Choosing a telescope may be daunting especially if telescopes and astronomy are new to you but you find yourself choosing a telescope as a Christmas or Birthday present.
There are so many models to choose from which all have their pros and cons and unfortunately there are lots of poor quality scopes around to confuse things. We can cut through some of the unnecessary confusion with a few basic pointers.
Whether you are buying for yourself or for someone else the first thing to understand is the reality that all the great pictures you have ever seen of colourful planets and nebula are not going to be seen through your new telescope. Not unless you’re buying a share in the Hubble Telescope anyway. Confusingly, those pictures are often reproduced on the boxes telescopes are packed in, marketers getting their way!
You’ll need to consider how the new telescope is likely to be used as well as what your budget might be. This is actually quite crucial for a few reasons:
- A small telescope which is simple to set up and easy to carry is likely to be used more unless the user is a particularly keen budding astronomer
- Larger telescopes allow one to achieve more but the bigger it is the more weight to carry and set up
- In or near a city, a small refractor might be a better choice than a larger scope as they handle light pollution better than larger scopes
- If you are using the telescope well away from city lights a large reflector can produce sights to knock your socks off and the Dobsonian versions are very easy to use
- Refractors can also be used for views across land too, though you will need to get a correcting eyepiece to get the image to show right way up
Bear in mind that the the telescopes aperture (the diameter of the lens) is the most important factor governing how much can be seen. Bigger is best at least as long as you can manage to lift and use the scope and you are not capturing lots of light pollution near a city.
So taking the aboveinto account in choosing a beginners telescope if you are based near the city and unlikely to take your new telescope to the countryside, I would recommend a refractor. Try to get one of 70mm aperture minimum more if you can afford it.They’re easy to grab and set up on a whim.
If however it is likely to be used in the countryside and by a keen budding astronomer, I’d choose the biggest reflector I could afford and handle. They really perform well in good dark sky locations.
Bear in mind the big Dobsonians are actually reflectors mounted on simple turntables - ideal for younger viewers.
Just about all but the cheapest telescopes can be ‘accessorised’ with motorised mounts, go-to systems and there are lots of different eyepieces and filters that can be purchased for the budding astronomer. A reputable dealer will help you choose them wisely for your telescope choice.
Tags: amateur telescopes, choosing a telescope, telescope, telescopes