The thing that you have to remember is that you are looking near the bottom of the barrel when it comes to telescopes. You aren`t going to get anything very good at that price.
I might note that any refractor will cost a fair bit more than a reflector because the prices of the glass is a lot higher than any pyrex costs.
I`vw found that those who get a big enough scope the first time around which can see the wider fields of view tend to be a lot happier about astronomy. Most of the objects of the Messier variety and so forth are most visible in scopes that provide 20-100 power. Also, any power over about 2x the aperture (in mm) of the scope generally is wasted magnification as the physics of a scope make that as the point where the image is showing it`s max resolution - this thing called an Airy Disc is produced by the physics of the scope and that magnification is where you start seeing the disc rather than an image. As a result, magnification of 375x is pure nonsense with a 60mm scope as it`s looking at nothing but balls of light due to the physics of the telescope with rings around them at that power. More aperture is what you need for better views as this not only gives more light but also allows for higher powers.

• RE: RE: One more question - comet61 - October 18, 2000 - 23:44 UTC
  • RE: RE: RE: One more question - mike oconnor - October 20, 2000 - 18:30 UTC
    • RE: RE: RE: RE: One more question - mike oconnor - October 20, 2000 - 18:51 UTC