Friday, January 27, 2012

In Search Of A Telescope? Read This Beforehand

By Thomas Myers


The sky at night time offers us so many interesting things to see, although it's great to look at the sky with our eyes, what is even better is when we can get up close and personal and see more of what there is to see up there. If we have our own telescope then we can see far more than we could before.

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! Truth is that you might be better off buying a pair of binoculars rather than a cheap telescope, this will save you having to put up with poor quality images and distortion.

You can go to us at telescope reviews for additional details on suitable models

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. Over and above that price point you can start to look at higher quality and high tech telescopes that are motorized or even computer controlled so they can track stars and constellations.

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. There is still a lot to be seen with a smaller magnification of say 32. 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. Higher magnifications will pick up the warm air as it rises into the atmosphere later at night, this causes blurring of the images that come through the telescopes lens. 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. If you are going to go with a refractor (recommended) then you might want to consider the 60 mm lens as a good starting point.

You will find many online stores that you can purchase telescopes from at great prices, the important thing is to make sure you fully research the model that you intend to buy, so you know what you're getting.




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