A telescope is a complicated device as it entails many features that need a comprehensive explanation before a person can easily understand those aspects. Since the middle of the twentieth century, this quest of exploring the unknown parts of the universe with the help of telescopes has started, and now it has evolved into a norm with people belonging to all fields purchasing and quenching their thirst for knowledge about the mysterious space that lies above us.
It is essential to understand these basic components of the telescope and its basic functionality to not fall victim to a scam or to not unknowingly make a mistake by purchasing the wrong model of this optical device.
After hours of searching through the internet and evaluating every basic requirement, we have created this buying guide that will help you with the device at hand.
Let’s get started!
About Celestron
Celestron is a company majoring in various optical devices, the front runners of their success and their specialty are telescopes. Celestron has been in this game for decades, and they have proved their worth with quality optical devices on multiple occasions. There is a wide range of telescopes offered by Celestron some of which are mentioned below;
- 5-14-inch Schmidt Cassegrain Telescopes
- 8-14-inch modified Schmidt Cassegrain Telescopes
- 2.4-6-inch Refractor Telescopes
- 6-10-inch Traditional Newtonian Reflector Telescopes
Celestron is one of the leading brands in the market and has achieved this status by constantly improving its technological game with advanced telescopes that comply with the current needs and options of society.
Systemic Controls (star mapping)
Although a smaller field of view makes it a little difficult to cover a larger surface area if you do not know the exact location of the star or nebulae you are looking for, this problem can be easily solved with star mapping technology.
As every little thing around us has been digitalized with automatic controls similarly, Celestron telescopes have evolved as well with built-in systemic controls. These systemic controls have digital maps of locations of almost all celestial objects and can be easily displayed in earth coordinates so you can reach the perfect destination as well as easily spot the star you so want to study.
Star mapping is an incredible life-saver for anyone who is a newbie to the astronomical world and does not understand how to correctly position their telescope to enhance its features as well as not miss the meteor showers.
It greatly helps us in positioning the aperture of the telescope to the right angle in the right position to facilitate and fulfill your requirements.
Aperture
The wide distal end of the telescope that holds the primary lens or primary mirror is called the aperture. Recalling the basic mechanism of a telescope, we find that these devices work by capturing light rays falling from distant objects and then display them on the focal point.
The ability of a telescope to capture the number of light rays depends upon the aperture. The wider the aperture, the more surface area there will be for the light to fall on, and thus more light rays could be collected to produce a higher quality image of the distant body.
Another way the aperture holds its place as a vital component of the system is by attracting the light rays from the nearby sources to illuminate the objective field. This aspect of a wider aperture helps in producing a brighter and clearer image in a dark field or at night time.
The information about the width of the aperture is mentioned along with the magnification power, preferably in inches.
Magnification Power
The most prominent function of a telescope is to make distant objects appear closer to the naked eye, and this function is performed according to the magnification power of the device. The information about magnification power is mentioned along with the aperture size in this format ‘x80’.
This entails that the particular image of a celestial body will be magnified 80 times in the eyepiece. The higher the magnification power, the more detailed image will be produced on the focal plane; thus, the clearer image will be projected in the eyepiece.
The magnification power has a direct relation with focal length and inverse relation with the field of view of a telescope. Before purchasing any telescope, you should review your needs. There are a variety of objects in deep space lying at different lengths away from earth, so there are different types of telescopes that may fulfill your needs.
Focal Length
The distance from the center of the primary lens to the focal point where the image is projected is called the focal length. In an advanced telescope, there may be many lenses or mirrors that may stand in the way of the light rays passing through the focal length of a spherical tube of a telescope, but their existence does not pose an obstruction.
The focal length is the primary determinant of the magnification power of a telescope. As we continue to find out more ways to enhance the magnifying power, one way we continue to do so is by increasing the focal length, which often entails that the length of the spherical tube is increased drastically.
The focal length is the distance the light rays have to travel after entering through the aperture into the spherical tube before being projected onto the focal plane. The magnification power and the focal point have a direct relationship, but often, they are mentioned separately.
Portability
Often the great astronomical events can only be viewed, even with the help of a telescope, from deserted areas or high planes. The mystical events such as meteor showers that only happen once or twice every decade are way too special for astronomy fanatics to miss because of the obstruction from the artificial lights of the city.
Since these important events require moving and often hiking through trails to reach the required destination to view the desired star or celestial object, one cannot fathom just trailing to a distant point without taking their professional equipment.
A telescope is a heavy device and also requires a ton of accessories to show optimum functionality. A telescope that can be easily assembled and broken down into safe components is essential for preserving its vitality during transportation.
This aspect also makes it easier to bring about your telescope almost everywhere. A telescope is a very delicate object as it depends on a variety of mirrors and lenses to perform its highly convoluted action. It requires attention and utmost care while traveling.
Thus, just like all our other technical devices, a bag that is specifically made to transport a telescope, along with its accessories, is vital. Although it comes in the category of extra accessories, most companies include a travel helping bag in the entire package of a telescope.
Accessories
There is no optical device in the world whose function cannot be enhanced with the addition of a few accessories. Especially the functional ability of a telescope is greatly vitalized with the help of a few essential accessories.
The two most vital accessories that are an absolute must for a telescope are:
Both of these accessories aid stability and increase the practicability of a telescope. A tripod stand also increases comfortability as one can adjust the length of the stand to suit your posture since astronomical events often take a long time to appear, so comfort and patience are key aspects of this field.
Base support is just a tool to increase stability even on uneven grounds as it can be modified according to the receiving surface. A mount is a stability device that goes on top of the telescope. It creates a steady connection between the tripod stand and the telescope so that even in case of minor accidents, the device does not slip out of its stand.
Field of View
The field of view of an optical device is the amount of area it can cover at any given instant. To further simplify this concept, consider a human eye, it has a field of view of 180 degrees. Any normal human has the magical ability to see sideways.
This ability to view almost everything on our temporal side is called peripheral vision, and it is granted due to our curved cornea. First of all, the primary lens of a telescope is not curved outward, so the question of it being able to view an object on its side is almost nullified.
Secondly, when any field is being magnified, the field of view gets smaller so as to focus on intricate details of the object. As we want to study every detail of the object we are trying to view from our place on earth, it is better to have a telescope with a smaller field of view.
As we have mentioned earlier, the magnification power has an inverse relation with the field of view, so the higher the magnification power, the smaller field of view a telescope entails.
It is quite magical that we exist in a universe that is ever-expanding and contains no boundary with endless existence of milky ways and blackholes just a few light-years away from this habitable planet. The secrets of our existence and mystical objects that somehow have debilitating or invigorating effects on our lives are not as out of reach as we think they are.
The best Celestron telescopes can help us have a peek at the truth of the universe. They can help us observe the moon that controls the ocean tides; they can help us view the magical asteroids and stars that so eloquently exist in perfect harmony.
When all of this is just a mere peek away, then why shall we limit our tendencies to explore the abyss and find the purpose of our reality?
