When you are buying a telescope, you should consider buying a good pair of binoculars first. Then you probably want to consider either a small Newtonian reflector or a Schmidt Cassegrain, to provide you with many hours of viewing entertainment.
If you are thinking of getting into astronomy, congratulations! This is a great hobby. However, here are a few recommendations before you go shopping:
- Spend a few nights getting to know the constellations. Get a good star map and learn where the major planets and stars are for your area.
- To make this easier and more fun, your first purchase may actually be a good pair of binoculars. You may already have an old pair around the house. We recommend having a decent pair of 7X50s, or 10X50s. This actually is a great investment if you are interested in telescopes and astronomy. You will always want to have a pair of binoculars for your observing sessions with your telescope. A decent pair can last you for many years.
- You also should consider joining a local astronomy club. You can learn a lot about the stars, but just as importantly: You will get to see real telescope equipment in use. This is fantastic because you can see what you like and do not like in actual operation. For example, you might be thinking about a 10” Dobsonian reflector, as it is a lot of telescope aperture for a low price. But one of those is a beast to haul around and won’t fit in a small car easily.
So once you actually get down to buying your telescope, you should remember that generally, the bigger the aperture (diameter of the telescope’s mirrors or lenses), the better. More aperture means a brighter, more detailed image.
The type most people think of is the refractor telescope. Light is gathered from the objective lens at the business end of the scope, and light is focused to the eyepiece and observer at the other end. Refractors generally provide the brightest and most detailed images per inch of aperture, because you have no mirrors or other obstructions in the path of light. However, chromatic aberration, or secondary color, is apparent in most refractors. Also, these are the most expensive telescopes. Department stores are guilty of selling cheap, terrible refractors.
The Newtonian reflector has a parabolic mirror at the end of the scope, and focuses the image at the top of the scope, where the eyepiece and observer are. A secondary mirror is used to bounce the light back up the tube. This is the cheapest telescope design per aperture. However, you lose some contrast because of the mirror obstruction, and these scopes are quite bulky.
The Schmidt Cassegrain design uses mirrors and lenses to fold the path of light back on itself, making for a tube that is very compact. It is the most compact of the three telescopes, and can be easily driven by a computer controlled drive. It is more expensive than reflectors, and the image quality is lower generally than the other two designs.
All three of these telescopes are fantastic in their different ways. Our recommendation for a beginner is either a small (6”) Newtonian reflector, or a small Schmidt Cassegrain scope. These both will provide you with countless hours of observing fun, are relatively compact, and are not that expensive.
For a wide range of telescope choices, please visit www.focuscamera.com.
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