You’ve decided to buy a new instrument, but which one should you get?
Even though you can see a lot of beautiful and amazing things in the night sky with just your naked eye or binoculars on a clear E night, for most people, astronomy equals telescopes. Do a search for ‘stargazing’ and you’ll be presented with countless images of wide-eyed, happy people looking into or standing next to telescopes, usually beneath a totally cloud-free sky dusted with stars. Magazines are full of adverts for telescopes, and astronomy websites and blogs are packed with accounts of how beautiful star clusters, galaxies and nebulae look through them. Naturally, every stargazer eventually reaches the point where they decide they want a telescope of their own so they can gaze upon the wonders of the universe. But there are so many telescopes to choose from… which one would be the perfect telescope for you? It’s quite simple – the one you will actually use.
But how do you know in advance which telescope you will use? Just as you might do before buying a car, a house or even a new laptop, you have to ask yourself some questions, and answer them honestly. If you do that you’ll learn that some telescopes will be too big and heavy for you to use, and some will not be powerful enough to let you see what you want to see. You’ll realise that some telescopes will be too complicated to set up, and some will be too basic to meet your needs. You’ll also realise that some telescopes are just way beyond your budget. When you’ve figured out what you really want to see through a telescope, where you will be using it, how much you can afford to pay for one and so forth, then you can make a decision. We’re here to help you get to that point, because if you buy the wrong telescope for you it will probably put you off astronomy for good.
WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW BEFORE CHOOSING A TELESCOPE?
What do I want to see through my telescope?
The Moon and planets? Or faint objects such as galaxies, clusters and nebulae?
Where do I want to use my telescope?
Away from home at a dark-sky site, or just from my garden?
Am I really ready for a telescope?
Do I know the night sky well enough to find what I’m looking for?
How much can I afford?
What is my budget for a telescope?
Do I want to take photographs through my telescope?
Or just use it visually?
THE REFLECTOR
These use a series of mirrors and are great for viewing distant galaxies and nebulae
Reflectors use mirrors instead of lenses. They are basically a tube, open at the front, with a large mirror mounted down the bottom end. Light from the night sky enters the tube, hits the mirror, reflects off it and is diverted out of the tube’s side by a
