
Cassegrain reflectors add a curved secondary mirror to the classic design, which means they’re more compact.Are there any other types I should know about? While reflectors are generally better for viewing deep-sky objects (galaxies, nebulae and the rest), they may not offer such clear, bright views of nearer objects and planets. Reflectors don’t have this problem, but the mirrors may need to be manually adjusted, and unless you have a special eyepiece, the view will be upside down. However, they’re more likely to suffer from chromatic aberration, where bright objects – such as a star – appear surrounded by a halo of different colours.

What are the key differences between the two?īoth types have their strengths: refractors are sealed, which means dirt can’t get in and you can get a sharper image, particularly of bright, near-sky objects such as the moon or planets. A refractor uses one or more lenses to do the same job. A reflector telescope uses a large parabolic mirror to harvest and reflect the incoming light to another mirror, which in turn reflects that light into the eyepiece. Telescopes come in two basic types: reflectors and refractors.
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How to choose the best telescope for you What types of telescope are there? Best high-end astronomy telescope: Celestron NexStar Evolution 5 | Buy now.Best travel telescope: Celestron Travelscope 70 Telescope Kit | Buy now.Best telescope for beginners: Orion 10012 SkyScanner | Buy now.READ NEXT: Best binoculars Best telescope: At a glance There are still plenty of low-quality telescopes out there, though, particularly at the cheap end, so it’s worth reading up to make sure that you make the right choice What’s more, computerised mounts and smartphone apps are making amateur astronomy more accessible.

Sure, what you’ll see won’t resemble the pictures coming back from the Hubble Space Telescope, but there’s still something magical about seeing these things live with your own eyes.įortunately, you don’t have to have a massive budget to buy a decent entry-level telescope, and higher-end telescopes with better mounts and optics are also getting more affordable. Using a telescope on a dark clear night can provide you with amazing views of the moon and planets as your gaze hops from star to star and you see some fascinating deep-sky objects up close, including star clusters, nebulae and galaxies. The best telescopes open up the night sky in ways that even a good set of binoculars cannot match.
