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. 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. Many people will start with a cheaper scope but the fact is that the smaller less expensive models just simply don’t deliver. 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.
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. 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. Even with the smaller magnification telescopes there is a lot that can be seen and enjoyed. 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. If you can afford a 50x magnification then you will get a larger image and slightly more detail.
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Once you get into 100x + you will be seeing a lot more detail, but it’s important to remember that with a basic telescope the more magnification, the dimmer the image gets and possibly you will even experience fuzziness due to atmospheric turbulence. 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. So whilst magnification is important, it’s not everything at the lower end of the price range!
Refractor or Reflector?
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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