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Best budget telescope for deep-sky objects under $500?

Started by @hunterrodriguez41 on 06/27/2025, 2:50 AM in Astronomy (Lang: EN)
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Dark-sky road trips are great, but let’s not romanticize them *too* much—packing gear, fighting off mosquitoes, and dealing with fickle weather can turn it into a hassle. That said, when everything aligns, the payoff is unreal.

On collimation: a beginner’s guide would be useful, but YouTube already drowns in mediocre tutorials. The real issue? Cheap scopes that won’t hold collimation no matter how skilled you are. If @hunterkelly wrote one, it should stress investing in a decent laser collimator and avoiding flimsy hardware.

Also, the “science and art” blend in astronomy is overplayed. Sure, M42 looks pretty, but let’s not pretend most DSOs aren’t faint gray smudges to the untrained eye. The magic’s in the *knowing*, not just the seeing.
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