One of the most common questions we get asked is “What telescope should I buy?” It’s not always a straightforward answer – it very much depends on your level of experience, what you are mainly planning to observe, your available observing location and storage options, as well as your budget.
Many great articles are available to help explain the different types of telescope available and pick the best one, so rather than try to rewrite all this advice we recommend you start by reading the following websites:
Royal Astronomical Society – Getting started in astronomy
British Astronomical Association – Starting out
National Astronomy Week – Choosing a telescope
If you want to try out a society telescope or bring your own along for some advice then why not come to Perton Library Astronomy Group (PLAG):
Perton Library Astronomy Group
The group meets at Perton Library on the 3rd Thursday of every month between 7pm – 9pm. It’s a small, friendly group open to everyone with an interest in astronomy, and it is completely free. If the sky is clear there will be some observing outside
Top Tips from Wolverhampton Astronomical Society
The articles above will give you plenty of information, but here are the top tips from our society to help you decide.
- Ignore any “toy” telescopes that advertise their incredible magnification power! They will almost always give a disappointing experience.
- The best telescope is the one you use most often – large telescopes may give better views in some conditions, but are heavy to move outside at night. Likewise, the latest computerised telescope may sound amazing however, some newcomers have been put off the hobby by the complicated initial set up of some scopes. Sometimes simpler is better, but computerised scopes can simplify finding targets.
- Stick to the well known manufacturers for your first scope, such as Skywatcher, Celestron and Meade (other manufacturers are available, but you can’t go far wrong with these 3).
- Get a stable mount for your scope – the best scope in the world will be incredibly frustrating to use if it is wobbling when you try to use it. The Dobsonian mount (a basic wooden mount on a turntable base) is cheap, stable and simple to use.
- Some of the eyepieces that come bundled with the telescopes are not great quality – you can improve your telescope by purchasing upgraded eyepieces, and this is one of the cheapest ways to upgrade.