How to choose an astronomical telescope, an entry level astronomical telescope shopping guide

Aperture is important for astronomical telescopes, but it's not just aperture that determines the performance of telescopes.

Before buying an astronomical telescope, it is best to understand a certain amount of knowledge about astronomical observation and the principle of telescope structure, there are many types of celestial bodies in the sky, and different celestial bodies need to use different equipment and methods to observe, do not take it for granted that you can observe all celestial bodies by buying a telescope.

As for what you said about "wanting to see the details of the planets in the Milky Way and the surface", hehe, unfortunately, all the civilian astronomical telescopes on the market can only see the more detailed details on the moon, and other planets in the solar system such as Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mars and other celestial bodies are impossible to see any details. For example, a telescope within 1000 yuan can only see Jupiter as big as a soybean and cloud belts, Saturn as big as a mung bean and a ring, Venus like a small crescent, that's all, Uranus can only see a small dot, even Neptune, Pluto can not see, no matter how the sun is magnified, it will only be a point, not to mention what "the details of the planets in the Milky Way are on the surface", the observatory and even the Hubble Space Telescope can not directly observe the planets outside the solar system.

LX200R is a relatively high-end mirror, but as mentioned above, don't expect it too highly, it can see no more details than a 1000 yuan telescope, but Jupiter, Saturn is slightly larger, slightly more detailed, but it is impossible to see the sand and gravel on the surface of the celestial body like the astronomical effect**, it is just an imaginary picture made by the computer.

Look at the ones that want to be in deep space.

1. Choose according to the type: refractive astronomical telescope, reflective astronomical telescope, catadioptric astronomical telescope.

2. Choose an astronomical telescope with a large aperture according to the budget: it can maximize the effective magnification, the effect is good, the received light energy will increase step by step, and the farther and darker celestial objects can be observed, and the resolution is high, and more details can be observed.

3. Choose the right telescope focal length: It is recommended to choose a short focal length astronomical telescope for observing nebula comets, a medium focal length astronomical telescope for observing double star clusters, variable stars and star clusters, and a long focal length astronomical telescope for observing the moon and planets.

Astronomical telescopes:

Astronomical telescopes are the main tools for observing celestial bodies and capturing information about celestial bodies. Since Galileo Galilei built the first telescope in 1609, telescopes have continued to develop, from optical bands to full bands, from the ground to space, telescopes have become more and more observant and can capture more and more celestial information. Humans are expected to have telescopes in the electromagnetic band, neutrinos, gravitational waves, cosmic rays, etc.

Space is a good place for astronomical observations. Due to the absence of shielding and interference from the Earth's atmosphere, many types of astronomical telescopes are located in space. Most of these observers are well-designed and fully functional, some of which function as both telescopes and detectors.

1. The eyepiece should be bought with a high-grade one.

When buying an astronomical telescope, you should have 2-3 eyepieces. The eyepiece of a popular astronomical telescope is generally a Huygens eyepiece or a modified version of it made of two lenses. If you don't have a good eyepiece nucleus, even if you use a very advanced objective, your observations won't be ideal.

Therefore, when buying eyepieces, you should buy high-grade eyepieces as much as possible within the scope of economic conditions.

There are various focal lengths of eyepieces, such as 4mm, 5mm, 6mm, 7mm, 8mm, and 9mm. In general, there are three types: low magnification, medium magnification, and high magnification. If it is a small-aperture astronomical telescope, the low magnification should be 20 40 times, the medium magnification should be 50 80 times, and the high magnification should be about 100 150 times.

2. The caliber of the finderscope should be larger.

The magnification of the small astronomical telescope star finder is generally 12 times that of 5 Huai Yuhe, and the actual field of view is about 6 14 degrees. The performance of the star finder greatly affects the observation ability of the astronomical telescope. The diameter of the finderscope should be as large as possible, preferably 30 50mm.

In addition, the role of the reticle is also important for the finderscope. When purchasing an astronomical telescope, you should carefully check that the finderscope does not come with a reticle device.

3. Choose a sturdy tripod.

If the optical performance of the astronomical telescope is very high, and there is no good tripod to support the instrument, its value will also be greatly reduced. Just imagine, how can a tripod that crumbles at the slightest wind give full play to the performance of the instrument. Because the field of view of astronomical telescopes is small, especially at high magnification, the slightest vibration will cause the image to run out of view, so it is difficult to see the object of observation.

So, when choosing a telescope, you should choose a sturdy tripod along with it.

4. Equatorial ceremonial stands and longitude and weft stands.

There are two types of support frames for astronomical telescopes: longitude and latitude stands and equatorial ceremonial stands. A bracket in which the lens tube can be rotated horizontally and vertically is called a warp and weft frame. The equatorial ceremonial stand is a bracket that rotates the lens barrel around the polar axis (right ascension axis) and around an axis perpendicular to the polar axis (declination axis), and each has its own strengths.

Compared with the structure of the equatorial ritual bracket, the warp and weft bracket is simple, lightweight, and dexterous, and the lens tube can be rotated up and down, left and right freely, and even people who are not familiar with it can easily use this water support stand to face any starry sky position. It's a little tricky that in order to keep track of the stars that are out of view, you have to constantly move the instrument up, down, left and right. I'm afraid it won't feel so free for the observer.

The advantage of the equatorial ceremonial stand is that it can track the stars that are sent into the field of view by the lead, because the barrel pair rotates around the polar axis. It is also possible to install a camera to take spot shots of the stars in the starry sky. In order to take advantage of the advantages of the equatorial mount, the polar axis should be pointed squarely at the North Star.

In this way, even for unskilled people, it will not be too difficult to operate.