What Your Telescope Can Do

The reason you bought a telescope is to view the night sky in all its glory. Telescopes can bring those objects closer and give you an idea of what is out there in th universe. Some of the objects you may see are the moon, planets, and the sun. With a little practice, you may be able to spot some comets, stars, nebulae, and maybe even other galaxies. The... 

Viewing the Night Sky with a Telescope

Depending on the type of telescope you have purchased, you should be able to see many wondrous images with it. You might see the moon’s surface, the moons of Jupiter, or even Saturn’s rings. With some knowledge of the sky and constellations, you may be able to pick out some star clusters. The best way to get your hobby going is to join... 

Viewing Deep Sky Objects and Comets

Deep sky objects are usually located outside our solar system. The listing includes star clusters, nebulae, galaxies, and multiple stars. There is also a list of 110 objects on Messier’s list that you can try to locate. The key to viewing all these heavenly bodies is to go outside on a really dark night and you must have a large telescope (one... 

Using a Telescope

So you have gone out and bought a telescope and have no idea what to do with it. Go out into the night sky and look for the brightest objects you can find. They are the best to start with because they are easy to find. Then after that, the sky, quite literally, is the limit. With a special filter, you can see the sun and count sunspots. Observe... 

The Hubble Telescope

Conceptualized in 1946 and launched in 1990, the Hubble telescope orbits the Earth and sends pictures back that aren’t blurred by background light or the atmosphere. The telescope was named after Edwin Hubble who made a great scientific breakthrough when he found that the universe was expanding. After the Hubble was launched into space, one... 

The Best Telescopes Out There

This will be a big surprise. Can you tell me what the best telescope out there today is? There are actually two of them. If you said your eyes, you are correct. You were born gifted with two telescopes that can focus from one inch to infinity and beyond. They have a field of view of about 110 degrees, and they have built in lens covers. They open... 

Telescope Mounts

Mounts for telescopes are used for several different reasons. You don’t have to hold the scope yourself while you are trying to focus on an object. It helps to steady the scope. It frees you hands up so you can make sketches of what you are viewing or adjust the scope for better focus. There are two types of telescope mounts you can employ... 

Telescope Advice for Beginners

You have taken the plunge and purchased a telescope. Now what do you do with it? Astronomy can be a wonderful hobby, but here are some tips to make sure you get started on the right foot, or star as the case may be. Look up the night sky without the aid of a telescope. Can you spot and name any constellations? Can you spot the moon or the planet... 

Smaller Telescopes

Smaller telescopes are called refracting telescopes. They have a big lens at the front and an eyepiece in the back. Some say they are useless for astronomy, but it is possible to do some viewing with these special telescopes. A telescope also needs certain features in order for it to be helpful in viewing objects. One is it must have a well-aligned... 

Refracting Telescopes

While we have no physical evidence, we have very strong documentation that refracting telescopes were used in England as early as the sixteenth century. The use of telescopes became widespread in the early seventeenth century in the Netherlands. Hans Lippershey and Zacharias Janssen of the Netherlands claim the invention of the original telescope.... 

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