There is nothing better than the night sky! But even better is having everything brought hundreds of times closer to you so that you can see it in all its glory. Using a telescope it all becomes possible.
One thing that should be noted straight out the gate, is that with telescopes you get what you pay for, if you want anything decent then you are going to need a decent budget, maybe $400 upwards to start. Many people will start with a cheaper scope but the fact is that the smaller less expensive models just simply don’t deliver. A cheaper model is very likely to offer distorted images that will ruin the viewing experience.
We would recommend that you start looking at a price range of around four to eight hundred dollars and consider a 60mm refractor telescope if you are just getting started, you will be impressed with what you’ll be able to see. If you have more money to spend then you can get into the higher end models which offer more features such as computer control, so they can actually track stars and galaxies that you program in! Pretty cool.
Magnification – This is something that’s easy to get hung up on, many people want to go for the biggest magnification they can but this isn’t always the best option. At a lower magnification of say 32x, you can still see a lot. You will be able to see some great detail on the moon on a good viewing night, plus see Jupiter, Saturn and the rings. The image will be quite small, but crisp and sharp. 50x really should be your lowest consideration as this will offer some superb detail plus a very clear, stable viewing experience.
The next scale up is 100x magnifications and that will result in a far superior detailed image, but again in a cheaper, basic telescope you will have a much duller image and it will be made worse by any turbulence in the air. Especially over city’s after a hot day the warm air rises and this can cause the image to go out of focus, the more magnification the worse this will be. Whilst magnification is important, it’s not everything when it comes to the lower end of the scale.
What’s the difference between refractors and reflectors?
The operation of a reflector scope is very simple and therefore these scopes are cheaper. The light from the lens is bounced from a primary mirror onto a mirror in the eye piece which allows you to see the image.
A refractor scope however works on a different principle and the light is sent straight to the eye piece where the image is then seen by the human eye, these telescopes are actually sealed tubes. You will normally find the refractor will be a better performer and 60mm is a good size to get started with.
When it comes to actually purchasing your telescope you are better off looking at a specialised online or high street store. There are some great discounts available online but make sure you know exactly what you’re getting.
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