Gear – Page 3 – Telescope Boss

What Can You See With a 16 Inch Telescope?

A large telescope means that you can collect more light and see dimmer objects. A 16 inch telescope allows you to see very faint distant objects. The 16 inches refers to the aperture or light gathering power of the telescope. The aperture is the distance across the mirror of the telescope. A 16 inch telescope…

Do I Need a Paracorr: The $500 Question

Paracorr is a highly respected type of coma corrector. Coma, short for comatic aberration, is the elongated appearance of stars when viewed through a telescope. Coma can be slight or very noticeable and it is usually most pronounced around the edge of your field of view. There are three questions you should ask yourself when…

What Type of Mirror Is Used In Telescopes?

Telescope mirrors are curved glass surfaces coated on top with a reflective substance made of aluminum or silver. Each telescope contains 2 or more mirrors. Telescope mirrors can be spherical or parabolic in shape and they can vary in size from very small to enormous. Very large telescopes may even use liquid mirrors. While glass…

What is Prime Focus Photography?

There are several different ways to shoot photos of objects in space, but none is more popular than prime focus photography. In this article we will look at what prime focus photography is, why people use it, what you need to do it, and what sort of results you can expect. Prime focus photography involves…

Do Telescopes Wear Out?

Most telescopes are designed for longevity. The functions of telescopes rely on mirrors and lenses, these things last a long time if cared for properly. Reflector telescopes use mirrors that collect and focus light, these mirrors have special coatings that wear out over time. Modern telescope mirror coatings can last as long as twenty years…

I Tried A Bird Jones Telescope: Are they as bad as everyone says?

As we discovered in this article, the Bird-Jones is a type of catadioptric, or compound, telescope which is usually targeted at beginners. They’re often sold under trusted brand names by big box stores, and in my experience most people who own them only use them once. Previously we looked at what a Bird-Jones telescope is,…

Orion Vs. Celestron Telescopes: Which is better?

Orion and Celestron are two big telescope manufacturers. When you start looking for a telescope you will see Celestron and Orion frequently. They are big manufacturers, I have an Orion as my primary telescope and I have been happy with it. It is important to know that there is not too much difference in the…

What is a Bird-Jones Telescope, and Why Do People Hate Them?

If you spend enough time researching beginner telescopes online, you’ll eventually encounter a curious-sounding instrument called the Bird-Jones reflector. This type of telescope is possibly the least-respected of all astronomical instruments, and retailers are careful not to advertise telescopes as being Bird-Jones designs. So, what are these things, and how do you identify them? Bird-Jones…

13 Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope Pros and Cons You Should Know

Schmidt Cassegrain Telescopes, also called SCTs are a popular kind of telescope because they are compact and easy to use. Schmidt Cassegrain Telescopes use a spherical mirror with a hole in the middle to collect and focus light, they can be produced fairly inexpensively and 1. Light and Portable SCT telescopes are compact and lightweight….

Focal Reducer or Field Flattener: Which Do You Need?

With telescopes in general, and astrophotography in particular, there is a plethora of accessories to spend your money on. It can be confusing to figure out which items you need most. In this article, we’ll look at a class of accessories called corrective optics, which includes: Focal Reducers Focal Extenders Coma Correctors Field Flatteners There…