Note to those with good memories: this topic originally appeared in The News Review back in 2009. It’s worth repeating as long as there are first-time telescope shoppers.
Hundreds of telescopes are purchased in this country every year, Christmas being a particularly popular time. Most are used once or twice, and then left to gather dust in a corner of the basement until the next garage sale. The reason is one of frustration. People, especially young people, give up trying to see something through a poorly constructed piece of equipment that even a professional couldn’t use.
If you are new to astronomy and telescopes, the best tip I can give you would be to seek advice from a local astronomy group or experienced amateur astronomer. Second best would be to research the topic at your local library or on the internet. You absolutely must do one or the other to avoid the common pitfalls.
Pitfall number one: beware the department store telescope. Among other things, the lenses are often plastic instead of glass, and the tripods are almost always too flimsy. Telescopes are precision instruments; those that most general retailers carry are toys. Purchase your telescope only from companies for whom telescopes form a major part of their business. Trust me on this one.
Secondly, Christmas is among the worst of times to buy a telescope unless you are already very familiar with them. It’s too cold in winter to spend any time standing around learning how to use one; interest wanes quickly as frostbite sets in. First scopes require warm weather and mosquito repellent.
Finally, if you are unsure if this is a genuine or a passing interest, then you might want to reconsider getting a telescope quite yet. The reason is that you rarely get anything remotely useable for less than three hundred dollars. An alternative might instead be a name-brand pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars for under a hundred bucks. The night sky is full of targets suitable for binocular viewing, and, bonus... things are easier to see with two eyes rather than just one. Even if you eventually do get a telescope, the binoculars will compliment your scope as the ultimate ‘quick-look’ tool. I own five pairs of binoculars (no idea how that happened), and I use them more than I use my telescopes. This way, if the interest wanes, binoculars are great for bird watching and at Rider games.
Next week, I will finish this two part series with a summary of what to look for if you’ve decided a telescope is in your future.
