subject: How to choose a telescope? [print this page] How to choose a telescope? How to choose a telescope?
To become an amateur astronomer should be discovering a completely new world. The novices have such an array of telescopes types and brands to choose, beyond the accessories to pursue their hobby.
Naturally, when you see famous brands announced, you'll want to start with them, but this is not recommended. The consumer may take the right decision: a cheaper telescope, with the same functions, will make your learning easier.
But, how do you know which brand is the best option for you? Every instrument has its advantages and disadvantages. Before you buy anything, you must determine what's important to you. What do you most want to look at? That means that Astronomical ou Terrestrial views will suggest you different models and types of telescopes. If you are interested in doing more land viewing (terrestrial) then you should consider a spotting scope or a pair of binoculars.
The most important aspect of any telescope is its aperture, the diameter of its main optical component, which can be either a lens or a mirror. The aperture determines how bright the image appears and how sharp the image appears. What does this mean? The bigger the aperture the better a telescope should be.
There's also two types of telescopes: the reflector and the refractor:
The "reflector", cheaper, uses a mirror as an objective of concave shape. This mirror is actually a fully polished glass with a reflective layer.
The "refractors" are more sophisticated, and so, more expensive, being composed of a lens in the front of the telescope, where it employs achromatic or apochromatic colours mounted in a tube. This means that your telescope won't have distorced colours in your view.
Considering those factors, it's a hard mission to choose just one of the models of telescopes, but the Dobsonian and Celestron are one of the bests actually in terms of viewing. You may also want to research for another brands as Orion, Zhumel, Meade, Bushnell, Takahashi, Cannon and Tasco.
Some brands offers both types of telescopes, you just need to be careful and research about them to choose the best option for you.
