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Beginners’ Guide to Telescopes |
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Website navigation tip: On any page click on the telescope image, top right, to go back one level |
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What can you get on a budget of £250? Here’s some suggestions to get you started. We suggest you think about 4 different ways to proceed – (1) Try someone else’s! There’s no substitute for trying out different types of telescope and bins before you shell out your hard-earned cash. The best place to do this is at the local astronomy society — there are dozens up and down Britain. They will be delighted to let you peer through a selection of scopes and give you the benefit of their experience — check the listings at the Federation of Astronomical Societies website. Also if you have the time and inclination to do more research, study some of the excellent books and websites available (see our ‘ useful links’ page). then / or — (2) Just buy a good pair of binoculars. To repeat, binoculars are a great place to begin your star gazing and a good pair will give you excellent views of the Moon, star fields like the Pleiades, nebulae like the Orion nebula, globular clusters etc, and planets (but probably not detail like Saturn’s rings, or cloud bands on Jupiter). You won’t lose any time or sleep trying to set-up a complicated mount and you can concentrate on learning your way about the sky and just looking. They’re really easy to use and very portable. Arrange a sun-lounger to lay on when you want to observe objects high up and over-head.. Also you can use them for other things like bird-watching and boats. There is a huge choice available – look at the websites listed in useful links. 10x50 or bigger are normally recommended for astronomy, but heavier types will need a tripod to hold them – they’re too heavy to be hand held. Take a serious look at image-stabilising binoculars. The starter budget can’t quite run to Canon 10x30 image-stabilising bins but these Canons have brilliant optics and can be hand-held while the IS system removes most of the shake that will spoil viewing using normal bins. or — (3) spend the minimum on a reasonable starter telescope and a cheap pair of 10x50 binoculars as well. Even a cheap starter refractor will give you a chance to learn how to use an equatorial mount and introduce you to the annoying aspects of astronomy as well as the fun. This way you can discover if you enjoy it before you spend any more than necessary. A starter refractor will show you some planetary detail like Saturn’s rings and the bins will give you a view (albeit shaky!) of nebulae and the Pleiades etc. or — (4) if you’re determined to dive in at the deep-end, blow your budget on a GO-TO mount, or an equatorial, with the best Mak or refractor you can afford. Take a look at the price survey later in this guide. Go visit a reputable dealer to chat and see the range. For a list of reputable dealers see the useful links section and find others listed in magazines like ‘Astronomy Now’ You pays your money and takes your choice. As we said earlier, although not included in the suggestions, you can get more for your money with a reflector so long as you feel up to tackling the maintenance. A Dob offers a lot of aperture for the price — that’s why they’re sometimes called ‘light buckets’. See the price survey With option (3) you could be blowing all your budget before you find out if you like star-gazing so think on’t. Remember, the best telescope is the one you use the most. Whatever you decide, have fun, and “Clear skies!” as they say. |
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Meade ETX-80AT 80mm refractor on GO-TO |
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Canon 10x30 image stabilising binoculars |
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Overview p4 / 4 |
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Overview |
