Telescope Buyers Guide

From LoveToKnow Buy

This telescope buyer's guide will help you determine the features you should look for based on your needs, figure out telescope terminology and recognize popular brands.

Two Types of Telescopes

Telescopes come in two basic types: Simple telescopes you buy at a department store and those for the budding amateur, intermediate observer and the professional expert. Department store telescopes are typically bought for children and gifts. They have mediocre optics and inexpensive housing. One advantage to the basic telescope is that if the person using telescope gets bored with it, then you haven't wasted a lot of money.

The higher-end telescopes usually have strong optics, better casing and sturdier bases. Some have the capabilities of taking photographs while others can hook into your computer for tracking purposes. If you feel that a telescope will receive lots of attention and use, consider buying this type of telescope.

Telescope Terminology

Aperture: The amount of light the telescope lets in. The higher the aperture the more light the telescope can gather, thereby giving you a clear picture, which can give you a good resolution. This is useful if objects are close together or you need a better picture of a surface.
Focal Length: Like a binocular, this is how far the light travels from the lens to the spot where it comes into focus. The best way to explain is to use a flashlight. Some flashlights let you widen the light or focus it to a pen point. The focal length works the same way. Short focal lengths usually give your bright and clear images, but will have wide areas of view.
Lenses: There are two main types of lenses. Light that gets shifted through a lens is called a refractor. If a light is bounced off of a mirror, that lens is a reflector. Some telescopes us both lens types and they are called catadioptirics.

Telescope Buyer's Guide Questions

Look at the questions below in this telescope buyer's guide to determine if buying a telescope is right for you.

What reason do you have for buying a telescope? Are you planning on astronomy as a hobby or something deeper. The answer to this questions will help you figure out how much you should spend.
What is the atmosphere around you? If you live in the country where natural light is scarce, then you want a pretty good aperature rating so whatever light is available will give you a good image.
What is your commitment level? Will your interest be fleeting? If so, then look into getting a start telescope kit or a telescope at your local Target or Walmart. If you have a high level of commitment then research the high-end telescopes.

Accessories

Just owning a telescope isn't enough. There are some necessities you should consider purchasing to make your observing more enjoyable.

Mounts. A high-end telescope can be heavy. You don't want to lug it around and use your shoulder as a tripod or mount. Be sure to test the mount in the store. You want one that is fluid in movement both vertical and horizontally. Using a bad or cheaply made mount can jerk the movements enough where you lose sightings, which can get annoying.
Filters. Using a solar filter will diminish unnatural light so you can view objects better. A lunar filter is good if you like to look at the moon. Lastly, a light-pollution filter can help filter out light noise from objects deep in space like new stars.
Telescope cleaning kit. This is very similar to a camera cleaning kit. You will mainly be concerned about the lenses and keeping them free of dust. Being outside, the lens can attract dust and dirt, so using special cloths and cleaning liquid will help you keep the lens free of dirt and scratches.