Telescope Buying Guide

TheOriginalSara asked:


Whatever I see through the finderscope is not what the telescope sees It seems to be some distance off because after searching for a while through the eyepiece I see the object not far off from where the finderscope thought it was, but it takes a very long time and is very inconvenient.
It’s a reflector telescope. If anyone knows how to fix this please explain in simple language thanks!

Betafett asked:


My new telescope has piqued my curiosity–More specifically, why is it that when looking into the eyepiece we don’t see the cross shaped mount for the diagonal mirror (or the mirror itself?) in the image? I can’t get my head around the problem and it’s been so long since I did optic physics that I’ve pretty much forgot how it all worked….

water_skipper asked:


How does a telescope work different from a camera lense? I’m specifically wondering about magnification. With a camera lense, a longer lense means higher magnification so to get really high magnification it needs a really long lense. With a telescope they just change the eyepiece to get higher magnification and don’t change the length of the telescope.. How is it telescopes can change magnification like that and camera lenses can’t?

meena g asked:


I recently bought a Field&Stream model #HEH00251. I want to know whether it is a refraction or a reflection telescope. And I also want to know which eyepiece to buy to see celestial bodies.

nymets6159 asked:


Well I really don’t exactly know what telescope I have, I know it’s a Meade telescope, but I don’t know the model. But, anyways, how would I find out the telescope’s focal length? Please I need this to check my eyepiece magnifications.

:3 asked:


A telescope with a 20 cm primary mirror has an f# of 5. What would be the focal length of the eyepiece required to give a magnification of 100? I know there’s an equation, but I don’t know what it is. Thanks in advance.

Brenda P asked:


I have a used Meade telescope (not electric other than Starfinder); I can see the moon, but have to look “around” the mirror - a reflection of my eye and the eyepiece itself covers up the middle of my field of vision. I put my hand inside the tube, and the mirror does not appear to be moveable.

mvsopen asked:


I’m going to be building a 12.5″ Dobsonian telescope. For the primary mirror, precision optics, of F5 or better and certified, are roughly $1600. Yet many websites sell Chinese imported mirrors, at prices between $500 and $800. Will the quality of the primary make a huge amount of difference in the finished product, or would investing in a better eyepiece yield the same results?

Deborah asked:


I have several telephoto lenses (with the old screw thread fitting) which I don’t use much on my camera. I know it is possible to get an eyepiece to fit on to the back of the lens, to turn it into a high quality telescope.
Does anyone know where I can buy this device in the UK, and how much would it cost?
If I used such a device with a 135mm lens, what magnification would it give me when operating as a telescope?

asked:


I have a Meade 8″ LX90 Telescope and there are so many eyepieces to buy, which one would be the best for seeing really deep into space?