Imagine being able to look up to the night sky and have everything brought hundreds or thousands of times closer to you, imagine being able to see the intricate details of the moon, planets and star constellations. Well that’s the benefits that a telescope will offer you!
If you are going to buy your own telescope then one thing that’s important to understand is that you are probably going to be better off going for the most expensive model that you can. Smaller, cheaper scopes will certainly get you started but don’t expect too much! If you are gonna go cheap on a telescope then you might be better off buying some binoculars. Cheap telescopes will often provide a poor viewing experience and distorted images.
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For those willing to put the money in you would do well to look at a refractor telescope as a starting point, maybe a sixty millimetre model, this will give you a respectable viewing experience. For the more adventurous person, who has a larger budget, you will be able to delve into the higher ticket end of the market and have access to some very cool telescopes that are motorized and offer excellent, precise viewing and some can even track stars.
A telescopes magnification is often a big consideration for many people but you need to bear in mind that bigger magnification capabilities on cheaper telescopes is almost useless. There is still a lot to be seen with a smaller magnification of say 32. 32x will be great for moon viewing and also the rings on Saturn, you will get a nice sharp image. 50x really should be your lowest consideration as this will offer some superb detail plus a very clear, stable viewing experience.
Even better than that is the one hundred times magnification range, although the fact still remains that a more basic telescope is unable to properly handle the higher magnification and will result in a dim image and is likely to be affected by the atmosphere. After a hot day for example over cities the heat rises and can cause your telescope image to ‘swim’ in and out of focus. A high magnification will accentuate this problem. If you are buying a cheaper telescope then the highest magnification is not going to always be the best option.
What’s the difference between refractors and reflectors?
A good point to start at with a reflector would be a four and a half inch lens. Reflectors operate on a simple principle and that is the image from the lens is bounced from a primary mirror to a secondary mirror at the eyepiece.
A refractor scope is the most commonly thought of, but unlike the reflector scope, it does not have an open end, it’s a sealed tube! There is a lens at one end that concentrates the light straight into the eyepiece on the scope body. 60mm would be a good lens size to go for with the refractor telescope, you will be able to pick one of these up for a reasonable price.
We would recommend going to a specialist store to find your perfect telescope plus it’s well worth looking online as you will find some great deals and at great prices, the main thing is to research the model that you intend on purchasing.
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