Telescopes for Astrophotography
Department Store Varieties
Do not be tempted to head out to the closest discount department store and buy a cool looking telescope that looks like it is a great bargain. Despite the advertising claims, these must be considered in the category of “toy” telescopes. They have poor optics which will end up with unclear, out-of- focus views. This is especially true as the magnification is increased. On top of that, these toy scopes come with flimsy, unstable stands. The slightest touch or breeze causes them to shake, making it hard to see any celestial objects, let alone photograph them!
Magnification
There is a very common misconception dealing with the importance of magnification and the quality of a telescope. Believe it or not, the magnification is the least important factor. All that is necessary is magnification power of 100x to see most celestial objects. Anything beyond that and your images will probably be blurry, or out of focus.
Electronic tracking
For telescopes to be used with astrophotography, they must include an electronic tracking mechanism. This is because of the earth’s rotation that as we go through our day, seems to move hardly at all, but in actuality is moving at about a thousand miles per hour. When looking in a telescope, it is the reason why it looks like the stars are moving. This is why once you focus on an object ,and turn to rub your eye, or have someone else look, the object is often not there, it only takes 30 seconds to move through the eyepiece. For those who are avid stargazers, it might not matter, as they can keep adjusting while viewing. For night sky imaging, it is pretty much impossible to get a good photograph of any celestial object while it is moving. An automatic electronic tracking device will keep the star, planet, nebulae or whatever centered in the eyepiece, so all your attention can be on capturing the best image.
GoTo Scopes
This is a telescope with Global Positioning System technology. It will align the stars according to the satellite it communicates with. This system has celestial objects programed into a database and when punched in, will robotically move to the requested night sky object and get it perfectly centered in the eyepiece. It can easily find deep sky objects like star clusters, galaxies, and nebulae, just as easily as Saturn and Neptune. It is a true time saving device.
As mentioned earlier, the telescope you choose will depend on the type of astrophotography you are interested in. It is important to do enough research and look at all the options that are available to you and in your price range. Prioritize your list of important and necessary characteristics so that when you are ready to buy, you know what the top features you want are. Practical issues like portability, and storage space also need to be considered.
When you are ready to purchase, it is important to deal with dealers in telescope or quality optics devices. Take a look at them, pick them up, analyze the ease of use. Once you made your decision, you can compare prices with other reputable dealers online and in your area.
Related posts:
Recent Comments