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Telescope buying guide: Don't be fooled while shopping

If you are planning to put a telescope under the tree for that curious child in your life, a few simple tips can ensure your money is well spent.

Posted Updated

By
Tony Rice
, WRAL contributor/NASA Ambassador

Few things bring about a "wow" than a closer view of the moon's crater or seeing Jupiter's moons or Saturn's rings with your own eyes for the first time.

If you are planning to put a telescope under the tree for that curious child in your life, a few simple tips can ensure your money is well spent.

For the best bang for your buck and a telescope that will actually get used, consider a tabletop telescope. Most major manufacturers like Orion, Celestron and Meade sell at least one small Dobsonian model in the $50 to $300 range depending on the accessories included and aperture (read on).

These telescopes have similar optics to models costing several hundred dollars more but leave out features that don't work that well in that price range.

Tabletop models placed on a study patio table in the backyard or a picnic table on vacation provide a much better experience than the flimsy tripod that comes with models at two or three times the price.

It is tempting to spend more on computerized models that allow you to “GoTo” a planet or other object. These features work well in more sturdily-built expensive models, but the imprecise plastic gears in lower-priced models fail to point the telescope accurately.

When shopping online, you’ll notice a measurement in millimeters or inches. This is the aperture, or the diameter, of the main lens or mirror. This, not magnification, is the biggest factor in what you’ll be able to see with that telescope. Broadly speaking, telescopes don't magnify, they gather light. The bigger the aperture, the more light can be gathered and the clearer the image and the deeper into space you can see.

It is not possible to see the images (left to right) of the Eagle nebula, Moon and an artist's rendering of a star cluster that doesn't really exist pictured on this telescope packaging (Rice)

When shopping in stores, don't be swayed by vibrant images of planets, star clusters and nebulae decorating thepackaging. These are usually stock photos that the telescope is incapable of producing. The photographer likely spent 500 times more on the mount for their telescope than that drug store telescope.

Also be wary of telescopes that highlight the magnification of the telescope over aperture. This is not unusual on packaging on very low cost telescopes sold at stores that stock them only at the holidays. The only precision optical instruments you should buy at a drug store are reading glasses.

Be sure to include a good book to get your child started.

The owners manuals that come with the telescope aren't very user friendly. Younger kids will recognize the artwork and style in "Find the Constellations" and "The Stars: A New Way to See Them," both by H.A. Ray, author of the Curious George series. The Smithsonian's "Star Finder!: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Night Sky," shows you the same star-hopping techniques that amateur astronomers use.

For older kids, "Turn Left at Orion: Hundreds of Night Sky Objects to See in a Home Telescope" and "How to Find Them" by Brother Guy Consolmagno are great picks. Consolmagno is a research astronomer and is also known as "the Pope's astronomer" as director of the Vatican Observatory. A subscription to Astronomy or Sky and Telescope magazine will help them explore more each month.

Whatever you choose, pay a visit to a monthly local astronomy club meeting. Visitors are always welcome, and you'll find experienced amateur astronomers eager to help answer your questions. Memberships are only $25 and include discounts on astronomy magazines and access to loaner telescopes.

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