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Information And Buying Tips For Astronomy Telescopes Refractors



There are three main types of beginner astronomy telescopes. Refractor, reflector, and catadioptics.

This page is about refractor telescopes. Refractors are generally seen as the long tube type of scope. Refractors were the world's first telescopes and used by Galileo Galilei to discover the moons of Jupiter.

Like all astronomy telescopes, refractors have their pluses and their minuses.

Refractors are low maintenance and easy to set-up and use. The sealed tube helps keep the inner workings clean too.

Because of the limits on aperture size to cost compared to other types of scopes, refractors are best used for viewing the planets and the moon and brighter stars.

The fact that the objective lens is smaller helps city dwellers though where the light pollution generally limits observing to the brighter moon and planets anyway.

That not to say that you can't view deep sky objects with a refractor just that it cost more to get a larger size objective lens.

Refractors are also generally heavier, bulkier and longer than the other types of telescopes, so give thought to where,when and how often you will use your scope and if it can remain setup and stored ready to go.

Refractors offer high contrast images and good color.

Orion GoScope 80mm TableTop Refractor Telescope

Orion GoScope 80mm TableTop Refractor Telescope

For portability and low-power, wide-field viewing, look no further than the Orion GoScope 80mm Refractor Telescope. This ultra-compact, entry-level "Mini-Dob" makes a great quality first telescope for beginning stargazers. The included 20mm (18x) and 10mm (35x) 1.25" eyepieces will aid in your exploration of the solar system as you observe the Moon's craters and seas, the rings of Saturn, and the moons of Jupiter.

Orion Observer 70mm Altazimuth Refractor Telescope

Orion Observer 70mm Altazimuth Refractor Telescope

Our Observer 70 is the perfect telescope for that budding astronomer in your family. This scope excels in both quality and performance. Its 70mm multi-coated achromatic objective lens - focal length 700mm focal length (f/10) - gathers 36% more light than a 60mm. And it's made of glass, not plastic, as you'd find in many department store models. The optical tube is supported on a sturdy aluminum tripod with accessory tray. This altazimuth model can also be used for terrestrial viewing. Standard accessories include a 10mm (70x) Explorer II eyepiece, a 25mm (28x) Explorer II eyepiece, 90-deg mirror star diagonal, and an EZ Finder II finder scope. One-year limited warranty.

Orion StarSeeker 80mm GoTo Refractor Telescope

Orion StarSeeker 80mm GoTo Refractor Telescope

Telescopes have come a long way, baby. Witness the StarSeeker 80. You get a fully computerized, electronically driven telescope with outstanding 80mm rich-field optics, which can take you to any of 4,000 celestial objects with a few button pushes on its illuminated hand controller. Wow! From the first night out, any beginner can quickly access the night sky's finest gems. The multi-coated 80mm (3/1") achromatic lens is housed in a compact tube equipped with a 1.25" R&P focuser, two Kellner eyepieces, star diagonal, and a red-dot finder scope. The one-arm mount is made of cast metal for greater durability than competing GoTo scopes that use lots of plastic parts. The whole setup is incredibly portable and a joy to use.

Above are three beginners astronomy telescopes I believe you should check out. They will fit a variety of budgets and skill levels and all will provide wonderful enjoyment for the backyard stargazer.

Of course before you decide check out my pages on reflectors and



catadioptics

astronomy telescopes refractors to astronomy telescopes
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