Telescope Advice
So...you are thinking of Buying a Telescope .. Well, our advice is dont until you have spoken to someone, or read the following advice.
A question you need to ask yourself is "What do you want to look at?".
Now that might seem like a strange question to ask, but lets explain.
Space is really big and we mean really really big so there are lots to see.
Starting with the close stuff, the Moon, then there are the Planets and our star the Sun. Moving further out there are nebula (giant clouds of gas in some cases left over from an exploding star) and galaxies.
Most Telescopes will offer really good observational images through the eyepieces, of course there are better observing ones such as the Newtonian or Dobsonian. However if you wish to do Astrophotography then you might be better off with a Refractor or a Schmidt Cassegrain.
Looking at the Sun comes with a very important warning.. Never look directly at the Sun or through a telescope at the Sun, unless you have a specialised Solar filter or a dedicated Hydrogen Alpha Solar telescope.
Another question to ask is portability .. the larger the telescope the heavier the mount, the reason for this is they track to stars for taking images so you dont get blurred stars.
Some people might end up with more than one telescope.
Telescopes Explained
Telescopes generally fall into Two categories..
Reflectors... These have between 2 to 3 mirrors, light falls in from the front of the tube and is collected in the bottom mirror, which is then reflected back up the tube to the secondary mirror which then reflects the light into the eyepiece and into your eye.
These types are Newtonian, Dobsonian and Schmidt Cassegrain.
Refractors... These have no mirrors but have glass lenses instead, a bit like the lens on your camera. These lenses are called elements and are arranged in such a way that prevent light from being split up into its different wavelengths, bit like a glass prism does.
Light comes in from the front of the tube, passes through those elements and into the eyepiece and into your eye.
Cheaper Refractors have between 2 -3 elements but the more expensive ones have between 5-8 elements which do a much better job of controlling the light.
Generally the bigger the diameter of the telescope the more light it can gather and the better the image.
We have heard that Hubble is up for sale but the buyer must collect.
We hope this has helped towards your decision.
A question you need to ask yourself is "What do you want to look at?".
Now that might seem like a strange question to ask, but lets explain.
Space is really big and we mean really really big so there are lots to see.
Starting with the close stuff, the Moon, then there are the Planets and our star the Sun. Moving further out there are nebula (giant clouds of gas in some cases left over from an exploding star) and galaxies.
Most Telescopes will offer really good observational images through the eyepieces, of course there are better observing ones such as the Newtonian or Dobsonian. However if you wish to do Astrophotography then you might be better off with a Refractor or a Schmidt Cassegrain.
Looking at the Sun comes with a very important warning.. Never look directly at the Sun or through a telescope at the Sun, unless you have a specialised Solar filter or a dedicated Hydrogen Alpha Solar telescope.
Another question to ask is portability .. the larger the telescope the heavier the mount, the reason for this is they track to stars for taking images so you dont get blurred stars.
Some people might end up with more than one telescope.
Telescopes Explained
Telescopes generally fall into Two categories..
Reflectors... These have between 2 to 3 mirrors, light falls in from the front of the tube and is collected in the bottom mirror, which is then reflected back up the tube to the secondary mirror which then reflects the light into the eyepiece and into your eye.
These types are Newtonian, Dobsonian and Schmidt Cassegrain.
Refractors... These have no mirrors but have glass lenses instead, a bit like the lens on your camera. These lenses are called elements and are arranged in such a way that prevent light from being split up into its different wavelengths, bit like a glass prism does.
Light comes in from the front of the tube, passes through those elements and into the eyepiece and into your eye.
Cheaper Refractors have between 2 -3 elements but the more expensive ones have between 5-8 elements which do a much better job of controlling the light.
Generally the bigger the diameter of the telescope the more light it can gather and the better the image.
We have heard that Hubble is up for sale but the buyer must collect.
We hope this has helped towards your decision.