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