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Explore Scientific Telescopes

 
 

If you are looking for a good refractor or Dobsonian telescope, check out Explore Scientific! They offer the biggest choice of refractors in the industry, from very inexpensive achromatic models that work well for entry-level astronomy as well as terrestrial use as a spotting scope to large APO (apochromatic) triplet refractors that can be used for astro-imaging and advanced visual astronomy. Explore Scientific is also a fan of the Dobsonian telescope and there are several sizes and styles to choose from.


A quick overview regarding refractor telescopes: A refractor telescope uses lenses to gather light and focus it at the eyepiece. Less expensive refractors are called achromats. In their most common form, achromatic telescopes use two lenses to bring red and blue wavelengths of light to focus. An achromatic telescope is not capable, however, of focusing the green wavelength at the same point of focus. The most common result of this design is a purplish fringe of light around bright stars and planets. This can be a small price to pay, however, for a telescope that costs much less and weighs less, too, especially since there are filters available to help correct this chromatic aberration at the eyepiece.


An apochromatic refractor, also commonly called an APO, uses three lenses to gather the light and bring it to focus. This costs more to manufacture, of course, but the benefit is the APO's ability to focus all three wavelengths; red, blue, and green (RGB). That means it corrects for chromatic aberration, and if made well, an apochromatic refractor can correct for spherical aberration as well. While visual astronomers certainly benefit from buying an APO refractor, the main reason you'd want to spend that extra cash is if you are an astro-imager (or want to be), as you will see the difference in quality in your photographs.


Explore Doublet Achromat Refractors: There is something for pretty much everyone in the achromatic refractor category! Telescopes start at just over $200 and top out well below $2000. The pricing depends, not only on the size of the telescope but also whether it comes with a mount or not. You can buy Explore refractor OTA's from 80 mm to 152 mm in aperture, or you can get one on a simple alt-azimuth mount or more sophisticated equatorial mount.


Explore Apochromatic Refractors: Explore Scientific uses three lenses with an extra-low dispersion (ED) element sandwiched in the middle to enhance performance. Since glass definitely matters when it comes to APO telescopes, Explore uses Hoya FCD1, Hoya FCD100 or Ohara FPL53 ED glass in their top-of-the-line refractors for sharper, brighter, high-contrast images. APO Telescope OTA's are available in the following apertures: 80 mm, 102 mm, 115 mm, 127 mm, 140 mm, 152 mm and an unbelievable 165 mm. Some have aluminum optical tube assemblies and some are made of carbon fiber. High end focusers are standard and designed to hold the weight of various imaging equipment.


Explore Scientific Dobsonian Telescopes: A Dobsonian telescope is designed to give you the most aperture for your money. It consists of a Newtonian telescope mounted on a basic rocker box with a lazy-suzan type base. This allows the Dob to move 360 degrees as well as up, down, right and left. In other words, a very simple alt-azimuth mount without the need for a tripod. Explore offers an 8" and 10" classic Dobsonian in a closed tube design as well as a collection of big Dob's (10", 12", 16" & 20") that have an open tube fitted with poles. If these Dobsonians were made with a closed tube, it would be a LOT heavier and you would have a VERY hard time finding a vehicle that could transport it! However, to break down a truss tube telescope, you simply lift the top portion of the telescope from the truss poles, pull the poles out and place them in a carry bag, and now you have just three bigger pieces, the bottom section that holds the primary mirror, the base that the bottom section sits in, and the top portion that includes the secondary mirror and focuser. Now it is much easier to put this big scope into your car, trust me! You won't believe how amazing deep-sky objects are through a big Dobsonian. They are a totally manual telescope, but that puts you in charge of learning the sky on your own, and that is a beautiful thing.


If you need help choosing an Explore Scientific telescope that will be best suited for your applications, feel free to contact one of our non-commissioned product advisors by phone or email. We are here to help and want your experience in astronomy to be the best it can be!


Want to know more about choosing a Dobsonian telescope? Read the High Point article entitled Dobsonian Telescopes for Beginners. Enjoy.