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Re: (meteorobs) telescopes

Greetings all...

Melanie in Colorado wrote:
>I'm interested in buying a telescope to take to college with me.
>I don' t know what to look for in a telescope, where to buy one, or how much 
>they cost.
>Could anyone offer suggestions as to what and where i should be looking for a 
>telescope?

Just a quick note here, packing things in for the night.  No, not clear here... 

Melanie, I assume you're interested in meteors and learning the sky, seeing
as how you're posting this on the <meteor> email list.

The short answer to your query is... If you don't know what to look for at
this point, or where to buy one, or how much they cost... then this is <not>
the time to consider buying one! ;>

What I would strongly recommend are several things instead:  
- a good pair of binoculars
- a reclining lawnchair
- a copy of the book 'Nightwatch' by Terence Dickinson.  

Binoculars are a much better buy for the dollar, and you can use them to
cruise around the sky, and the Milky Way, while stretched out in your
lawnchair.  You can also take a break from naked eye meteor observing to
examine all those neat fuzzy Messier objects!  I assume you are fairly new
to scopes and the sky, and that particular book by Dickinson will not only
help you learn the sky (very useful in meteor observing), but will give you
reading material about scopes, and other astronomical equipment.

As to where to get a good pair of binoculars, check out one of your local
sporting goods stores.  They tend not to charge as much as the specialty
nature or science shops.

Once you've really learned the sky, and familiarized yourself with what's
out there, then you can start the quest for a scope.  There are many
different kinds out there, but many factors to consider - the type of sky
objects you prefer to look at, how portable you want it to be, how much you
want to spend (or if you'd rather buy a used car!), and how often you're
really going to use it.  Dickinson's book is very good at answering these
sorts of questions.

Hope these brief comments help!  If you have any specific questions, drop me
a line!  

Clear skies,

- Cathy Hall
  Ottawa, Canada
  chall@cyberusdot ca

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