So, you've been stargazing for a while with your naked eye or binoculars and you
want to move up to a telescope. This is one of the biggest decisions for an
amateur astronomer. If you are not really sure how, it can be a daunting task.
Follow these simple steps and we'll tell you how to buy a telescope.
"Caveat Emptor," as the saying goes, "Let the buyer beware." Don't be
fooled by "sales." Choose carefully and you will have lots of fun with your new
telescope.
Here's How:
Learn as much as possible about telescopes
before you start shopping. An informed shopper usually makes the best
decisions.
If possible, take an experienced friend with you, so you can both
test the scope. While different eyes see things differently, a second set of
eyes may spot a problem you miss.
You'll want at least a 4" wide aperture for
deep-space viewing.
Give the telescope a light tap. (Not too hard, remember,
"You break it, you buy it.") Be sure that it regains its balance within one or
two seconds.
A telescope does no good if it just sits in your closet. Be sure
you can lift, transport it, and set it up by yourself.
The higher the
magnification, the harder it is to find what you are looking for in the
eyepiece. Be sure your scope has a separate finderscope.
It is good to have a
variety of eyepieces, but make sure you have at least a 1/25" diameter
eyepiece.
Mount – Necessary for steady viewing:
It’s likely you never
even considered a mount when you thought of buying a telescope. Most people
don’t. However, the mount is a very important part of a scope.
Some kind
of stand to hold the scope steady is essential. It is extremely difficult, if
not impossible, to view a distant object if the scope is not very steady. Most
people do not have that steady of a grip.There are basically 2 types of mounts,
altazimuth & equatorial. Altazimuth is similar to a camera tripod. It allows
the telescope to move up and down (altitude) and back and forth (azimuth). The
equatorial is designed to follow the movement of objects in the sky. Higher end
equatorials come with a motor drive to follow the rotation of the Earth, keeping
an object in your field of view longer. Many equatorial mounts come with small
computers, which aim the scope automatically.
Only purchase telescopes that
come with a warranty.
What You Need:
Know that "A good scope will not
talk about its 'Power.”'
Know that "Refractor & Reflector each have
advantages and disadvantages."
Know that "Aperture size is the true key to
the 'power' of a telescope."
How To Buy Good Quality Telescope Video
Know a Telescope’s Focal Ratio.
Know that "A
good Mount is necessary for steady viewing."
Know that "With eyepieces, power
is not the object."
Know that "It is almost always true that 'you get what
you pay for.'"
How To Buy A Good Telescope?
