Beginner Telescopes

Having an opportunity to look at the night’s sky more closely is a hobby of many. Telescopes are one of the most popular means by which to enjoy this activity, but if you are new to this pastime you may not know what type of telescope you should use or perhaps even buy. A telescopes main purpose is to gather light, so it is recommend that you look for a scope that has the largest aperture that you can afford. For the less experienced astronomer, there are three main types of telescopes available.

1. Reflector Telescopes- these telescopes are rather large, and use mirrors encased in large tubes. The largest and least expensive reflectors are usually housed in a low “lazy-susan-style” mount referred to as a Dobsonian mount. With the reflector inside the scope, these telescopes are great for viewing faint, deep sky objects such as, nebula, galaxies, and star clusters.

2. Refractor Telescopes- these are the more common telescopes that you see in department stores. Within the long, thin tube of this telescope, are refracting lenses. These telescopes are great for observing the moon, sun, and planets, which require magnification detail, but not brightness. Try to avoid the department store variety, which stress magnification over light gathering. If you magnify the view too much, you’ll end up with mostly unrecognizable blurry blobs. Meade, Celestron, Stellarvue, and many others make sub-4” refractors that are affordable, good quality, and are a better choice for a beginner.

3. Compound telescopes- this type of telescopes has both reflector and refractor lenses. It uses a secondary mirror, which bounces the light through a hole in the primary mirror to an eyepiece. Another name for this telescope is called catadioptric. These scopes tend to be bulky but offer the best of both worlds in terms of light gathering and focal length.

Reflector and refractor telescopes range in price from $200.00-$2,000.00. Compound telescopes are a bit more pricey costing you anywhere from $500.00 to $50,000.00. Many of the higher end telescopes are not only great for viewing the sky, but also for astrophotography, which comes in handy when you want to capture astronomical objects or events. Many telescopes come with hardware that you can link up with your PC to help locate various objects. This is just one of many telescope features/options that might be of interest to the astro-beginner.

Prior to your first telescope purchase, you may want to get in touch with a local Astronomy Club. They often have “star parties”. These gatherings would give you an opportunity to look through and use different types of telescopes to help determine which one is best for you, in order to maximize your stargazing experience and you’ll have the chance to speak with people who have years of experience and knowledge in astronomy and telescope purchases. They have already made the mistakes, so take the time to learn from their past.


~ Words by Sarah Stecher
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