|
|
|
Heredity Is Not Destiny: Do Health and Weight Problems Run in Your Family? It May Be Habits, Not Genetics
I grew up as an unathletic kid. My mother was unathletic, so she just assumed I was too. You see, our family has weak ankles and no coordination. It wasn't until I was an adult that I realized that all this was a lie. I wasn't unathletic - I just...
Paintball- Can Children Play?
Is your child wanting to play Paintball!!! OK!! It can be a GREAT sport for children if you get the right paintball gear and the right playing field. There are risks..but then no matter what you let them do there are risks….For your peace of...
Skateboarding For Beginners
Over the last couple of weeks I've been trying to do at least an hour of skateboarding after work each day. The road outside is smooth and flat, very good for practicing flatland stuff. The kid two doors down from me, Jake, joins in sometimes too,...
Why Folic Acid Is Important
Folic acid is one of the vitamins that make up the Vitamin B complex. Also known as folacin and folate, this essential nutrient serves the body in many ways. While important for all age groups, folic acid is especially necessary to pregnant women...
Why We Play Games, Part 2
In part one we started to get into the motivation of the gamer. We discussed challenge and its ugly stepsister competition, two of the most common motivators. Today, we look at two more on the way to forming an overall model for what moves us.
...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Choosing The Right Telescope
Ever since Galileo, people have been pointing telescopes to the heavens and expanding their view of this world by looking outside of it into other worlds. It can be a fascinating and rewarding endevour. You can even meet some very good friends this way as there are usually local star-gazing clubs within reach of almost anywhere in the country that offer plenty of companionship when using your telescope.
But how do you choose from the wide array of telescopes that are being sold today? Well, first of all you need to understand just a couple of basic points about telescopes. One is that magnification is not really the most important characteristic of a telescope. That may seem very strange, but the truth is that the most significant capability of a telescope is it's ability to gather light. After all, what good is a large image that you can barely see?
The light gathering capability of a telescope is usually in direct relation to the size of it's aperture or it's light gathering lens or mirror. Now, you are probably thinking that you just need to get a telescope with the largest aperture possible then, but that is not the case. Somewhere along the line there will be a tradeoff between the size of the aperture and portability. So if you want to transport your telescope at all, you will want to make sure that it is not too heavy and bulky to be mobile. Remember that you will also most likely have to set up and adjust your telescope in the dark if your transport it, so having one that is very large can be a daunting task when you can't see what you are doing very well.
On the magnification factor, you can adjust the magnification of almost any telescope through the use of different eyepieces, so that is not a really important consideration when buying.
It's also important to know that there are three different kinds of telescopes, the reflector, refractor and
catadioptric.
The refractor is the kind of telescope that most people think of when they think of telescopes. It essentially has a large lens on the end of a barrel that focuses an image on an eyepiece at the back of the barrel. It's actually a very simple design, but it can also be more costly and bulky than the other styles of telescopes available. It's good for viewing the night sky and long range here on earth, but again, it gets very expensive to produce when you want to see deep space objects.
The next kind of telescope is the reflector, and it uses mirrors to gather the light and focus it on a small eyepiece that is usually located on the side of the barrel. Mirrors are much less expensive to produce than the lenses used in refractors, so the reflector telescope is usually much less expensive as well. It is not suitable for terrestrial viewing here on earth though and it does lose a little light due to the use opf mirrors in it's design.
The final style of telescope is the catadiaoptric which is really a blend of both refractors and reflectors, essentially taking the best of both designs with few of the drawbacks. It is a good all around selection for telescope usage as it is a good choice for both terrestrial and astronomical viewing. They may not be what you expect a telescope to look like but their design is very modern and durable.
Choosing any of these types and styles of telescopes will work depending on what you plan to use your telescope to do, and your budget. The important choice is to embark on a discovery of parts of the universe that you have never seen before.
About The Author
Duane Brown - All About Binoculars provides free information, tips, and resources on binoculars, telescopes, rifle scopes, and spotting scopes, and how to find them at the very best price.
all-about-binoculars.com
|
|
|
|
|
|