You can adjust the magnification of your telescope by changing the eyepiece. The models you’ll find above come with different eyepieces of various sizes. For example, the Stargazer Pro Telescope includes 10mm and 25mm eyepieces (as well as a Barlow lens, which we’ll get to shortly). The size of an eyepiece refers to focal length, with longer focal lengths providing a wider, but lower-magnification view of the sky. This is ideal for viewing distant objects, or for centring objects in your field of view before switching to a higher-magnification eyepiece for a closer look. Shorter focal lengths provide a more magnified image with a narrower field of view. Generally, you should start with the largest eyepiece you have to find an object in the sky, and gradually decrease the size to home in on your target. Regardless of your experience level, the Celestron NexStar 8SE is an outstanding motorized telescope. Beginners will love how easy it is to use, yet it's powerful enough to satisfy more experienced skywatchers and allow for deep space exploration and astrophotography. The Night Sky 11stargazing app is best for iOS Apple device users. In fact, it should work on iPad, Mac and Apple TV (though we haven't tested the Apple TV version). It has a detailed user interface and is capable of adjusting for light pollution. We gave it nearly full marks in our full review because how easy it is to use, especially for beginners. What is the best stargazing app for Android? Eyepieces work by magnifying the light focused by the telescope's primary mirror or objective lens. Every telescope eyepiece has a specific focal length (given in millimeters), and the shorter this figure is, the higher the magnification. To calculate the magnification provided by any particular eyepiece on any telescope, divide the telescope's focal length by the focal length of the eyepiece used. For example, a 1000 mm focal length telescope (say, a 100 mm refractor of f/10, or a 200 mm Newtonian of f/5) will deliver a magnification of 100 with a 10 mm eyepiece (1000 divided by 10 = 100).

Choosing the right telescope can be quite a challenge for the beginner. There has never been as much choice, so many optical configurations and range of prices than exist on today's market. In general terms telescope design and optical quality are usually pretty good nowadays — it wasn't always so. As buyers have become more informed via the internet and astronomical publications they have become far more discerning in their choice. This has meant that optical quality has improved and truly awful telescopes are, thankfully, becoming increasingly scarce.Telescopes create a circular image of the night sky. We measure the size of the objects that appear in that image – for example, the moon – in degrees. As a point of reference, the moon takes up around 1/2° in the night sky. This is important to remember, as you’ll often see references to degrees when shopping around for telescopes. Magnification It offers impressive magnification of up to 133x, allowing you to view celestial objects with incredible detail. The included eyepieces are well-suited for observing the moon and planets, revealing beautiful finer details that you don't get with many other scopes. It's sturdy and user-friendly, making it a great choice even for those new to astronomy or don't have much experience. While there are cheaper alternatives available, they often don't match the quality of the Skyline 6-inch. Perhaps you already have a bit of experience and want to move up in terms of quality and stability so you can look at the objects out there in the vast universe a bit more clearly? Can’t get enough sharpness with your current telescope?

But despite their best efforts, Project Stargazer lost funding, leading to the cancellation of all but one of the mission’s four planned crewed flights. And ultimately, that single flight marked the end of a brief era of high-altitude, crewed balloon flights. If portability is your main concern, the Celestron Astro Fi 102 would make a great option. It's also an excellent choice for beginners who are eager to delve into the celestial wonders of the night sky, and it'll serve you well even if you have no prior astronomy experience.

Newtonian reflector telescopes do require some maintenance. The mirrors must be aligned periodically to ensure that they are reflecting light properly. The mirrors can also become tarnished over time, so they may need to be repainted. If you choose a Newtonian reflector telescope, select one with a protective mirror coating. This will help extend the mirrors' life and make them easier to maintain.

A surprising amount of air disturbance comes from close to the ground, including your telescope itself. The first thing you can do is leave your telescope to cool down to your surroundings’ ambient temperature. Warmer air will rise up in front of your lens until your telescope cools down, so set it up and leave it for a few minutes.Night Sky 11: we think this is a great app for Apple users who are starting out on their stargazing journey. It includes novel AR functionality as well as basic astrophotography features, but more experienced users may be looking for more than it can offer. ★★★★½ While refractors use lenses, and reflectors make use of mirrors, to create and magnify an image, the catadioptric makes use of both lenses and mirrors for high-definition and superior views. During your observations, light from your chosen target passes through to a lens, which corrects or reduces aberration that distorts the view that is later taken in through the eyepiece. Curved primary mirrors then reflect this light onto a secondary mirror, which then reaches your eyes. You will find two kinds of Catadioptric telescopes — the Schmidt-Cassegrain and the Maksutov-Cassegrain. Over the course of the next 18.5 hours, the mission, called Project Stargazer, climbed to a staggering 82,000 feet (25 kilometers) in altitude and drifted above the desert. Only a handful of crewed balloon flights had ever reached greater heights. For the two men on board, William White and Joseph Kittinger, this was supposed to be just the beginning of a bright future for balloon-borne astronomy. Celestron Advanced VX 8 EdgeHD Intended for serious amateurs, this optically excellent telescope is suitable for all types of visual astronomy with its rugged, lightweight computerized mount. If you know the sky and plan to be doing astronomy for a long time, this is the telescope to get. ★★★★½

Murabana believes astronomy, or even simply the act of looking up at the sky, establishes an awareness of the need to protect our planet, which can create “a generation of more informed leaders.” In our Unistellar eQuinox 2 review we tested its ease of use, durability and compatibility with smart devices, and found the smart telescope to be highly usable. A standout feature is its Smart Light Pollution Reduction, which makes it suitable for use in urban environments — something that many other telescopes can't cope with. But there is also a more personal motivation for Murabana’s work — combatting the perception that astronomy is a Western science.

What Are The Features You Should Be Looking For In A Stargazing Telescope?

You see, NASA and its fledgling Mercury Program had put John Glenn in orbit just six months before Stargazer’s flight. And by the early 1970s, balloon-based experiments had given astronomers enough confidence to start launching artificial satellites with telescopes and other instruments into low-Earth orbit. Center your subject in the finder scope's frame; there are usually crosshairs or a dot so you know when it's central. Now when you look through your telescope's eyepiece, your subject will be centered here too. Aligning the Skymax 127 is a simple process, but beginners may need some practice to get it just right. We recommend thoroughly reading the manual to get familiar with the telescope before you take it out in the dark and realize you don't know what to do! Additionally, it uses a planetarium to generate a 'tonight's best' list of different celestial targets and an algorithm to determine the optimum camera settings for viewing each target. Tech junkies will love this smart telescope.