TELESCOPE BUYING GUIDE

Ok, you have got the astronomy bug.  You just got done looking at the latest photos from the Hubble telescope and its time to see the objects on your own.  This telescope buying guide will help you choose the right telescope for you by giving you the best telescope information.  Buying the wrong telescope will make you feel frustrated and you will give up on a rewarding and challenging hobby.  We will list the most important telescope buying considerations, then will go into greater detail.

1. DO NOT BUY A TELESCOPE FROM A DEPARTMENT STORE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE.  They promise huge magnification, but their optics are of inferior quality and they deliver nothing.  Don't waste your money on these.

2. Read the CoolScopes.com telescope section and familiarize yourself with the various types of telescopes that are available.  In terms of ease of use , and low maintenance, a refracting telescope is the way to go.  For greater aperture, a reflecting telescope or catadioptric is the way to go.  Catadioptric telescopes are more expensive, but really deliver the best performance.  They do give the best value for the money if you can afford them in the first place.

3. Decide what aperture is right for you.  The more aperture, the better your telescope is going to perform.  However, once you start getting into moderately large telescopes, say 12" an greater, you must consider convenience as a factor.  For example, a Meade 12" SCT is bulky and heavy and really requires 2, and sometimes 3, people to set it up safely.  One person can do it, but is is tricky and you don't want to risk breaking a $6,000 telescope.  Be careful about what we call "aperture fever".  This is when you get the biggest telescope you can possibly afford.  While this is great, unless you have a stationary place for the telescope so that you don't have to continually move it and set it up, it will become a pain and you will spend more time watching TV when you should be out observing.  A beginner observer will probably not notice much of a difference between the view in a 8" telescope versus a 12" telescope.  Yes, you will get more detail, especially on planets, and you can get much greater magnification (480 versus 720x), but most observing is not done at high magnification.  It is better to get your feet wet using a more reasonable aperture.  There is a rule of thumb that the greater your aperture, the less use your telescope will get.  So, you must balance the need for convenience for the desire for greater aperture.

4. Decide which mount to get.  You generally have the choice between 2 types of mounts.  There is the equatorial mount and the altazimuth mount.  The equatorial mount looks like it is tilted to one side and follows the curvature of the earth and has only one motion.  This type of mount is sturdy and is excellent for tracking.  In fact, it is a must for long exposure astrophotography.  The altazimuth mount basically moves up/down and left/right, thus moving on two planes.  This type of mount does not track objects as well, but is well suited for viewing, as opposed to imaging.  Either type of mount can be motorized so that it automatically tracks.  This is really a must and will make your viewing much more pleasurable.  Otherwise, you will spend your night just trying to follow objects through the eyepiece.  Also, many mounts today come with a GOTO feature.  These will automatically point your telescope at tens of thousands of objects at the push of a button.  They do require alignment each time you set up the telescope.  It takes some practice to get it just right.  This is a great feature as it makes for much easier observing and will help you learn the skies.

5. Your viewing location is also important.  Light pollution is a major problem.  Urban skies are often filled with light from streetlights, buildings, and homes.  If you live in light polluted skies and do not have the ability to get to a dark site, you are going to be limited to the planets, the moon, open clusters, double stars, and some brighter globular clusters.  In this case, you may want to consider a refracting telescope.  They are better for brighter objects.  Reflecting telescopes and catadioptric telescopes are generally substantially better at viewing deep space objects, such as galaxies and nebulae.

Each telescope has its advantages and disadvantages.  This buyers guide hopefully has helped you decide what is right for you.  The right telescope for you may be the wrong one for someone else, and visa versa.  Get the advice of others who have more experience.  Our astronomy forum is a great place to start.  There you can ask questions, read previous posts, and get the answers you are looking for.