With National Astronomy Week coming up, you might be thinking about getting that telescope you’ve always dreamed of. It would look good in a corner of your room, and what could be better than exploring the universe from your back garden?
The good news is that telescopes have never been better value, and there’s a range of excellent instruments out there. But our advice is – don’t rush into it! There are more telescopes lying unused in their boxes under the bed, or getting in the way until bits go missing, than are ever used even occasionally. Resist the impulse to buy that impressive-looking instrument in the camera shop window or online until you’ve done a bit of research into what will really suit you. It’s hard to give any ‘best buys’ because everyone’s requirements are different.
Here’s the lowdown. Most of the telescopes now available will work well, but only if you have a lot of experience in setting them up and in viewing through them. In many cases they have features that don’t suit the beginner, or are overcomplicated for what’s required. The result is that they don’t get used, or are sold on after a year or two. So here are our top tips for choosing a telescope.
Tip 1
Make the most of your binoculars, if you have them. Many of the objects on view during NAW can be seen with ordinary binoculars, and they are very versatile. Most active astronomers use binoculars a lot, but they usually go for the standard sizes such as 10 x 50 (magnifying 10 times, with 50 mm diameter lenses) rather than very high magnifications as you might imagine. Standard binoculars will show you many more stars than you can see with the naked eye, will reveal some nebulae and star clusters, and even show the craters of the Moon and Jupiter’s satellites.
If you’re buying new ones, don’t go for the cheapest in a range, and be cautious about zoom binoculars. Stars are more demanding of good quality than daytime objects, and the extra lenses needed for zooming need precise engineering to work well. Cheap binoculars might work to start with, but could easily go out of line if knocked, and can’t be repaired.
Tip 2
Don’t expect too much from a cheap telescope (under about £150). If you have a lot of light pollution where you live, you can’t see much these days through a small telescope apart from the Moon and planets, and you need a telescope magnifying more than 50 to see any details. There are star clusters, nebulae and galaxies visible which take quite a bit of finding, but they won’t look like the photos in books, even from the countryside. The enjoyment comes from finding them for yourself and gaining skill in viewing.
Tip 3
Don’t be impressed by equatorial mounts, which have to be aligned on the pole star before you can use them properly, and require heavy counterweights. You may read that they are better for following objects through the sky, but the ones on starter telescopes are usually more trouble than they are worth. A sturdy and well-engineered altazimuth mount (up and down and side-to-side movements) is better than a cheap equatorial. But for more advanced observing, they are great, particularly for photography (but see Tip 6)
Tip 4
Get advice from your local astronomical society or someone you know before you buy. If you don’t know anyone, search online for specialist telescope suppliers and ask their advice by email or over the phone. They know what they are talking about and won’t try to sell you something that won’t suit you, and their prices are competitive with catalogue shops They want you to enjoy the hobby and come back for more!
Tip 5
If the price of a good new telescope puts you off, consider a secondhand instrument. The website astrobuysell.com/uk/ is a good source of goods and it is free to use, either for buying or selling. But you need to know what you are buying, and don’t expect to get advice or help on using the goods.
Tip 6
If you plan on taking photos through your telescope, like those in the astronomy mags, bear in mind that most are taken through rather expensive equipment. You can get reasonable photos of the Moon using your phone through cheap telescopes, but that’s about the limit.
But these days there are smart telescopes that will take excellent photos of a huge range of objects – but not detail on the planets – starting at under £400. They are fully automatic, so all you have to do is put them down and switch them on and they find and photograph your chosen objects themselves. You control them from a smartphone or tablet. However, you don’t get the photons hitting eyeballs experience – they are purely photographic. They even get great shots despite light pollution. Some say they will make visual observing obsolete….