![]() ![]() ![]() A 200mm telescope is quite awkward for an adult to move. You want to be able to quickly disassemble it, fit it in your car (to get it home, or take a trip out of the city), and for the user to be able to lift and move it easily. Whatever you get, be aware of size and weight. Ensure that the telescope comes with a small "finder" scope, as it can be very hard to find the desired object in the narrow field of view of the main telescope.Galileo's crude telescope was enough to see these "Galilean" moons, which caused a major stir at the time, because it showed that the Earth was not the center of the entire universe. A small telescope like this will show the largest 4 moons of Jupiter.Make sure a telescope comes with a tripod, as you really can't hold a telescope steady enough to see anything clearly, even on the Moon.Even Galileo's tiny telescope was enough to see the craters on the Moon, which caused a minor stir at the time. The Moon is easy to find because it is so big and bright. Any telescope for $200 or more will give an excellent view of the Moon.(Astronomical telescopes usually invert the image, which makes it rather frustrating for looking at things on Earth!) They have the added advantage that they can be used for land-based activities like nature walks and bird spotting. We have picked the best tabletop, astrophotography friendly and computerized scopes for lunar, planetary and deep space viewing. A pair of binoculars (light enough to hold comfortably and steady) will give a better view of the Moon than the naked eye.Eyepieces: Telescopes come with at least one eyepiece. A magnification of 50x is ideal for a beginner telescope. This can subsequently create a fainter image in the eyepiece. Although high magnification makes an object seem larger, it spreads light over a larger area. With a short exposure (eg 1/100 second), a tripod-mounted camera with a good zoom can get an image of the Moon better than you can see with your eye. Magnification power: A good telescope is about more than just power.This has allowed me to see things like globular clusters, which would be impossible for me to find in the city lights (but you also need a fairly large telescope to collect enough light to see these - this was with an 8 inch/200mm reflector with this, you can also see the color bands on Jupiter and the rings of Saturn).īut in reality, cost is always an issue, especially for a child or a beginner. ![]() These pointing systems (sometimes called "GoTo" computers) are coming down in price, and appearing on smaller and smaller telescopes.The computer keeps the object centered in the eyepiece, despite the rotation of the Earth (otherwise it quickly drifts out of view, and you have to find it again).But a city person in the country also gets lost, because they can suddenly see far more stars than they could in the city!.This is especially a problem in the city, where the lights wash out most of the stars on a star map.The computer works out where the objects are in the sky (a beginner will have trouble finding interesting objects).If cost were not a limitation, I would recommend a telescope with a GPS and computer control for a beginner. ![]()
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