Have you been
looking up at the stars recently and thought about purchasing your own backyard
telescope? Have your kids put telescope on their holiday wish list? Do you want
to learn how to take photos of astronomical objects? If you answered yes to any
of the above questions, then I have one piece of advice for you: don't buy a
department store telescope! Yes they are inexpensive and promise to show you
beautiful images of the moon and planets, but they are more hassle than they
are worth. I've had many friends and family members purchase these telescopes,
struggle with their kids for hours in the back yard trying to see something
with it, only to package it up the next day and toss it or re-sell it. Why are
these telescopes so "bad"? Well, bad is really a poor choice of
words. They are usually refracting telescopes designed to look at large bright
objects, and they do a good job of that. One of the main complaints I get from
people is that the images look blurry, so they try to magnify the image by
inserting a higher magnification eyepiece, in hopes of getting a clearer view.
What they don't realize is that magnification only blurs the image more. Theses
telescope are small (usually a few inches wide) and only collect so much light.
Magnifying that light is not going to make things more clear or brighter, its
going to enlarge a small dim region, and likely make it look darker than
before. The image you see will never look like the one on the box, guaranteed. The second complaint I hear is that they are difficult to
"point", as in, even if you think you have it aimed at the moon, you
can't see anything. This is a problem with all small, non-computerized
telescopes, and can get really frustrating really quickly. My best advice here
is to be patient and try to learn your way around the sky. Point the telescope
towards the moon and practice lining it up by looking at the stars with your
eyes, then through the telescope, and adjusting as necessary. Practice makes
perfect with this. Lastly, you must remember that we live on a moving rotating
sphere, and therefore, when you point your telescope at an object, it will only
stay in your field of view for a short time before you have to readjust. This
is true for all telescopes, unless you have one that "tracks".
So, I very much
encourage you to buy a backyard telescope, and I don't want a bad experience
with a cheap scope to detour your love of astronomy! You can still acquire an
excellent, easy to use telescope for a few hundred dollars. Check out websites
like http://www.celestron.com/ and http://www.meade.com/ and do your research!
Ask friends in a local astronomy club what they suggest, or attend a telescope
buying seminar. Often, local museums will offer workshops on how to purchase
and operate basic telescopes for the beginner. Check these out, avoid the department
store telescopes, and I promise you will love your new investment. Clear Skies!
