<p>The main things to look for are:</p>

<ul>
<li>Decent optics (nearly anything except those with plastic lenses).</li>
<li>A steady mount that points where you want to, and moves smoothly. An altitude-azimuth mount is fine because with practice you can guide at high powers.</li>
<li>The eyepieces should be 1 1/4 inch size or more expensive 2 inch. The older 0.96 inch are very hard to find. This lets you upgrade eyepieces later.</li>
</ul>

<p>The larger the aperture the better. Don't worry about magnification.</p>

<p>Hint: find your local astronomical society, ask there, go to one of their "star nights", they may even have telescopes on loan.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-04T17:21:51.557Z
Thanks for the answer, in particular the part about finding a local astronomical society(which I am still pending to do, lack of time, but seems the best option for me as I lack a lot of knowledge on the equipment and how good they perform).
Prix
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-23T05:53:29.237Z
2016-09-23T15:44:04.717Z
2016-09-23T15:44:04.717Z
TazAstroSpacial
<p>I am a complete novice in this world and I would like a telescope where I could have enough power to view the moon's surface, I don't expect to see the flag or the hover sending signs to me, but perhaps enough to view cliffs, and other details from the surface of it and perhaps from other places.</p>

<p>I honestly don't even know what kind of telescope to purchase. I live in a capital city, so there is a lot of light around here. My apartment is high with a balcony, which is where I would place it and there is nothing in front of me from there.</p>

<ul>
<li>What kind of telescope would fit my needs?</li>
<li>Are there reputable online stores that I could consult?</li>
</ul>

<p>I have a $500 budget for this and honestly, I have no clue about specs or anything, I am a completely novice in this field.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-13T16:25:03.113Z
@called2voyage thanks and done, do you often purchase from online stores either the telescope it self or parts? do you know some store I could look at for reference and such?
Prix
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-13T16:27:42.960Z
I would trust an online store, but I haven't shopped for one in years and wouldn't know what to recommend. [This post](http://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/3714/any-cheap-less-than-100-euro-telescope-for-observing-jupiter/4718#4718) has a couple of vendor suggestions, but they may not stock the type of telescope that you're looking for--I'm not sure.
called2voyage
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-13T17:24:58.657Z
I have a 4.5" reflector that costed <500$ 15 years ago, and I easily see cliffs/mountains on the Moon from my apartment in the middle of Copenhagen. They're most easily seen where it's evening on the Moon.
pela
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-13T21:53:41.017Z
Even a small telescope will be good against the Moon, so you should raise your sights - planets? Some deep sky objects?
adrianmcmenamin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-13T22:11:25.613Z
@adrianmcmenamin yes I would like to be able to go as far as possible with that budget :P
Prix
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-13T22:11:43.703Z
@pela thanks for the information I will look around for those
Prix
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-13T22:23:11.930Z
What kind of image would I get from the moon with a 4.5"? I was looking at youtube and saw that some people posted some videos but it looked to me rather blur and distant still, perhaps something to do with the camera going thru the telescope any thoughts? I really want to get a nice telescope to enjoy all this...
Prix
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-13T22:28:51.720Z
This was the video in question https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e7c6hZVd4o
Prix
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-14T07:27:10.190Z
Hmm okay, although it's very shaky, I think this is not much different from what I see. But you _do_ see craters and cliff in that movie. I don't think (but I'm not that experienced with amateur observations) you can expect to see them much more clearly than that. If you google around for pictures, you'll find lots of amateur photographers that state what kind of telescope they used for their photos, to give you an idea of what to expect from a given telescope size.
pela
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-14T07:34:54.210Z
Even a small telescope will also allow you to see some details of planets and some nebulae, but note that they won't look as impressive to the eye as all the color photos you'll find that have been taken with long exposures. For that, you'll need a camera and a telescope with a motor, but I think nowadays that should even be possible with your budget. To me, the nice thing about using the eye is _knowing_ what you look at, so you can think, wow the light I see from this nebula was emitted when Wamba succeeded Recceswinth as king of the Visigoths.
pela
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-14T08:25:19.593Z
I see, so most telescope on the range I can afford will be about that much? But yeah my goal is not to take photos with a camera, but see it my self(or perhaps both, I mean if I see something that really interests me I might want to take a picture of it :P), its just that was one of what I could find around with that kind of telescope.
Prix
<telescope><surface><telescope-lens>
What type of telescope can show cliffs on the moon surface from a city location?
Prix
# What type of telescope can show cliffs on the moon surface from a city location?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-09-13)

I am a complete novice in this world and I would like a telescope where I could have enough power to view the moon's surface, I don't expect to see the flag or the hover sending signs to me, but perhaps enough to view cliffs, and other details from the surface of it and perhaps from other places.

I honestly don't even know what kind of telescope to purchase. I live in a capital city, so there is a lot of light around here. My apartment is high with a balcony, which is where I would place it and there is nothing in front of me from there.

* What kind of telescope would fit my needs?
* Are there reputable online stores that I could consult?

I have a $500 budget for this and honestly, I have no clue about specs or anything, I am a completely novice in this field.

**Tags:** telescope, surface, telescope-lens

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: @username_1 thanks and done, do you often purchase from online stores either the telescope it self or parts? do you know some store I could look at for reference and such?  
> **username_1**: I would trust an online store, but I haven't shopped for one in years and wouldn't know what to recommend. [This post](http://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/3714/any-cheap-less-than-100-euro-telescope-for-observing-jupiter/4718#4718) has a couple of vendor suggestions, but they may not stock the type of telescope that you're looking for--I'm not sure.  
> **username_2**: I have a 4.5" reflector that costed <500$ 15 years ago, and I easily see cliffs/mountains on the Moon from my apartment in the middle of Copenhagen. They're most easily seen where it's evening on the Moon.  
> **username_3**: Even a small telescope will be good against the Moon, so you should raise your sights - planets? Some deep sky objects?  
> **username_0**: @username_3 yes I would like to be able to go as far as possible with that budget :P  
> **username_0**: @username_2 thanks for the information I will look around for those  
> **username_0**: What kind of image would I get from the moon with a 4.5"? I was looking at youtube and saw that some people posted some videos but it looked to me rather blur and distant still, perhaps something to do with the camera going thru the telescope any thoughts? I really want to get a nice telescope to enjoy all this...  
> **username_0**: This was the video in question https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e7c6hZVd4o  
> **username_2**: Hmm okay, although it's very shaky, I think this is not much different from what I see. But you _do_ see craters and cliff in that movie. I don't think (but I'm not that experienced with amateur observations) you can expect to see them much more clearly than that. If you google around for pictures, you'll find lots of amateur photographers that state what kind of telescope they used for their photos, to give you an idea of what to expect from a given telescope size.  
> **username_2**: Even a small telescope will also allow you to see some details of planets and some nebulae, but note that they won't look as impressive to the eye as all the color photos you'll find that have been taken with long exposures. For that, you'll need a camera and a telescope with a motor, but I think nowadays that should even be possible with your budget. To me, the nice thing about using the eye is _knowing_ what you look at, so you can think, wow the light I see from this nebula was emitted when Wamba succeeded Recceswinth as king of the Visigoths.  
> **username_0**: I see, so most telescope on the range I can afford will be about that much? But yeah my goal is not to take photos with a camera, but see it my self(or perhaps both, I mean if I see something that really interests me I might want to take a picture of it :P), its just that was one of what I could find around with that kind of telescope.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2016-09-23. Score: 1

The main things to look for are:

* Decent optics (nearly anything except those with plastic lenses).
* A steady mount that points where you want to, and moves smoothly. An altitude-azimuth mount is fine because with practice you can guide at high powers.
* The eyepieces should be 1 1/4 inch size or more expensive 2 inch. The older 0.96 inch are very hard to find. This lets you upgrade eyepieces later.

The larger the aperture the better. Don't worry about magnification.

Hint: find your local astronomical society, ask there, go to one of their "star nights", they may even have telescopes on loan.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks for the answer, in particular the part about finding a local astronomical society(which I am still pending to do, lack of time, but seems the best option for me as I lack a lot of knowledge on the equipment and how good they perform).  

---

