. Or a table-top newtonian like Orion StarBlast 6. Finally Maksutov systems provide an excellent performance/price ratio - see Orion StarMax 90mm. Stay away from scopes sitting on tripods; a good tripod alone would consume your whole budget. Spend a year or two doing pure visual astronomy. Consider astrophotography only after that (it's much, MUCH more expensive than plain visual).
Florin Andrei
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-31T19:30:13.740Z
ok but for a scenario like this one, what are the things one must consider when choosing one x another model?
For example mirror, 6" x 8". why one is better then the other
focal length. what you should consider when choosing one versus other options. these types of things is what I'm looking for
Diego
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-31T20:29:16.643Z
@Diego There's a lot to discuss and I'm not sure SE is the best forum for that. See the answer I wrote a while ago, linked in one of the previous comments by someone else.
Florin Andrei
<telescope>
Thinking of buying a new telescope. What aspects should be considered?
Diego
# Thinking of buying a new telescope. What aspects should be considered?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-01-31)

I'm new to astronomy and I have a Celestron 50Z but I'm thinking of buying a better telescope.
I see that there are many options out there but I'm not really sure as to which aspects I should consider that make a good telescope.

Can anyone point me to the right direction? If you ask how much I'm willing to pay, I'd say up to US $300.

Any suggestions not just on telescopes but as I said, things I should be considering which make a good telescope worth buying.

**Tags:** telescope
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I'd start by reading [What Can I See With a Telescope](http://www.deepskywatch.com/Articles/what-can-i-see-through-telescope.html) which is a good article to get a feel for what is needed to see what and managing expectations for beginners.  
> **username_2**: Possible duplicate of [A good telescope for the viewing of Nebulae, Stars and Planets](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/2193/a-good-telescope-for-the-viewing-of-nebulae-stars-and-planets)  
> **username_0**: I live in an urban area so considering that from what I read is I can't see much more then planets correct?  in that case what would be a telescope that I would be able to see saturn with sharp images, details(of course wihtin this context of amatour ones)  
> **username_3**: You can see all Messier objects from the city in a small scope, but yes they don't look very spectacular due to light pollution. The planets, the Moon, the Sun (with the appropriate full aperture filter) are all easy to see from the city. Some folks find double stars interesting to look at, and that's very doable with a small scope.  
> **username_3**: Your budget is below the price for an 8" dobsonian, which is not a bad place to start. Look into a 6" dobsonian such as Orion SkyQuest XT6. Or a table-top newtonian like Orion StarBlast 6. Finally Maksutov systems provide an excellent performance/price ratio - see Orion StarMax 90mm. Stay away from scopes sitting on tripods; a good tripod alone would consume your whole budget. Spend a year or two doing pure visual astronomy. Consider astrophotography only after that (it's much, MUCH more expensive than plain visual).  
> **username_0**: ok but for a scenario like this one, what are the things one must consider when choosing one x another model? For example mirror, 6" x 8". why one is better then the other focal length. what you should consider when choosing one versus other options. these types of things is what I'm looking for  
> **username_3**: @Diego There's a lot to discuss and I'm not sure SE is the best forum for that. See the answer I wrote a while ago, linked in one of the previous comments by someone else.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2018-01-31. Score: 3

There are many aspects that should be considered, but a few very important ones are:

* **New or secondhand?** With your budget, buying a new telescope will only get you so far. But if you try to look into secondhand products, you might be able to find something more advanced—well-kept telescopes last years. Of course, you must be careful with whom you are buying it from, and make sure to try it before buying as well as asking about the last time the mirror was cleaned, what eyepieces are included, etc.
* **Dobson or not?** There are many upsides to having a Dobson-type telescope: you get a much larger mirror for the same price, it's easy to set up and maintain... However, it does take more room than other telescopes, and you will have to do more maneuvers to aim and track things with it.
* On the same vein, **does size matter?** If you are looking for the most compact and lightweight telescope possible? If yes, that will have an impact on the kind of telescope you should buy: maybe you will want a Maksutov instead of a Newton, maybe you will want a tripod mount because it can fold and takes the least room.
* **What do you want to see?** As StephenG said earlier, it is important to know your expectations as for what you want to observe with your telescope. If you live in an urban environment and/or are unable to go to spots free of light pollution, that severely limits your possibilities to (mainly) planets and the Moon. To that effect, you might be more interested in a telescope with a bit more focal length. If you are indeed able to go to spots free of light pollution, then you probably want to maximize the diameter of your mirror, because if you get a mirror that is 20% larger, you will get 44% more light.

Some other questions that may influence your choice are: is this a long-term investment or are you looking into making an upgrade in the next few years? Do you want to try astrophotography? How much time are you willing to take to set up your telescope before observations? Do you enjoy using a sky atlas to find the exact object you are looking for? Etc.

To give you an example, I was a similar situation a few years ago. I had a budget of $400, and I wanted a telescope for visual observation only. Because I had access to good observation spots and size was not an issue, buying a Dobson was an easy choice. I joined an astronomy club and a member was going to upgrade his own Dobson (<https://www.astroshop.eu/gso-dobson-telescope-n-250-1250-dob/p,6680>) to a bigger one, so I was able to test it and buy it secondhand knowing exactly what I was getting.

You should also have in mind the fact that a telescope will often require a few accessories (eyepieces, filters,...) that you might need from day one, so do look at what is included with the telescope you buy, as good eyepieces are things you can keep with your next telescopes, and bad accessories can affect the quality of your observations.

Astronomicably,


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