From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!eagle!mhuxt!mhuxa!mhuxh!mhuxm!sbg
Newsgroups: net.space
Title: Re: neophyte seeks telescopic expertise
Article-I.D.: mhuxm.1001
Posted: Tue Jul  6 19:44:46 1982
Received: Wed Jul  7 01:40:17 1982
References: pur-ee.388

    I too recently started looking for my first telescope  (also
pretty much of a neophyte) and three weeks ago bit the bullet.  I
was interested in a telescope with a primary mirror of about 6 to 8
inches.   I looked mainly at Questar and Celestron and was amazed at
the differences.  Comparing the Questar 3 1/2 and the Celestron C-8,
(both numbers are measures of aperture in inches) the Celestron cost
less than 1/2 as much for more than twice the power!

    Another thing which impressed me was the sales pitch. While
Questar told me all about how refined their manufacturing processes
were, Celestron told me what the most important aspect of any
telescope is -- aperture.  This is certainly in line with what I
always believed.  Celestron also gave a nice description of the
three  types of telescopes - refractor, Newtonian reflector, and the
Cassegrain; and the five  different types of Cassegrain telescopes. 
I learned a lot from the Celestron brochure and would recommend it
just for the information it provides about amateur telescopes. To
obtain it, send $3 to 

	Celestron Internation
	2835 Columbia St. 
	Torrance, CA 90503 

One more note, I purchased my telescope from a Celestron Dealer
(Middlesex Photo) and got it for 65% of the price listings! I'm very
happy with it and the seeing has been great. Definitely much better
than I have seen with smaller telescopes. Last nights lunar eclipse
was phenomenal!

					Steven B. Goldsmith  
					Bell Labs, Murray Hill