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as a general rule of thumb if you can buy it at a department or electronics store its usually not a great scope. i would say the exception i've seen is fry's electronics sometimes has the celestron nexstar SCT's but they will carry hefty price tags.

what is your experience with astronomy and telescopes? that cheap newt will work ok but i would fear the mount alone will not be very good considering the cost of the scope and if you don't know/want to setup an EQ mount the right way (polar aligining it) it will be a real pain to maneuver around to objects.

just last night actually at our local club's star party in the city we had someone bring a bushnell refractor on an EQ mount out because they could not figure out how to use it and get the finder aligned with the scope. a number of us did our best to try and figure out the mount for a while and gave up on that because its cheap fortunately it was adjustable to alt az so we set it up that way. then we tried to get it to focus on something to align the finder and found that it needed and extension tube or something they were missing to get anything to focus in the thing. now i'm not saying that celestron newt will be that bad but i would not expect it to be a great telescope and you'll end up replacing it or giving up on the hobby if it does give you problems.

my suggestion would be to get a dob, even a small tabletop dob if you want to get really cheap. the advantages of them are no complicated setups just align the red dot sight with the scope then start pointing it at stuff and your off and running no fuss. the larger dobs like 6" and 8" ones are just as simple but require more space and money but will easily outperform anything in their price range.

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With a focal length of 1000mm (40") and a tube length of 26" this must be one of those designs with a built in barlow in the focuser. I would NOT recommend it.

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With a focal length of 1000mm (40") and a tube length of 26" this must be one of those designs with a built in barlow in the focuser. I would NOT recommend it.

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I'm really not considering the purchase of this, as much as I'm just on a fact finding mission. Can you explain why that focal length is concerning to you?

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its not the focal length that is the problem. its the fact that it has that long of a focal length yet the tube is only 26" long (660mm) what this tells us is that its using a barlow to increase the focal length of the telescope and that sort of design is common with small cheap reflectors and it performs horribly.

if it truly was a 1000mm FL newtonian then the length of the tube would be in the area of 42-46" long.

Celestron's bottom of the line scopes you often find in stores are often not the greatest telescope you can buy for your money. some people will sware by certain models though YMMV.

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With a focal length of 1000mm (40") and a tube length of 26" this must be one of those designs with a built in barlow in the focuser. I would NOT recommend it.

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I'm really not considering the purchase of this, as much as I'm just on a fact finding mission. Can you explain why that focal length is concerning to you?

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its not the focal length that is the problem. its the fact that it has that long of a focal length yet the tube is only 26" long (660mm) what this tells us is that its using a barlow to increase the focal length of the telescope and that sort of design is common with small cheap reflectors and it performs horribly.

if it truly was a 1000mm FL newtonian then the length of the tube would be in the area of 42-46" long.

Celestron's bottom of the line scopes you often find in stores are often not the greatest telescope you can buy for your money. some people will sware by certain models though YMMV.

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Ok, thanks for the explanation. I gotta say, for a beginner to find a decent starter scope, this is one overwhelming task to get educated on it.

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Look for a used telescope nearby. There's a 8-inch SkyWatcher for $200 not far from me. You will often get better value getting used equipment or eyepieces.

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Are you within range of a local astronomy club? If so, drop in on them and try out some scopes. Many clubs also have loaner scopes for newcomers, and all of them can offer good advice. Plus you might find a good used scope deal among the members as well.

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Exactly.
Most clubs do public outreach, and a good part of their purpose is to meet new folks.

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Now I find out that the noobs have to feed the oldtimers too? That just ain't right!

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Don't worry they are fed before going out.

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Ok, for a beginner, I'm wondering what the thougths are on this scope.
Aperture is king, so with this being a 5" aperture, wouldn't this be a real nice starting scope? This seems kinda cheap, yet the 5" aperture seems pretty attractive. So, if this is one to stay away from what would be the reasons?
Thanks for the wealth of information, you guys are helping me a lot!!

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Celestron+-+PowerSeeker+1000mm+Newtonian+Reflecto...

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Ok, for a beginner, I'm wondering what the thougths are on this scope.
Aperture is king, so with this being a 5" aperture, wouldn't this be a real nice starting scope? This seems kinda cheap, yet the 5" aperture seems pretty attractive. So, if this is one to stay away from what would be the reasons?
Thanks for the wealth of information, you guys are helping me a lot!!

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Celestron+-+PowerSeeker+1000mm+Newtonian+Reflecto...

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I'll throw some snacks in my pocket.......just in case.

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That just means the bear will chase you first...

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Haas, that's too much for that scope. Keep looking - i see much better deals all the time. Hold out for a 6" or 8" dob. I typically see 4.5 " dob's go for less than $100, and 6" & 8" dob's going between $150 - $250.

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Haas, that's too much for that scope. Keep looking - i see much better deals all the time. Hold out for a 6" or 8" dob. I typically see 4.5 " dob's go for less than $100, and 6" & 8" dob's going between $150 - $250.

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Ok, thanks guys. I'm just getting anxious, and there aren't too many new ones popping up around here on Craigs list. I'm trying to go used to get more bang for the buck.

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With a focal length of 1000mm (40") and a tube length of 26" this must be one of those designs with a built in barlow in the focuser. I would NOT recommend it.

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I'm really not considering the purchase of this, as much as I'm just on a fact finding mission. Can you explain why that focal length is concerning to you?

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I have a similar scope as well as an 8" Meade SCT, so I'll give you the low down.

A Newtonian Reflector uses a parabolic primary mirror.

A Bird-Jones Reflector uses a spherical primary mirror.

A Bird-Jones Reflector also uses a "corrector lens assembly" (which some call a Barlow) to compensate for optical issues with spherical mirrors. Some times you may see these scopes advertised as being Catadioptric because they use mirrors AND lenses in the optical train. Purists will argue that point, but who cares?

Any way, the reason Bird-Jones Reflectors are so inexpensive is because it costs less to make a spherical mirror.

And if I may be so bold, a Bird-Jones is not really a 'bad' design. The issues I have seen with Bird-Jones Reflectors have been in the execution, with problems ranging from the mount to the eyepieces that come with the scope.

In my case, the EPs that came with my scope were junk. When I tried a Meade 26mm Super Plossol I was surprised at how good that little scope (102mm) really is.

With that being said, knowing what I know now I would not buy a Bird-Jones again. And its not because the design is bad, its because of where and how these scopes are being manufactured.

If I were you I would hold out for at least a 6" DOB. I snagged a 6" Meade Starfinder for my sister for a mere $100.00, and she loves it.

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Good Points, frito. I'll keep searching for that dob.

csrlice12 --- I looked a bit on CN classifieds, but that's when I still thought I could get something satisfactory for under $150. I'll look again now that I realize I'm just going to have to spend a bit more.
The reason I was going thru craigs list so much was because I figured there, I was more likely to run across someone who has a very nice scope, but got bored with it, and then is looking to dump it cheap.

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Ok, I just went and looked at Cragslist near to you. I see a couple of things that are mildly interesting but overpriced (but perhaps they'll take less?) and one that SEEMS LIKE A SCREAMING DEAL TO ME...

The Nexstar5 is a good scope, but $500 is more than I'd give - more like $350. There's an XT8 for $285, would be interesting to me at $200, and is what the people around here recommend as the ideal starting scope.

AND THERE'S A 10" DOB FOR $110!!!!! AN OLD COULTER 10.1 DOB!! The pics are good enough to convince me it should be useable. If it was close to me I'd jump on it myself. If you don't get it, I'll try get the guy to ship me just the optics eyepieces and focuser out of it. (assuming it doesn't get pounced on now that I've drawn attention to it)

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Go for it, John. That thing is just too massive for me. I don't even have a decent place to store it.
I might contact the guy on that 8 incher.

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Even at $200 bucks, for me to travel to Lodi, and back, will probably cost me another $60 in gas.

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Even at $200 bucks, for me to travel to Lodi, and back, will probably cost me another $60 in gas.

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see if they will meet you half way? many people will. it never hurts to ask questions, you never know how desperate they might be to sell it and if it does not sell quickly they could change their mind.

imho you cannot go wrong with an XT8 or any other 8" dob to start off with. they are light enough to be carried as a single unit and small enough that you can stick them in a corner at your house when not in use. easily fits in a 20 x 20 square area.

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True, and I never thought of the idea of meeting half way. I already contacted him asking how firm he was on price, we'll see where it goes from there. Getting excited already. You'd think I was a 8 year old on Christmas eve.

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Go for it, John. That thing is just too massive for me. I don't even have a decent place to store it.
I might contact the guy on that 8 incher.

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ANd here I though I got a good deal with my Coulter 10" for $200. Really, though, it does not take up a lot of space. Just a 22" square patch of my garage. And my 10" coulter puts up nice views.

Oh, and your comment about a dob vs an ETX - I have an ETX 90, it is a nice scope, but despite being 40lbs heavier, the dob is more of a grab and go - I just move it to the driveway (one minute), grab my eyepiece box (30 seconds), check collimation(< 1 minute, usually) and I am ready to go, less than 5 minutes. With my ETX, the scope in inside, the tripod in the garage (two trips out) + mount the scope, then get an extension cord and untangle the 12v cord ( I don't use the AA's) Level (usually 5 minutes or so), find "home" and north & level( another minute or three), 2 star align (menus and slewing across the sky take time, 5-10 minutes), and 15 - 20 minutes later I am ready to observe. Not really grab & go. Once it is set up, the Go-to is nice, but I only have a 90mm scope.

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Good luck, an 8" dob will show you a lot.

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Well, as it turns out, the guy said he just put it up there, and isn't willing to come any lower than $275 bucks for the 8 inch dob.

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