REFRACTORS and REFLECTORS The two basic types of telescopes

REFRACTORS are the most popular telescope for beginners. They gather light using a glass lens. They have the advantage of being small and compact, maintenance free, offer high resolution (excellent for observing planets) and can also be used during the day for terrestrial viewing, without the image being upside down.

REFLECTORS, gather light using a curved mirror. The curved mirror concentrates the light and the gathered light is then magnified by an eyepiece. The Newtonian reflectors can be identified by the eyepiece protruding from the side of the telescope. This is the most common telescope that you will see at star partys. This type of telescope was invented by Sir Issac Newton. The reflectors have excellent light gathering power and a wider field of view than refractors. They are best suited for observing faint objects.

There are billions and billions of objects in the night sky, but they cannot be seen until a telescope is used. The larger a telescopes aperture (size) the more light gathering power and better resolution it has. The minimum aperture for astronomical use is 60mm for a refractor and 80mm for a reflector. Amatuer telescopes are available up to 1 meter in diameter as a reflector. It's better to start with a small telescope and see the many objects available for a small price tag. Then when you wish to see more objects, or objects in greater detail, it's time to move up!