Telescopes

Is this telescope for a child under 12, a teen, or an adult?  Maybe you are going to buypurchasing a telescopes for the whole family or for homeschoolinghome schooling? If the telescope is for an adult, how much weight could they comfortably lift?  Does the person who will be setting up the telescope have back problems, etc.?  Don't worry, there is a great selection of telescopes for users of all ages and abilities, but it helps to know whether you will need a telescope that is lightweight or at least a telescope that breaks down into multiple components to make the task of telescope set-up, breakdown, and transport more manageable for the person who will be using it.

There are so many types of telescopes for sale, so asking yourself what you'd like to do with the telescope is very important!  Below is a list of activities you can do with a telescope to help you decide:

Most people use their telescope from the comfort of their own backyards, and most set up their telescope each time they plan to use it.  If this is how you imagine using your new telescope, then you want to buy telescopesbuying a telescope that areis easy and fast to set up and break down .iswould be a plus.  Remember, the best telescope is the one you will use!  Some lucky amateur astronomers have a backyard or land available to install a personal observatory so they can leave the telescope set up yet protected from the elements. High Point can help you navigate that scenario if you plan to house your scope! 

What if you live in the city and plan to take your telescope to a dark-sky site for better views?  Most telescopes are built to travel, so no worries there, but again, consider whether the telescope will fit in your vehicle and if you can set it up on your own.  Of course, if you want a telescope that can be set up on the roadside at a moment's notice, portability and ease of use are paramount.  It is also a good idea to buy a telescope case for those "have telescope, will travel" moments in order to protect your scope and make it easier to carry!

This question will help you decide what kind of telescope mount you need.  If your idea of astrophotography is using your smartphone and a telescope smartphone adapter to take quick photos of the Moon or bright planets, then congrats, you can still use most any type of telescope mount as long as it is sturdy enough to allow for shake-free images.  This is because your exposure time would be quick enough that the Earth's rotation would not come into play.  However, if you want to take pictures of celestial objects outside of the solar system, it will require a telescope on an equatorial mount.  An equatorial mount is designed to track the stars as they move across the sky due to the Earth's rotation.  We recommend a computerized equatorial mount to make it easier to align, find and track celestial objects.  When you buy telescopes, you must consider The actual telescope you buy is also a consideration if you want to do deep-sky astro-imaging, but it will help narrow down your choices if you consider the 5th and last question first:

Most people have no idea how much they will need to spend to buy a decent telescope that will let them observe most everything they are interested in.  After all, a telescope is often a one-time purchase, and unless we do some targeted research, we are not apt to see advertisements for telescopes like we do cars or washers or a coffee at Starbucks.  It probably will not help you to know that the price of telescopes runs the gamut from around $100 to over $10,000, because really, it all comes down to what you are willing to spend, not what's available.  If the telescope in question is for a child and you are not sure how long their interest in astronomy will last, it is perfectly reasonable to choose a kid's telescope on the lower end of the price scale.  We do recommend you choose a telescope, however, that has a sturdy, easy to use mount and optics that are big enough to see an array of objects.  For more suggestions, here is a quick article on the best kid's telescopes.

Similarly, a telescope for an adult should be sturdy, move easily, and have quality optics that are big enough to see their items of interest.  If someone dreams of looking at galaxies, shoot for at least a 4" telescopeor a 5" telescope  Bigger is better and will increase the detail as well as the number of deep sky objects one can see, but of course more aperture increases the price and the size/weight of the telescope system.  Prices will also increase for computerized telescopes, but if you can swing it, a GoTo computerized telescope is worth it!  These telescopes can almost align themselves and then find thousands of objects with the push of a few buttons.  Some even tell you about the object while you are looking at it.

You will spend the most on telescopes for astrophotography.  This makes sense if you think about all of the components of a good astro-imaging telescope:  optical quality, optical size, mount precision, and electronics that will support precise tracking of the object while the photograph is being taken.  That said, astro-imagers today are achieving results that only professionals would have been capable of a decade ago.  It is an exciting time to be in the hobby of astronomy!

Telescope popularity changes over time, and so the most popular telescope in 2021 may not be the most popular telescope in 2022.  That said, there are some telescopes that remain popular over time due to amazing technology, ease of use or price point.  Here are a few of our favorite popular telescopes for sale:  Dobsonian telescopes have remained popular over several decades.  They are priced low compared to other telescopes of the same size, are easy to use, and help you learn the night sky.  We recommend the Apertura AD 8" Dobsonian for its quality and included accessories.   Another amazingly popular telescope is the Celestron NexStar 8SE.  The NexStar 8SE is a portable Schmidt-Cassegrain computerized telescope that is easy to use and has 8 inches of aperture to see deep into space.  Smaller NexStar SE telescopes are also available if you want something even more portable that costs less.

Keeping in mind that the word "good" is subjective, there are a few simple ways to know if you have a decent telescope.  First and foremost is the quality of the image it delivers.  A good telescope will be able to produce sharp images of the Moon and brighter planets on a clear night of steady seeing.  Also, a good telescope should not wobble on its mount or tripod.  Even if the telescope itself focuses and has good optics, a cheap or defective telescope mount or tripod (or both) will make it almost impossible to find, follow and view objects.  Thirdly, the problem may not be whether the telescope works, but if it is big enough to see the objects you want to see.  If you are pleased with the images your telescope produces and it makes you happy, then you, personally, have a "good" telescope.  Others may want something bigger, more computerized or better for astrophotography, and you may want that too someday, but for now, assuming you can achieve pleasing views and the mount is steady, enjoy your telescope!

The best telescope is one that you can afford, that you can set up on your own, and that you will use!  After that, it all depends on what you'd like to do with your telescope, because there is no one telescope that is "best".  Folks who want to look at the Moon, Saturn and Jupiter occasionally but who are not interested in photography would do perfectly well with a medium-sized refractor on a simple quality alt-azimuth mount, whereas those who want to do photography would require an equatorial mount with either computerization or dual axis motor drive.  If you want to see as deeply into space as possible, you will want to buy the biggest telescope you can comfortably use.  Remember, the bigger the telescope optics, the brighter deep space images will be.  As you can see, there really is no one best telescope!  For help in choosing the "best" telescope for YOU, which is what really matters, contact a member of our product advisor team and we will guide you through the world of telescopes and buying telescopes online!

Yes, you can keep your glasses on when viewing through a telescope if you like, and in factif fact you will definitely need to leave them on if you have astigmatism.  There are a few things to keep in mind for a good experience, however.  Wearing glasses keeps your eye further away from the telescope eyepiece, and if the eyepiece does not have good eye relief - the distance from the lens to where the image comes to focus - you may not be able to see the object very well, if at all.  When looking through someone else's telescope, the only thing you can do when this happens is remove your glasses and focus the telescope as best you can.  An alternative is to try folding down the rubber eyecup of the eyepiece when viewing with glasses.  This brings you a little closer, and depending on the eyepiece, you may have some luck.  However, when it comes to your own equipment, if you want or need to keep your glasses on, we recommend all of your eyepieces have a minimum of 15 mm of eye relief, 18-20 mm is even better.  This puts the focus point right about where your glasses meet the eyepiece, and will make a huge difference in your viewing comfort.

To determine the best telescope mount for you, it is important to think about what you plan to do with the telescope. In general, the "best" telescope mount is a solidly built equatorial mount and tripod that has a large enough weight capacity to easily carry the telescope and any other accessories you plan to use. However, if you want to use your telescope as a spotting scope during the daytime and look at the Moon and planets at night, we would recommend a solid alt-azimuth mount instead.  Alt-azimuth mounts, with their simple up, down, right and left movements work best for daytime use or nighttime use when looking at objects that are easy to find in the sky.  Telescopes on computerized Alt-Azimuth mounts, like those included with the Celestron NexStar SE line of telescopes, do a great job for both daytimeday time and night time observing, however it would not be considered the "best" mount if you plan to do astrophotography.  This takes us back to the solid equatorial mount, which is required for long exposures of galaxies, nebulae and other deep sky objects.  While you can buy a manual equatorial mount and add dual-axis motors and a hand controller for astrophotography, these days most people prefer the computerized equatorial mount, like the Celestron Advanced VX Mount.  Smart electronics help you with alignment and are very accurate when tracking, which makes it way easier to get good results, especially when doing longer exposures.

While the telescope accessories you need depend on the telescope and the kind of observing or photography you plan to do, all telescopes could benefit from a Moon Filter!  This inexpensive telescope accessory threads onto a standard eyepiece and blocks some of the light emitted from the Moon.  Using a moon filter is similar to wearing sunglasses to help you see better and protect your eyes from becoming overwhelmed with too much light.  Here are some other popular telescope accessories:  A dew shield for Schmidt-Cassegrain and other catadioptric telescope users, a star chart or planisphere and red flashlight (useful even if your telescope is computerized), extra eyepieces for a change of magnification, and a portable battery and DC or AC adapter to power electronic telescopes.  That's just the beginning!  Our product advisors can help you choose your telescope accessories, so when you're ready, give us a call!

No, it is not safe to look at the Sun through your telescope UNLESS you are using a dedicated solar telescope with built-in filtering or you have a quality solar filter properly installed over the front aperture a regular telescope!  Have you watched a piece of paper catch fire when light was shined on it through a magnifying glass?  A telescope is a powerful magnifying glass!  Protect your eyes at ALL times.  Beware - even people who do the right thing and use a properly installed solar filter make the mistake of looking through their finder scope to locate the Sun in their eyepiece!  To keep from accidentally doing that, remove the finder scope all together and either replace it with a solar finder, which projects an image telling you when the Sun is in the field of view, or use the telescope's shadow to ascertain when the sun is in the proper location.  Finally, if you have a little solar filter that screws onto an eyepiece, throw it away. These old-time "solar filters" have been known to fall apart in mid-use because the sun actually melted the glue or other adhesive holding them together! 

When amateur astronomers are talking about seeing conditions in astronomy, they are discussing (or complaining about!) current atmospheric conditions. I say "current" because the sky's atmosphere is always changing and will be different not only from night to night, but sometimes from hour to hour! Things like dust, pollen, air currents, temperature, dew point and weather conditions all affect what you see through your telescope. Objects that were in sharp focus at a particular magnification on Saturday night may not come to focus with the same eyepiece on Sunday. This is one reason why amateur astronomers have several eyepieces (3-5 is most common). They not only allow you to increase magnification on nights of good seeing, but decrease magnification when the air is less steady. By the way, if you have a catadioptric telescope with a corrector plate at the very front of your optical tube, a dew shield or dew heater will help keep dew from forming on your optics on a damp night.