Telescope

[RAJESHKUMAR110]

Dear Sir,

 

 

I wanted to buy the telescope of very good magnification. Can anyone specify the type of telescope which is good.

 

 

Thanking you,

[Royston]

One of the first lessons you learn about buying a telescope is to ignore the magnification. Other than that, can you please be a bit more specific i.e what's your price range, what objects are you interested in viewing, do you need it to be portable et.c et.c

 

If this is your first stab at Astronomy, then buy a pair of binoculars and a star atlas, and get yourself orientated first.

[RAJESHKUMAR110]

i wanted to buy the telescope ie. cheap and high visibility.

[CaptainPanic]

i wanted to buy the telescope ie. cheap and high visibility.

 

Snail asked: "can you please be a bit more specific". You are not more specific. You just repeated the same question.

 

Try to make a post with more than 1 sentence. Explain what you want, why you want it, etc.

 

Sorry if you think I am rude. It's my character to be direct, but it's all with the best intentions.

 

RAJESHKUMAR, What is the level of school that you finished? What is your age?

Edited November 25, 2008 by CaptainPanic

[RAJESHKUMAR110]

Dear sir,

 

 

i have completed bachelor of science degree with physics , mathematics and electronics. I am 35 years of age.

 

 

Thanking you,

[Royston]

i have completed bachelor of science degree with physics

 

Ok, then you should be more than familiar with optics, correct ?

 

This should certainly help you with your choice. However, being an amateur myself, I've actually done most of my astronomy so far purely by eye, and looking at star maps, getting a sense of scale et.c

 

It's good to become familiar with the nights sky, before using a telescope, hence I recommended a pair of binoculars and a star atlas. I've avoided using setting circles, as exploring and using star maps is invaluable experience before I start getting precise. Albeit I've practiced setting up my telescope correctly, and targeting on a few objects...but this took the fun out of it for me personally.

 

But I'll presume you're going to buy a telescope, so let's start from the top...

 

What price range are you looking at ?

 

Saying cheap, isn't very specific...are you looking at $ 200 - $ 350 for example.

 

What objects are you most interested in ?

 

Planets, or deep sky objects for instance.

 

Does your telescope need to be portable?

 

That'll do for now. Also, I strongly recommend you get a copy of The Backyard Astronomers Guide (Dickinson and Dyers) before you do anything. I picked up a copy for £ 5, from Amazon. It is an excellent book, and will provide all the information you need, from your first purchase, to more advanced astronomy.

[Flashman]

The "resolving power" of a telescope is limited by it's aperture. This means it can support about 50x magnification per inch of lens or mirror diameter. So, if you want 400x magnification, you need to be looking at an 8 inch scope. Department stores sell cheap 60mm refractor (telescopes with an objective lens) telescopes that advertise something ridiculous like 675x magnification, but for all practical purposes they are only good to about 120x... if that, due to generally poor quality lenses.

 

Telescopes with objective lenses get very expensive as they get larger, making reflector telescopes, "newtonian reflectors", with a parabolic mirror, the most economical in larger apertures. The most cost effective type of newtonian telescope is known as the "Dobsonian" a basic "no frills" newtonian design on a simple altazimuth mount.

 

Here is a reasonably priced example of an 8 inch "dobsonian" style reflecting telescope...

http://www.skywatcherusa.com/8-dobsonian-telescope-s11700.html

 

This size should be able to be transported in any small car. For larger 10 or 12 inch dobsonian type telescopes, you may need a wagon/estate car or a small van to transport them.