These are all important questions
that you need to answer before
purchasing a telescope, whether
it’s your first scope or 10th. This
overview will help shed some light.Some hard questions
Before you decide which type of tele-
scope to get, you need to take a hard
look at your situation. Ask yourself
the following questions and be hon-
est with your answers.
What is your budget? While you
may feel some sticker shock when
you look at telescope prices, the good
news is that you do not need to spend
a small fortune purchasing your first
telescope. You can get a very nice
instrument for under $300.
If your budget is a bit higher, youcan purchase a well-appointed
instrument for $1,000 to $1,500. But
avoid the urge to go straight to a
high-tech telescope immediately.
While they are tempting, many
newbies find them daunting to set
up and use.
Where will you use it? This might
not be the first thing you think of,
but it’s critical in deciding what kind
of telescope to get. Will you be using
your telescope from home, where you
set it up in your yard for a night
under the stars? Or do you need to
drive a good distance to view the sky
properly?
If your location of choice is hours
away, then look for telescopes that are
quick and easy to set up. And, for
those driving to a location, doublecheck that it will safely fit into your
car before purchasing.
Where will you store it? This is
an issue that many amateurs don’t
consider. Ideally, your telescope
should be easily accessible and stored
in an unheated but clean location.
Keeping it at the ambient outdoor
temperature will speed the optics’
acclimation to the night air. By con-
trast, bringing a scope into the cool
night air from a heated home will
cause images to blur due to heat
currents in the tube before the com-
ponents stabilize.
Storage will also play a major role
in the size of the telescope you
choose. For instance, if you must
carry it down a f light of stairs, it
should be compact and light enough
not to create a fall hazard.Types of telescopes
Today’s astronomers use one of three
basic telescope designs: the refrac-
tor, the ref lector, and a hybrid design
called the catadioptric.
Refractors are recognizable by
their long, slender tubes. A large
objective lens sits in the front, while
the observer looks through an eye-
piece at the back. Changing the eye-
piece will change the telescope’s
magnification.
Ref lectors, on the other hand,
don’t have a lens up front. Instead,
they use a large, concave primary
mirror located near the bottom of the
tube to gather light from a target and
bring it into focus.
The most popular type of ref lectorMAYBE YOU HAVE HADa casual interest in astronomy
for years, looking up at the night sky every chance you get.
Or maybe you’ve just recently become interested in the
wonders hanging high above our heads. Either way, you’ve
decided to take the next step and get your first telescope.
Thumbing through Astronomy’s pages, you see many that
are intriguing. But at the same time, you’re baff led. What
kind should you get? How much do you really have to
spend? Which is best for you?
FR
AM
ES
TO
CK
FO
OT
AG
ES
/D
RE
AM
ST
IM
E
If you’re new to observing, you don’t
need to buy the best telescope —
just the one you’ll use the most.
BY PHIL HARRINGTON
WWW.ASTRONOMY.COM 47