Re: Have refractors hurt the hobby?

From: Rod Mollise (rmollise_at_aol.com)
Date: 11/06/04 

Date: 06 Nov 2004 15:55:58 GMT

>
>I do not believe that binoculars provide *quite enough magnification*
>to see what the beginner *really wants to see*.

HI Chris:

Yep...I agree 100%. Beginners want a good look at the Moon, Saturn's rings,
etc., first of all. I used to recommend binoculars as a first instrument. Not
any more. Oh, I still push them as an aid to learning the sky, but these days I
say, "Get yourself a StarBlast (or an ST80, or whatever. Oh, stop by Wal-Mart
and pick up a pair of the Simmons/Bushnell/whatever 10x50s, too. They'll help."

Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of _Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope_
Like SCTs and MCTs?
Check-out sct-user, the mailing list for CAT fanciers!
Goto <http://members.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index.html>

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