Telescopes, how much do you see, which one etc...
 

Im quite keen on getting a telescope for viewing the moon, stars, planets, (and the Enterprise), but am not sure what budget Id need to go to to get something reasonable that will give decent results.

Ive found these two:
Celestron Advanced Series C6 NGT

Meade ETX 90 EC

Anyone know anything about these two? and what sort of clarity and planets etc would I expect to see with them?

Basdically if anyone has images of planets or the moon they may have taken through one of these Id love to see them, it'll give me an idea of whether they will live up to expectation.

Also, can you just bascially set them up on your balcony or would you need to drive out to the country to see anything? Im not in a city, but am on the outskirts of a town.

Cheers
SSB

Download yourself this piece of software Stellarium

Stick in your lat & long co-ordinates and you will be able to see exactly what you would see if you looked up, the advantage being, it names everything, plus you can change the date and find the best viewing times & dates

I dont have a telescope but I do take shots of the moon occasionally but I only use the equivalent of 672mm

This is an example of one of those shots taken with a Digital SLR

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...mp/newmoon.jpg

I bought a copy of Focus magazine recently, all sorts of adverts in there for telescopes. There was one you type co-ordinates into to get to see what you want, didn't seem overly expensive for what it was either.



Or you could install this, and view you computer screen through an empty toilet roll tube for nothing :cool:

http://www.astronomike.net/en_recherche_rubrique_2_.html search for those telescopes on here, people have submitted photos they have taken. Although it is not really accurate it will give you an idea.

Different telescopes are better/worse for looking at particular stuff. Some are best for looking at the moon / planets (terrestrial objects), others are better for looking at nebula and other 'deep' space stuff but are cack for terrestrial objects.

You will also need to take into account the light polution you have, the calibration (some are a pain in the ass to set up) - here is a rough guide to pros and cons - Telescope for and Against Checklist Telescope Planet provide Celestron, skywatcher and Meade telescopes, etx telescopes and binoculars

and yeah there is the problem of knowing where certains things are up there!