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First, remember that the wideness of the scope's main lens is one of the instrument’s most important attributes. Without a wide mirror, you’ll find it very difficult to see deep into space or resolve dim images. Conversely, don’t be “taken in” by telescopes boasting super high magnification. Truth be told, if the scope’s aperture isn’t large enough to resolve good details, its magnification is insignificant beyond a certain point. This is not to say that a scope’s magnification is irrelevant, but you should always refer back to the physics of optics when evaluating scope power claims.
In addition, investigate scope mounts. If your telescope wobbles and jiggles as you’re trying to resolve the Andromeda galaxy, your nightly viewing experience will quickly become frustrating. Remember that if you’re resolving an image at 80x power, every slight movement and alteration to the scope will get magnified by 80 times as well.
Along those lines, make sure that your eyepiece is the standard 1.25 inches. Sure, you can save some money by purchasing a scope with a 0.96-inch eyepiece, but this smaller lens will likely drastically reduce your viewing capabilities.
Finally, look for scopes with sturdy metal alloy construction. Plastic components tend to wobble and degrade easily over time. You can read up on a variety of scope specs by searching Sortprice.com’s archive today. Happy stargazing!
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