Telescopes that every beginner should know

Today, in this blog, I am going to tell you all about the telescope you shall buy as a beginner, which is also affordable, below the price range of ₹11,000 or $136.

Deciding a perfect beginner's telescope is crucial, since the telescope you buy sometimes does not match the satisfaction level for what you bought that telescope. It sometimes kills your excitement into a disappointment. So, today I am going to give some good recommendations for the telescope you shall buy.

Section 1: Refractor Telescope 

Now before directly mentioning about the telescope, we should first understand the science behind, how does the refractor telescope works.

 This type of telescope uses lens instead of  mirrors, which bends the light coming from the object (for example-Moon) and focuses it on a particular point. It has an Objective Lens and the Eyepiece Lens.

The Objective Lens is a large convex lens at the front of the telescope, which gathers the light coming from the object and bends it to form a small image. Now about The Eyepiece Lens, more the smaller lens you look through (for example a 4mm lens or a 6mm lens) , greater would be the magnification. The image formed is inverted, like up- side down.

Now some recommendations for the telescope you should buy. 

1. Celestron Powerseeker 60AZ (₹6,825 or $80).

It is a portable yet powerful telescope. It has all its glass optical components with high transmission coating for better image clarity. Its focal length is 700mm and an aperture of 60mm. It comes with an Altazimuth Mount, and two eyepieces (20mm and 4mm), erect image star diagonal, finderscope and a 3X Barlow Lens. It also comes with a Starry Night Astronomy Software which is a good deal because it helps you to pin-point stars and teaches you more about stars and galaxies. If you are an adult, astronomer or a kid, this would be a good choice. Maximum magnification is 525x and lowest is 35x.

2. Pie Matrix Phoenix 60700 (₹9,599 or $112).

This telescope is good for both Terrestrial and Celestial observation. It gives an incredible views of planets, Moon, star clusters, and brighter stars. It comes with 3 eyepieces- 20mm, 12.5mm and 6mm which offers you a variety of magnifications. It also comes with a 5x24 optical finderscope, Moon filter and a 3x Barlow Lens. It's focal length is 700mm and aperture of 60mm. It comes with an Altazimuth Mount. Maximum magnification is 350x and lowest is 35x.

3. Space Launcher 60mm (₹6,500 or $77).

 

This telescope is also perfect for Terrestrial and Celestial viewing. You can see the planets, Moon, star clusters, and deep sky objects like the Orion nebula and Andromeda galaxy at night. Assembling this telescope is very easy. It's focal length is 700 mm and aperture is 60 mm. It comes with an Altazimuth Mount. It's maximum magnification is 525x and lowest is 35x.

It comes with a 4mm Eyepiece, 12.5mm Eyepiece and 20mm Eyepiece which again offers you a variety of magnifications to view the celestial bodies. It also comes with a 3x Barlow Lens and an 1.5x erecting eyepiece. 

Section 2: Reflector Telescope

Reflector or Reflecting telescope uses Mirrors instead of Lens. The main component of this type of telescope is a primary concave mirror, which collect or gathers the light from  the celestial body and focuses it to a focal point. At the focal point, there is another mirror called as the Secondary mirror. This mirror is tilted at an angle of 45 degree to redirect the light coming from the primary concave mirror to the eyepiece.

Now, here are some recommendations that I’d like to share with you all.

1. Space Launcher 76mm (₹8,800 or $104).

This telescope is perfect for terrestrial and celestial observation. Its aperture is 3 inches and focal length 700mm, which is quite good, because you could able to see fainter stars also, which is a good thing. Setting this telescope up is quite simple and easy since it requires no tool for set up. It comes with 3 eyepieces, 20mm, 12.5mm and 6mm. it also comes with a 5x24 finderscope, 3x Barlow Lens and 1.5x  erecting eyepiece. It comes with an Altazimuth mount too!

2.Audavibe Stellar Newtonian Reflector Telescope (₹9,999 or $117).

This is a Top-Grade professional telescope suitable for both beginners and enthusiasts. It gives breathtaking views of Moons, Planets, Deep-Sky objects, etc. It comes with an Altazimuth Mount, Moon filter, 3 eyepieces( 20mm, 12.5mm and 6mm), 2x Barlow Lens and an 1.5x Erecting eyepiece. It's focal length is 700mm and aperture is 76mm. Its lowest magnification is 35x and highest is 235x.

3. Celestron 21044 PowerSeeker 76 (₹10,900 or $127).

This telescope is a great way go open up the wonders of the universe to a beginner, this is designed to give the beginner the perfect combo of quality, value, features and power. It comes with an 3x Barlow Lens, 2 eyepieces(20mm and 4mm). All the lens used in this telescope is fully coated. It also has a 5x24 finderscope and has an Altazimuth Mount. It's lowest magnification is 35x and highest magnification is 525x.

NOTE: never use the 4mm Eyepiece with a 3x Barlow Lens because, the higher magnification will make it hard for you to locate the planets or any deep sky objects. For locating the celestial bodies, use the 20mm or 12.5 mm eyepiece, and once you have located the object, you can use the 4mm eyepiece. But from my side, I will suggest you to use 20mm and 12.5 mm eyepieces only, because it provides a large field view. For minute observation, you can use the 4mm eyepiece. 

Now, before you buy the telescope, you shall know about the Chromatic Abbration ( commonly mistaken by "abbreviations") effect- this is caused when the lens in the telescope fails to focus all the colors of the light (VIBGYOR) to the same point. This causes an distortion that causes colored fringes around the object.

Here are some celestial photos with and without chromatic abbration-

Chromatic Abbration is commonly seen in Refractor Telescope, but not in that Refractor which has double lens to prevent this. All-in-all, the cheap Refractor would have this effect, but the telescope I mentioned, will have this effect a bit negligible, so it won't destroy your observation. 

(The price of each and every telescope I have mentioned, is the same in Amazon.in)

Now it's upon you, what telescope you liked and want to buy, till then bye!