Hey Astronomers! Welcome to my first article. Today I am going to reveal to you key things to look for in buying your first telescope. As a man going on this journey into amateur astronomy myself I am learning along with you so I want to share with you what I am learning. When it comes to buying your first telescope there are many things to consider. When it comes to looking for your first telescope to buy, there are many things to take into account. Things such as Aperture, Magnification, Mount, Portability, price, brand reputation, ease of use, and popularity among beginners. In this article we will take a look at each of those aspects to help you judge what kinds of telescope you want to buy as a beginner. This article will also serve to help those more into astronomy consider what to look for in buying their next telescope as well.
Type of Telescope
Not every telescope is simply two lenses zooming into the stars, in fact, there is in fact a variety of Telescope types to choose from. There are Refractor Telescopes, Reflector Telescopes, Cassegrain Telescopes, Dobsonian Telescopes, Solar Telescopes, and Computerized Telescopes. This website will focus primarily on Computerized and Digital Telescopes, but Computerized Telescopes can be any of these, so its worth it to get an overview of them.
Reflector Telescopes
– Reflector telescopes are the kind of telescope where light, after going through the lens reflects onto a mirror. After reflecting onto that mirror called a primary mirror it goes into the eye piece where you can see the space object you are looking at, whether it be a planet, galaxy, etc. However, one draw back is that you will always see images upside down in this kind of telescope. On the bright side, there is another kind of reflector telescope called a Cassegrain Telescope.
Cassegrain telescope
– A Cassegrain Telescope has two different mirrors called a parabolic and hyperbolic mirror. This telescope is a reflector telescope as well, but since it has two mirrors rather than one, the image you see will not be upside down. There are Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescopes and Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes. The main difference is just the corrector lens.
Refractor Telescopes
– Refractor Telescopes are a kind of telescope that primarily use lenses to view objects. You could say that they are the original telescope design because they were used in spy glasses. Because these telescopes do not rely on mirrors they tend to be longer rather than short. Reflector telescopes were invented later and can have higher apertures than refractor telescopes.
Dobsonian Telescopes
– Dobsonian Telescopes are different in appearance than the olthers, but are great for observing dim space objects.
Computerized Telescopes
– Computerized Telescopes are regular telescopes that use computers and a gps system to track space objects without needing to use a star navigation map to find space objects. These are great for if you want an easier way to navigate the night sky without it being as hard.
Each kind of telescope serves similar, but slightly different functions. However, their end goal is similar. To be an instrument for amature astronomers who wish to do their own astronomy!
Price
Telescopes come in a variety of different price ranges. What price you want to pay will depend on how serious you are about the Hobby. Some low budget telescopes can be less than $100, but higher end telescopes can reach thousands of dollars!
When choosing your first telescope, pricing is something to consider. In my case, my first telescope will be somewhere around 300 to 500 dollars, or a lower budget but high aperture one to start, then as I advance in my skill getting a more expensive ones is my plan. I want to do some astrophotography, so in my case my second telescope will be one suited for that en devour. Over time, your needs an interest may change but that’s a good thing. As you progress as an amature astronomer you will want to upgrade if you find out you are passionate about this hobby.
Ease of Use
Ease of use is something you will want to consider as well when buying your first telescope! Some telescopes come with features that make some easier to use than others.
Focal Length
Focal Length is how far your the distance between a telescope’s primary lens and mirror, usually measured in milimeters. Focal Legnth is a determining factor in how much magnification you will get, so you will want to keep that in mind when choosing your telescope to buy.
Magnification
A. Magnification is how deep into space you can see, basically how zoomed in you are. Some telescopes don’t have the best magnification such as kid telescopes and as a result you can mostly see the moon. However, on the other end of the spectrum, high end telescopes can zoom very far into space.
Aperture
Aperture is the amount of light that enters in through the lens in a refractor telescope, or the amount of light that reflects from the mirror in a reflector telescope. The higher of an aperture you have, the more you can see into space. Light from further away objects can be pretty dim.
The Andromeda Galaxy is larger than the moon in the night sky, however because the galaxy is so far away, light pollution makes it harder to see. However, if you have a telescope with a high aperture, you can more easily see it. A good deal of nebula can be seen more easily with a high aperture. High Aperture is also good to consider if Astrophotagraphy is something you desire to do. I want to become an astrophotagrapher so to me, aperture is very important. If astrophtography is something you desire to do, I suggest getting a tracking mount. A tracking mount will keep your telescope locked onto the object you are trying to capture an image of, especially if you are doing a high exposure image to get detail. If you don’t get a tracking mount, be prepared for blurry images from your long exposure shots!
On a side note, High Aperture is why the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope can easily capture images of the ultra Hubble Deep Field. No telescope you can buy online has such a high aperture that you can capture a deep field sadly. You can though still capture images of Galaxies in the local group as an astrophotographer though!
Conclusion A. Recap of the key points from the article B. Final recommendations for a beginner’s first telescope based on the considerations discussed C. Encouragement to continue learning about telescopes and enjoying the hobby
Now that we have gone over the basics of Telescopes, the different types to choose from which are
- Refractor
- Reflector
- Cassegrain
- Dobsonian
- Computerized
- etc
Now you have an idea what kind of telescope you may desire.
In the next few articles, I will be covering different Telescope Specs discussed here in more detail. I will cover Aperture, Focal Length, and Focal Ratio. Enjoy your exploration of the Cosmos!
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