I want to buy a telescope for my son and me. How to choose?

[KayBur]

Guys, all hope is in you! Since my son and I recently became interested in astronomy, we really need a telescope. But we are beginners in this matter and do not know which will suit us better. We need a powerful enough and at the same time, so that it is convenient to transport it (if we want to leave the city to watch the starry sky). Found a few options here [bad link removed], but I'm not sure if these are the telescopes we need for our purposes. Can someone help and suggest?

[Chris Peterson]

Guys, all hope is in you! Since my son and I recently became interested in astronomy, we really need a telescope. But we are beginners in this matter and do not know which will suit us better. We need a powerful enough and at the same time, so that it is convenient to transport it (if we want to leave the city to watch the starry sky). Found a few options here [bad link removed], but I'm not sure if these are the telescopes we need for our purposes. Can someone help and suggest?

I would highly recommend, if at all possible, that you find a local astronomy club and spend some time using other people's telescopes before choosing one for yourself. It is almost impossible to recommend a telescope (or to choose one for yourself) until you figure out what kind of objects you are interested in viewing, and the degree to which you want to do the work of finding objects versus the degree you'd prefer a smart scope do it for you.

[Nitpicker]

The best is probably the one you will use the most. This is likely to be the one you can use in your own yard. Assuming you live in a light polluted area, the moon and planets are bright enough to be almost completely
unaffected by light pollution. A small SCT (Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope) of aperture 6 to 8 inches is quite portable and easy to setup and pack away. Yet it is big enough and has a narrow enough focal ratio (typically f/10) to offer good views of the moon and planets. It is less good for wide field views, where you also really want a darker sky to see the dimmer stuff much further away.

[KayBur]

Guys, all hope is in you! Since my son and I recently became interested in astronomy, we really need a telescope. But we are beginners in this matter and do not know which will suit us better. We need a powerful enough and at the same time, so that it is convenient to transport it (if we want to leave the city to watch the starry sky). Found a few options here [bad link removed], but I'm not sure if these are the telescopes we need for our purposes. Can someone help and suggest?

I would highly recommend, if at all possible, that you find a local astronomy club and spend some time using other people's telescopes before choosing one for yourself. It is almost impossible to recommend a telescope (or to choose one for yourself) until you figure out what kind of objects you are interested in viewing, and the degree to which you want to do the work of finding objects versus the degree you'd prefer a smart scope do it for you.

Sounds logical. It’s probably easier to try working with different telescopes, and then decide on the one that suits us. Because I look at different types of telescopes and I can't understand which one is right for us, what are its real advantages. We have not defined the exact objectives of the study. As beginners want everything at once, but this does not happen.

[rogerbell1990]

yeah you cannot get everything at once, you have to learn somethings first and then decide what is best for you. i am also new in this field and i am just seeing others posts to learn as much as i can and so on.

[LarryTe]

So it is not so easy to choose a telescope, I recently became interested in astronomy, and I want to make it my hobby and I am willing to buy a telescope, but apparently that will have to wait, I was about to buy one if knowledge of these factors, it is time to study and little and learn about this wonderful science.

[Memaw31]

I'm so interested in purchasing one as well. and yes I think it varies depending on which purpose. My son loves making star formations.. I'll have to research more though, Christmas is around the corner and I think it will be a great gift