Choosing to take up astronomy as a hobby promises an exciting experience, no matter the time of year. It’s an activity that can provide you with an incredible sense of peace, giving you the chance to look beyond the surroundings, getting to know more of what the universe has in store with beautiful sights of stars and celestial objects.
To get the most out of it, though, you need to have the right equipment, and in this case it’s none other than a solid model of telescope. While years ago this was the kind of tool that was rather expensive, nowadays there are plenty of options of quality astronomy telescopes within an affordable range price-wise. And, we have technological advancements to thank for it.
What is the Best Astronomical Telescope to Buy?
The answer to this question depends on you entirely, specifically your preferences, likes, dislikes, as well as budget. To make an informed decision, it’s advisable to consider:
Type of Telescope
All the options of astronomy telescopes available can be categorized into three different types for simplification. And these are:
- Refractors – If this is your very first telescope, then this type makes a great option with the intuitive design, light weight, and little to no maintenance. It’s known for the use of lenses to focus the light and provide sharp images. It’s portable, easy to use, and can be paired with interchangeable eyepieces to give you more variety in terms of magnification. It may not offer that many options with size and aperture, and lenses can be more expensive, but smaller refractors are a nice solution for amateur astronomers. You can observe some star clusters, galaxies, nebulae that are brighter, and Jupiter and Saturn in a smaller version.
- Reflectors – Instead of lenses, the reflector type has mirrors to gather the light, making it the more affordable choice. Thanks to the feature of mirrors, the design allows for larger apertures and better views. Remember, however, this comes at the expense of size and weight, making this type bulkier thus requiring a sturdier mount. It’s also not that low in maintenance as the mirrors require adjustments.
- Compound – Also known as catadioptric, this one utilizes both refraction and reflection of light thanks to the combination of lenses and mirrors. As such, it gives you the best of both size and aperture. But keep in mind it tends to be a bit pricier and does require some maintenance.
Basic Specs
- Size – This is something that can be a crucial factor in your choice of telescope as it mainly has to do with the size of the aperture, i.e. the diameter of the lens or mirror, with bigger meaning more light and as a result better viewing of objects in detail. But, as a beginner, aperture of four or five inches in diameter should be enough; anything bigger for fainter and deep-sky object viewing would require more investment, as well as more effort in moving it from place to place which isn’t that great when you’re dealing with bulkiness.
- Magnification – Much like with binoculars, you have the magnification indicated by the manufacturer as one of the top selling points. This isn’t that important of a specification you should worry about, as it doesn’t have that much of influence on how clear you can see an object as the aperture does. For a beginner telescope, anything up to 200x would be enough.
- Mount – As the very element that’s in charge of keeping the telescope steady and turning, your choice of mount depends on how much you’re willing to invest, and the type of design you’re most into using. The beginner-friendly altitude-azimuth is the go-to choice with the intuitive use, but if you want to take it up a notch the equatorial with two axes has one of them aligned with the rotational axis of the Earth. As such, it takes some time to adjust. If you’re more into high-tech, the computerized mounts are worth the purchase.
Your Goals
You may be inclined to look for the best of the best in the market, but be honest with yourself if the state-of-the-art telescope for sale is truly something you consider to be a necessity. Keep your momentary needs in mind, but don’t forget to also consider your long-term goals with this hobby to get an idea of how much of a budget you can work with, and what you find to be essential in terms of type and specs. Do you plan on specializing in observing particular objects, and types of objects? Do you plan on joining up some groups or events? In that case, you could consider investing in something more upgraded.
Your Budget
How serious are you about taking up this rewarding and exciting hobby? Moreover, once you do, are you serious about keeping up with it? Answering these two questions can help you out with determining whether you should focus on something more affordable or perhaps a more specialized model would do with the best in terms of features.
