Tips for the first telescope

Minimum sizes:

The diameter of the objective, either lens or mirror, it depends on what the light gathering power of the telescope. A larger diameter, more light.

As a general tip: for refractor telescopes (lenses) are not recommended for anything below 60 mm (best 70 mm), while for reflecting telescopes (mirrors) are not recommended for anything below 100 mm (114 mm is a recommended classical measure)

Be suspicious of increases

It is not uncommon for small telescopes that are typically sold in non-specialized store, announce with great excitement that you will have 500x or 750x magnification. The reality is that you will never achieve such magnification in a small telescope: the images will become dark and blurry, as there is a proper limit for each telescope, which is well below those amounts that are exaggerated.

What do you see with a telescope?

Let's start with what NOT is seen: thanks to technology, magazines and media, we are used to seeing splendid color photographs of all kinds of fabulous astral body... The characteristics of a nocturnal observation, that kind of image, is generally impossible to observe directly.

Another different aspect is the observation of the moon and planets. Moon observation you clearly see the impact craters, mountains and a variety of geological formations that will change with the lunar phase and the illumination on the surface of the Sun.

As for planets, Mercury and Venus will present phases, more pronounced and easier to see in the case of Venus. On Mars we see at their best ice caps, even with telescopes of 114 mm aperture. Jupiter will shine with its 4 major satellites, you can see the Great Red Spot and the main atmospheric features. Saturn dazzle with its spectacular rings, changing the viewing angle with the passing of the years. Uranus and Neptune will be observable as small discs of distinctive color, more green for Uranus and bluer for Neptune.

Automated Telescopes (GOTO)

There are currently an interesting variety of telescopes that are capable of targeting objects simply by selecting their name or by entering the relevant catalog number. Definitely a tempting option for many enthusiasts.

The advantage of such a team is that after some basic settings (location, date, time) and a brief alignment assisted by the same system, the telescope will be ready to point to objects that are above the horizon from which you are watching. It's quick, convenient and allows you to quickly find many items that would have taken a little longer to find by other means (search using maps, star hopping, etc)

By Francisco Silva