What is this device you call a 'telescope'

[cantab]

The red dot finders on the Astromaster range are widely regarded as rubbish, but you can always add a different finder.

[Godot]

Well, generally speaking (if we compare telescopes of he same diameter) refractors are better for viewing planets with a high magnification (due to the closed tube and due to the fact that not part of the telescopes opening is blocked by the secondary mirror and due to the usual higher focal ratio).

On the other hand reflectors give you more bang for the buck ehm more diameter (aperture size) for your money, which evens everything out ...

so a reflector that costs the same as a refractor usually can be as good as the refractor, due to its higher diameter ... it also is definitely better for deep sky (i.e. faint objects like nebulae or galaxies) observations (where higher diameter rules)

[magnemoe]

Depending on the age, the black one MAY have been intended for the sun. I wouldn't recommend it though. Dark glass was typically used for sun viewing in decades past. It would darken the sun enough for you to look at it without squinting, but it wouldn't filter out the UV rays. Before 'solar viewing film' was a thing (that stuff you typically see on cheap paper sunglasses that get sold when an eclipse is going to happen), kids were known to smoke their own glass as a DIY for viewing eclipses. If it really is just a super dark lens, don't use it. Get a solar viewing film attachment and put it on the end of the telescope (and remember to get one for your viewfinder too so you can line it up without going blind).

I thought any normal glass like window glass blocked UV, guess the glass in the telescope do to.

Anyway looking at the sun with magnification is a NO, repeat NO, DO NOT DO, exception might be gear designed and certified especially for this.

issue is not UV but power, an red laser is dangerous too, you can start a fire with a simple magnifying glass and the sun.

Let the sun project on something or as a fallback look at it trough an camera or other electronic connected to you telescope, so much better to fry the electronic than you eyes.

[Godot]

...

Anyway looking at the sun with magnification is a NO, repeat NO, DO NOT DO, exception might be gear designed and certified especially for this.

issue is not UV but power, an red laser is dangerous too, you can start a fire with a simple magnifying glass and the sun.

Let the sun project on something or as a fallback look at it trough an camera or other electronic connected to you telescope, so much better to fry the electronic than you eyes.

This can not be repeated often enough ...

especially ocular filters are a danger here as they are more prone to overheat during use and might burst ...

if you´re lucky enough a bursting sunfilter (not to speak of not using a sun filter at all)

may "just" burn a punctual hole into your retina and give you a second blind spot ...

if you´re unlucky enough ... well, I don´t need to go further

Which is why IMHO (at least for the beginning) to papersheet method of sun observation is optimal

no sunfilter or electronics needed and no danger of holes in your retina

[impwarhamer]

0k people, 1 last question. I've narrowed it down to a choice between the astromaster 130 (http://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/celestron-astromaster-130eq-telescope.html), and the skywatcher explorer 150 (http://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/skywatcher-explorer-150p-az4-mount.html). There's quite a price gap between them, and I can't really tell why.

Any Ideas?

Als, which one would you go with?

[Godot]

The difference ist 20mm

[impwarhamer]

The difference ist 20mm

well yeah, but is that the only significant difference?

[Godot]

well yeah, but is that the only significant difference?

It is an important difference which enables you to see much fainter objects and allows you to use a higher magnification.

Aside from this I don´t see any other important difference, as both have the same focal ratio.

One should add that it is rather not nice, that the shop left out the specifications for the Skywatcher 150P (so that I had to look elsewhere: http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p2687_Skywatcher-Explorer-150P---150-750mm-Newtonian---2--Crayford.html )

and also didn´t include informations about equipment that is delivered with the telescope (like eyepieces for example)

[cantab]

The Skywatcher Explorer 150 is there being sold with the Skywatcher AZ4 mount. That's a pretty good mount that by itself retails for more than the whole Astromaster setup, and accounts for the bulk of the price difference.

[Horn Brain]

As a rule of thumb: The best scope to buy is the biggest one you can afford that you will feel like taking the trouble to set up and use frequently. However, it does have to meet some basic standards of quality. There's no way you'll be able to figure out if your scope is a lemon or a pearl until you get it out and use it yourself, so you're going to have to read lots of reviews from independent sources (i.e. not the people selling the thing!) to get a good idea. Here is a link that helped me when I was buying my first scope: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-equipment/types-of-telescopes/ (I ended up buying binoculars until I was sure I liked going out enough to spend much more for a larger scope).

Also, don't forget to factor in the cost of the necessary accessories! Your scope is useless if you don't know where to point it, so you'll have to either get some star maps or software to be able to figure out what's up there when it's dark out and where to find it. While they aren't strictly necessary, they are much more convenient than having to have your computer around to help you find planetary nebulae. There are lots of add ons depending on your type of scope, as well. Know what they are!

Manage your expectations. When you find the Eagle Nebula, you aren't going to see this: http://www.spacetelescope.org/static/archives/print_posters/screen/hst_print_poster_0029.jpg, you're going to see this: http://spacemandan.net/astronomy/Deep_Space/Eagle_Nebula/Through_A_Telescope-small.jpg

However, you will be AMAZED at how much detail you can actually get out of a faint fuzzy image like this if you learn how to observe. Observation is a skill, and so far I've found it to be one part knowing what to look for, one part knowing how to use your scope technically, ten parts dark adaptation, and ten parts patience.

Finally, READ. To tell you everything you really ought to know about telescope hunting and observing would be to write a very thick book. Read reviews of telescopes in your price range, browse astronomy websites for tips on how to observe, how to use the scope, how to figure out magnification/field of view/limiting magnitude/etc., and how to keep from doing something stupid like cleaning your optics with a paper towel. There's a ton to know, but to me that's part of the fun of the hobby. Best of luck to you in finding your new scope/binos!