Before You Buy Beginner Telescopes and Binoculars

Everyone has to start somewhere. If you have spent some time observing the sky with your naked eyes, before you move on up to telescope astronomy, you may want to try a pair of binoculars for a while. Compare prices and quality on these beginner binoculars before investing your hard earned money.

After initial alignment, refractor telescope optics are more resistant to misalignment. The glass surfaces are sealed inside the tube and rarely need cleaning. The sealing also minimizes affects from air currents, providing steadier sharper images. Disadvantages include a number of possible aberration of the lenses. Also, since lenses need edge supported, this limits the size of any refractor.

Reflector telescopes do not suffer from chromatic aberration. Mirrors are easier to build without defects than lenses, since only one side of a mirror is used. Also, because the support for a mirror is from the back, very large mirrors can be built, making larger telescopes. The disadvantages include easiness of misalignment, need for frequent cleaning, and possible spherical aberration.

If you've spent a lot of time observing the sky with your naked eyes and binoculars, you may be ready to move on up to a telescope. As in most things in life, you typically get what you pay for, but it may not be a great idea to spend a lot of money until you're sure you will get your money's worth. Compare prices and quality on these beginner telescopes before investing your hard earned money.