People who are fascinated by astronomy often face the need to buy a telescope. How to choose such an optical device? This question is rather complicated. But you need to remember a simple thing - you will never find a device with which you could make absolutely all types of observations. That is why it is important to decide at the very beginning why you are acquiring a telescope.
How to choose it based on existing varieties? The first option is a refractor. This is an optical device that uses a lens system to collect light. Its advantages are as follows: it is able to last for a long time, has a large field of view, stable alignment, the light loss in this case is the smallest, since there are no auxiliary surfaces between the eyepiece and the lens. The image quality in such a device is high, you can also talk about good protection against dust. But if you are interested in how to choose a telescope for beginners, then it is important to mention the disadvantages of refractors. This is
chromatic aberration, that is, the clarity of the image may decrease, as well as the appearance of color contours, spots, stripes. The relative aperture in this case is small, which means a small aperture. And the main minus is decent dimensions.
With reflectors, things are different. This is the second type of telescope. Their advantages: lower price, compactness, which means mobility, large aperture and full achromaticity. But there are also disadvantages that such a telescope has. How to choose it and is it worth it if it has an increased sensitivity to deformation of mirrors, which, incidentally, are short-lived and darken during use, why does the image deteriorate? When carrying, such a device is easily decomposed. And when observing ground objects, the image will be inverted.
If we talk about the scope, then refractors are used when observing planets, the Moon, ground objects, and reflectors are used by objects of deep space, that is, clusters, nebulae, galaxies. So decide how to choose a good telescope based on your goals.
Another variety of these optical devices is mirror-lens. They also differ in their merits. First of all, it is compact, achromatic, the image will be good across the entire breadth of vision, and they are protected from dust enough, because their pipe is hermetically closed. The disadvantages are many include a high price, decent weight, considerable light loss.
You have to buy a telescope. How to choose it, prompt numerous characteristics. For example,
focal length, lens diameter, penetrating power,
resolution, and so on.
Before making a purchase, ask yourself a number of questions: what exactly do you plan to observe, where, what amount do you have? A refractor is more suitable for beginners, because you will most likely study the planets and the moon. Consider in what room your telescope will be located. If this is a small balcony, then you need to choose a reflector. And in the case of a spacious loggia, a refractor is also suitable. Prices for such optical devices range from $ 15 and up to ten thousand. The most popular telescopes are CELESTRON, STURMAN, KONUS and so on.