I forwarded all the posts to Kris. He wanted me to pass on to all who posted his appreciation for the info. He will go with binoculars first, If his daughter is still interested come March, her birthday, he w-will look for an 8" scope. --- Original Message ----- From: Wayne Sumner <wasum1@msn.com> To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Sent: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 13:29:28 -0500 (EST) Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] used telescopes on ksl.com There are a couple of good deals on Orion XT8's in the $300 -$400 price range right now. Most of the "star party" telescopes in the Northridge High School observatory were bought on ksl.com. It takes patience and perseverance along with a good knowledge of telescopes to find them. That's where you guys come in! Good luck and clear skies! Elder Wayne Sumner in Kiribati -----Original Message----- From: Utah-Astronomy [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of utah-astronomy-request@mailman.xmission.com Sent: Monday, December 08, 2014 9:33 AM To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Subject: Utah-Astronomy Digest, Vol 142, Issue 19 Send Utah-Astronomy mailing list submissions to utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit https://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to utah-astronomy-request@mailman.xmission.com You can reach the person managing the list at utah-astronomy-owner@mailman.xmission.com When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Utah-Astronomy digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Mother looking for a telescope for her daughter for Christmas (Rodger C. Fry) 2. Re: Mother looking for a telescope for her daughter for Christmas (Seth Jarvis) 3. Re: Mother looking for a telescope for her daughter for Christmas (Brent Watson) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2014 07:18:25 -0700 From: "Rodger C. Fry" <rcfry@comcast.net> To: <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Mother looking for a telescope for her daughter for Christmas Message-ID: <04f701d012f1$d52eb250$7f8c16f0$@net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" I received an email from a mother who wishes to purchase a used telescope for her daughter for Christmas. If you have some equipment that you might be willing to sell to her, please contact her as follow: Kris Komarnitsky [komarkris@gmail.com] I have a 14 year old daughter who has shown a real interest in astronomy for about a year (she loved the new Cosmos series, has done hours of research on the web on her own, and can pick out some basic constellations in the night sky). I would like to get her a telescope for Christmas and was thinking that a used one would be best for her first one. I thought it might be a good idea to see if anyone in the SLAS had a good beginners telescope for sale since your members have a genuine interest in promoting astronomy and are unlikely to sell something that is damaged. Is there anyone you might be able to put me in contact with? Kris Komarnitsky Draper ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2014 15:32:21 +0000 From: Seth Jarvis <SJarvis@slco.org> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Mother looking for a telescope for her daughter for Christmas Message-ID: <D082D38133A6F148BF53199F8AD96D8568DB2AC6@SLCMAIL3.slcounty.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Here's the thing about used telescopes - they generally don't wear out. The telescope in your closet with a garbage bag over it as a dust cover isn't doing any more or less than when it's out under the stars. Good telescopes depreciate very little, and the legitimate secondary market for used equipment is generally the domain of experienced observers buying and selling items that rarely fit the needs of a true beginner. They're not especially cheap and you have to pay to ship them from somewhere. E.g.: http://www.astromart.com/classifieds/list.asp?classified_category_id=12 The telescopes for sale on ksl.com break down like this: 10% are OK quality with asking prices nearly as high as when they are new, and 90% are department store garbage that will cause a kid to decide that astronomy isn't really that interesting to them. These "telescopes" do more harm than good. I'd recommend that the mom consider giving her daughter a good set of 10x50 binoculars, a couple of good astronomy books and star charts, a good astronomy app for her phone (99% probably that a 14 year old girl will have a smartphone), take her to some SLAS meetings and bring her to a couple of planetarium programs. When she finds herself trying to see the Ring Nebula with her binoculars _then_ it's time to look for a telescope, at which point the used/new issue will be moot. Seth -----Original Message----- From: Utah-Astronomy [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Rodger C. Fry Sent: Monday, December 08, 2014 7:18 AM To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Mother looking for a telescope for her daughter for Christmas I received an email from a mother who wishes to purchase a used telescope for her daughter for Christmas. If you have some equipment that you might be willing to sell to her, please contact her as follow: Kris Komarnitsky [komarkris@gmail.com] I have a 14 year old daughter who has shown a real interest in astronomy for about a year (she loved the new Cosmos series, has done hours of research on the web on her own, and can pick out some basic constellations in the night sky). I would like to get her a telescope for Christmas and was thinking that a used one would be best for her first one. I thought it might be a good idea to see if anyone in the SLAS had a good beginners telescope for sale since your members have a genuine interest in promoting astronomy and are unlikely to sell something that is damaged. Is there anyone you might be able to put me in contact with? Kris Komarnitsky Draper _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Send messages to the list to Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. To unsubscribe go to: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options". ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2014 16:32:53 +0000 (UTC) From: Brent Watson <brentjwatson@yahoo.com> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Mother looking for a telescope for her daughter for Christmas Message-ID: <959014094.6771563.1418056373027.JavaMail.yahoo@jws10625.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 The ring in binos? ?Hmmm. ?I have been successful buying used telescopes at pawn shops. ?I got a 10" meade dob for $95.00. ?Perhaps someone who knows telescopes could watch a couple of pawn shops. ? On Monday, December 8, 2014 8:33 AM, Seth Jarvis <SJarvis@slco.org> wrote: Here's the thing about used telescopes - they generally don't wear out. The telescope in your closet with a garbage bag over it as a dust cover isn't doing any more or less than when it's out under the stars.? Good telescopes depreciate very little, and the legitimate secondary market for used equipment is generally the domain of experienced observers buying and selling items that rarely fit the needs of a true beginner.? They're not especially cheap and you have to pay to ship them from somewhere. E.g.: http://www.astromart.com/classifieds/list.asp?classified_category_id=12 The telescopes for sale on ksl.com break down like this: 10% are OK quality with asking prices nearly as high as when they are new, and 90% are department store garbage that will cause a kid to decide that astronomy isn't really that interesting to them. These "telescopes" do more harm than good. I'd recommend that the mom consider giving her daughter a good set of 10x50 binoculars, a couple of good astronomy books and star charts, a good astronomy app for her phone (99% probably that a 14 year old girl will have a smartphone), take her to some SLAS meetings and bring her to a couple of planetarium programs. When she finds herself trying to see the Ring Nebula with her binoculars _then_ it's time to look for a telescope, at which point the used/new issue will be moot. Seth -----Original Message----- From: Utah-Astronomy [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Rodger C. Fry Sent: Monday, December 08, 2014 7:18 AM To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Mother looking for a telescope for her daughter for Christmas I received an email from a mother who wishes to purchase a used telescope for her daughter for Christmas.? If you have some equipment that you might be willing to sell to her, please contact her as follow: Kris Komarnitsky [komarkris@gmail.com] I have a 14 year old daughter who has shown a real interest in astronomy for about a year (she loved the new Cosmos series, has done hours of research on the web on her own, and can pick out some basic constellations in the night sky). I would like to get her a telescope for Christmas and was thinking that a used one would be best for her first one. I thought it might be a good idea to see if anyone in the SLAS had a good beginners telescope for sale since your members have a genuine interest in promoting astronomy and are unlikely to sell something that is damaged. Is there anyone you might be able to put me in contact with? Kris Komarnitsky Draper _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Send messages to the list to Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. To unsubscribe go to: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options". _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Send messages to the list to Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. To unsubscribe go to: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options". ------------------------------ Subject: Digest Footer _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com https://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php ------------------------------ End of Utah-Astronomy Digest, Vol 142, Issue 19 *********************************************** _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Send messages to the list to Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. To unsubscribe go to: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options".