How to choose a telescope.

BUYING A TELESCOPE

Its Christmas Morning, Junior runs down stairs and finds a telescope under the tree. He is mad about astronomy and cant wait for it to get dark so he can see all those things he has read about. Night falls, its crystal clear, perfect. Junior sets up his telescope, turns it towards the moon expecting to be amazed but all he sees is a blur of colours and not a crater in sight. Junior then tries a star or a planet, again nothing to see. “I want a drum kit” says Junior. Junior has now lost his interest in astronomy, all because Mommy and Daddy, bought a telescope without knowing the facts, which are

Avoid any telescope that makes claims such as 250X / 350X / 450X times magnification. Magnification is not important, The size of the lens or mirror in the telescope is.
As a rule, avoid most department store telescopes
Do not be swayed by the pictures…..Chances are the pictures on the box are Hubble Space telescope Pictures and your new telescope will not show anything like these.
Talk to someone who knows about astronomy before you buy a telescope.
Do not have exceptionally high hopes about what you will see through a telescope. Any decent telescope will show you the craters on the moon in stunning detail, the moons of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn and a wealth of galaxies, nebula and starclusters. You may even be able to tease out some detail on mars. Even with the largest telescope, you will not see any of the vivid colours you see on your box. You need long exposure photography to bring out colour.

A decent tripod is essential for any telescope, and is as important as the telescope itself.

Generally telescopes should only be bought from reputable dealers and expect to pay anything from €200 upwards. There are exceptions. In the past some of the German chain stores offered beginner telescopes as “specials”. Some of these scopes were excellent value for money and were an ideal introduction to Astronomy. If such scopes arise again, Kery Astronomy club will have details and an educated opinion on our website. If your budget does not stretch to a telescope, then a pair of binoculars make an excellent substitute, some would say in fact that binoculars are equal to or better than a beginners telescope. I tend to agree. Binoculars are an excellent introduction to the night sky. If your are buying binoculars, opt for a pair of 10X50’s. This means a magnification of 10 with a front lens of 50mm diameter. 10X50’s are without doubt the most useful pair of binoculars for astronomy. Visit www.kerryastronomyclub.com for an excellent range of handbooks which are free to download and are suitable for all levels, from beginner to advanced.
Before buying a telescope, see if you can look through a range of telescopes. A Kerry Astronomy Club observing session is ideal for this. Details of which will be available from www.kerryastronomyclub.com.

	Web Kerry Astronomy Club

Member of the Irish Federation of Astronomical Socities

These ads help pay for this site but only if you click on them!..