My First Telescope

A keen y10 astronomer has been testing her new equipment. Look at the excellent images achieved in the first week.

 

A wonderful view of the contrast and depth of craters appreciated, near the terminator.



An image of the sun using a homemade sun filter using a purpose made safety film. Two sun spots are visible in the top left hand corner.

 What type of telescope should I buy?

 A good all-round beginner’s telescope is a Newtonian reflector. It’s a simple design and is relatively cheap for the size of mirror you’ll get for your money – ideal if you’re just starting out.

A Newtonian reflector with a 6-inch (150mm) mirror will give you good views of the brighter galaxies and nebulae, and should also perform well when you train it on the Moon and planets. 

But what about the other types of telescope? Well, refractors are perhaps the most recognisable of all designs. They use a series of lenses to bring what you’re looking at to focus at the eyepiece end of the tube, and are great for observing the Moon or rich star clusters. 

There’s also the Dobsonian, which is a type of reflector that has a simple mount and because of that, often has a much larger mirror for its price. As this collects more light it will let you see dimmer objects, so it’s a great choice if you want to see faint galaxies and nebulae. 

Finally, there are the catadioptric telescopes that use a combination of corrector lenses and mirrors. Their compact size makes them relatively portable and their high focal ratios mean that they’re ideal for lunar and planetary observing.

Thanks to the Sky At Night.