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A good/cheap telescope for a beginner ?

Equipment Beginner First Telescope
10 replies•240 views
Ali Asheghi Oskooei avatar
Ali Asheghi Oskooei avatar
I don't really expect much like seeing Saturn as its near my windows, but i would love something that would help at least see it's ring and of course, something that I would be sure it's my un experienced self not being able to achieve a nice work rather than it's being telescope's fault.

I know I'm asking too much when I seek Quality and Cheap in the same place, forgive my manner please but unfortunately I'm an student and it's a little bit rough smile

I have done some researches and know that EQ is not really beginner friendly, however I believe I'm a fast learner, but still I'm not sure if it's something that takes a really long time to be ok with or it's really not that hard
Médéric Hébert avatar
Médéric Hébert avatar
A rough estimate of budget and intended used would be nice. What is expensive for one can be cheap for another person.
Patrik Malnar avatar
Patrik Malnar avatar
What is your budget? If you plan to use telescope for visual observation then I would recommend getting a Dobsonian telescope.
Tim Hawkes avatar
Tim Hawkes avatar
Everyone is biased of course – but I think that you get way more bang for your buck with Newtonian reflectors than anything else.   Skywatcher 130- 150 mm  that can go on a small equatorial mount a good starting setup maybe if you want to image — or as said above - a dobsonian for visual.
Aloke Palsikar avatar
Aloke Palsikar avatar
As everyone has mentioned above, would be good to get a sense of your approx. budget.  However from what you have mentioned you are looking for a proper telescope for Visual Astronomy and not Astrophotography.  Hence in that case you can look at 6-8 Inch Newtonian Reflector Telescopes on a manual mount which can help you look at Planets, some stars in some amount of detail. Using some good eye pieces and Barlows you can observe Rings of Saturn, Jupiter Spot , Lunar Surface and some other planets well.

A lot of  astronomy dedicated stores offer Used gear at good budget prices and some are available on sites like Ebay  as well.  However you may want to verify the source and condition of the gear before you buy !

Hope this helps !  Happy Star gazing !
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Ali Asheghi Oskooei avatar
Ali Asheghi Oskooei avatar
Médéric Hébert:
A rough estimate of budget and intended used would be nice. What is expensive for one can be cheap for another person.


Oh you are right, I'm very sorry forgot to mention budget, i guess I can do around 200$
and honestly mu intentions are to just explore space and see new visions, maybe some photos here and there
Ali Asheghi Oskooei avatar
Ali Asheghi Oskooei avatar
Aloke Palsikar:
As everyone has mentioned above, would be good to get a sense of your approx. budget.  However from what you have mentioned you are looking for a proper telescope for Visual Astronomy and not Astrophotography.  Hence in that case you can look at 6-8 Inch Newtonian Reflector Telescopes on a manual mount which can help you look at Planets, some stars in some amount of detail. Using some good eye pieces and Barlows you can observe Rings of Saturn, Jupiter Spot , Lunar Surface and some other planets well.

A lot of  astronomy dedicated stores offer Used gear at good budget prices and some are available on sites like Ebay  as well.  However you may want to verify the source and condition of the gear before you buy !

Hope this helps !  Happy Star gazing !


Thanks for the suggestion! my apologies for forgetting to mention budget, honestly I'm thinking about around 200$, and not really I don't think I will be taking photos, maybe a few here and there to have in memory album
Ali Asheghi Oskooei avatar
Ali Asheghi Oskooei avatar
Patrik Malnar:
What is your budget? If you plan to use telescope for visual observation then I would recommend getting a Dobsonian telescope.


I'm thinking about 200$ and honestly yeah for now I only want it for visual observation
Noah Tingey avatar
Noah Tingey avatar
For just visual observation of planets/the moon, the best bang for the buck is always a used dobsonian telescope. ("Dobsonian" is a type of telescope. It means a newtownian style telescope on a dobsonian style base). Get the biggest aperture you can find within your budget on the used market.
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bigCatAstro avatar
bigCatAstro avatar
As others have said, a used Newtonian or Dobsonian would give you the best return of investment for visual.  A Dob has the advantage since it has a base and doesn’t require an equatorial mount.
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Patrik Malnar avatar
Patrik Malnar avatar
You could go for used Dobsonian or a new table top dobsonian which you can find for around 100e to 150e. But be aware, it is a rabbits hole. You will quickly want to upgrade.