astronomy

astronomy

How to buy a telescope

One of my more nerdy hobbies is Astronomy. There is something very special about seeing the rings and moons of Saturn from your own back garden. Here I will discuss what I have learnt when buying a telescope, what to look for and what to avoid.

 

1. Avoid the cheap telescopes that are sold at stores like Dick Smith and Aldi entirely.  The old saying, you get what you pay for rings true especially for telescopes. That said, you don’t need to spend a fortune to have fun, just don’t go super cheap because you will ruin your new found enthusiasm in no time.

 

2. Buy/borrow a pair of binoculars.  I know it sounds lame, and it probably looks very lame, but looking at the moon with a half-decent pair of binoculars is an awe-inspiring and cheap experience. When I was talking to the guy in the shop where I brought my first telescope, he told me to try binoculars. I didn’t listen to his advice because I thought it was silly, but recently I gave it a shot and the view is amazingly clear.  I could even see a nebula or two!

 

3. After trying the binoculars, and you are still interested, start thinking about buying a telescope.  There are essentially two types of telescopes. Reflectors (the one where you look in the side and there is a big mirror at the bottom) and refractors (the typical looking ones you can imagine a pirate using). As a rule of thumb, reflectors offer a bigger aperture for price but need more maintenance, while a refractor is slightly more clear but costs more and requires more maintenance.

 

4. The most important thing you need to consider is Aperture. For those unfamiliar with photography, the aperture essentially is the size of the hole that lets the light in. The smaller the hole, the less light is allowed in. the bigger the hole, the more light that is let in. As things in space are fairly dark (duhhhhh) you obviously want the biggest aperture you can afford. That said however, as aperture increases, the size of the telescope also increases, so if you plan on transporting it to a darker area, you have to make sure you can transport it. Sure, if you have a van and can afford it,  get a 16” aperture, get it, but in my case, a 8” fits nicely across the back seat of my car.

 

5. Forget about magnification! Don’t even let this into the equation. If the sales person, telescope box or whatever is ranting on about 400000X magnification forget it and go somewhere else. Any astronomer would tell you that each time the magnification doubles, the light halves. So unless you have a really big aperture, forget about these really high magnification levels. Furthermore,  once you have brought a telescope you cannot alter the aperture, but you can easily and cheaply alter the magnification later when you have some spare cash.

 

6. You can get well made, and cheap telescopes from Asia. Although die-hard astronomers will tell you that these are not as good quality (and it may be right) telescopes made in Asia are good enough quality for almost any armature astronomer. It may even allow you to buy a bigger aperture that you couldn’t previously afford with an Australian or American built model.

 

7. Read astronomy magazines. They are cheap, (and free to read at the library/Borders) and are full of good information for individuals new to astronomy.

 

8. Join your local astronomy club. Although it’s the biggest nerd-fest in the world, you will find very kind and enthusiastic people who are willing to help you with your problems and guide you in your purchasing decisions.

 

    What I brought after learning all this: I got an 8” (fits in the car nicely) reflector (bigger aperture for low price) made in Taiwan (good quality and cheap) from a local telescope shop (they have been very helpful when I get stuck).

     

    © Jeremy Smith (2007). All rights reserved.

     

    Some links for you

    Ice In Space - A great Australian site for amature astronomers!

    Bintel - Where I brought my telescope. Their prices were very competitive and their service was very very good. They still help me out when I stuff up!

    Astronomy Picture of the Day - A great homepage and a great place to see many varied space related images