Telescope Buying Guide

Mikey asked:


How can it look back into time and see the very atoms, molecules the very matter that the telescope itself is constructed of as that matter was being created?
But I just read a paper that says the telescope can see light that was generated 18billion years ago and that the approximate age of the universe is 18billion years. So, since nothing can travel faster than light, how did the matter that the telescope is constructed of get here before the light that was created at the same time did?

Astronomy Queen asked:


I want to know what is the best telescope brand in the world - eg. not the hubble telescope - but a telescope that can be bought by an amateur astronomer

Allen 850 asked:


I have a JVC Everio GZ-MS120BU digital video camera, and since the meteor shower is tonight, I would like to record it. I have a couple Celestron telescope lenses for my telescope, but I was wondering if I could rig something up, like taping the telescope lens to the end of my video camera so I can see the meteors more clearly. Would that work?

Gregory Franklin asked:


How large a telescope and how much might it cost?

Anthony asked:


It’s a DS 2090 telescope, a refractor with 90mm of clear aperture and a focal length of 800mm and the remote is missing so you can’t automatically go to a celestial object. Everything else is there. Also I have never sold or bought anything used so please make some suggestions.

ahriik asked:


Whet are some good telescopes for beginners? I want to get into astronomy, so I believe a telescope is essential. What are some cheaper ones?

Phoebe asked:


I have a Galileo FS-135DX Reflector and I want some new lenses. I have two lenses, galileo astroscopic 25mm and then a zoom lense that says F6.8mm and F16mm. This is like jiberish to me but i’ve been able to just put the lenses on the telescope and see the moon really close. I can see the craters and the beautiful surface. But i’d like to be able to see much more. If theres any other lenses anyone could suggest, I’d love to hear about them!

Jack asked:


I want to conect my cannon camera to my telescope. It is a 58 mm camera and I was wondering where I could get an adapter to put on my telescope for a reasonable price. how do I hook the camera up to the telescope. Do I conect it to the eyepeice somehow?

Freezing Temperature asked:


Could an amateur portable telescope do it? Do you need a camera run overnight to see a nebula?
Seen with color.

Ian S asked:


How do you calculate FWHM of the primary beam of the telescope from wavelength and dish size?

I assume there is some simple formula, and it goes something like Field of View ~= Lamda/Dish Diameter.