If you are new to Astronomy and are thinking about purchasing a telescope, it can seem quite a daunting task - there are loads of cheap models on the market. Rest asured, there are no good cheap telescopes and prospective purchasers will often ask . . . . which one should I buy . . . will it be any good . . . will it last . . . can I upgrade it later . . . and so on . . .

Here we offer the beginner an insight to Astronomy in general and recommend 3 telescopes from our ranges to get you started.

Heavens Above

Your interest in the night sky will probably be a progression from just looking up or viewing through binoculars and calls out for a telescope the explore Planets, the Moon and Deep Sky objects (distant Galaxies, Nebulae, etc.) in greater detail.

If you are new to Astronomy we recommend any of the two main monthly UK Astronomy magazines: 'Astronomy Now' and the BBC's "Sky at night Magazine" both publications contain monthly Sky Charts and numerous articles and reviews to help you find your way and point you in the right direction. As your knowledge grows you will find more to interest you in the night sky as you look deeper and deeper. Two monthly magazines from the USA are readily available here also "Sky & Telescope" and "Astronomy", again both contain Star Charts and lots of articles for all levels.

Far be it the remit of this section to explain the night sky in detail but the following basics may be of help.

We're part of it too . . .

The Milky Way (our Galaxy), home to our Sun (a star) and our solar system containing our planet Earth is a Spiral Galaxy with various arms. Our Sun is situated in the "Orion spiral arm" of the Galaxy and depicted in this illustration below by Richard Powell and further information about the Milky Way can be found by clicking on the link. The plane of the Milky Way galaxy is visible from Earth as a band of light in the night sky, and it is the appearance of this band of light which has inspired the name for our galaxy.

The closest similar type of galaxy to our own is the beautiful Andromeda Galaxy (M31) (in the Constellation Andromeda an autumn constellation, visible in the Northern Hemisphere from June to February) pictured below at some 2.5 million light years away it is probably the most distant object you will ever see with your naked eye, visible as a faint smudge in a dark sky on a moonless night. The chart below marks the position of the Galaxy.
So now you know where we are and where our closest galaxy exists it's time to look at the hardware to help you explore and see whats really up there!

Telescope Types

There are many different types of telescope on the market today. Two fundamental types of telescope have spawned variations - The Refractor and the Reflector.
The earliest telescopes were of these types - those associated with Galileo: Refractor's employ glass lenses to magnigy the target and the telescope invented by Isaac Newton, the Reflector which employs a curved mirror to bring the target to a second 'diagonal' mirror within the tube to reflect the image at 90 degrees to exit the tube and be brought to focus and magnified in an eyepiece.
Orion Optics UK do not manufacture Refractor Telescopes. Our area of expertise is the construction of Reflecting Telescopes and their derivatives. We do sell Refractors and are the Main UK agent for the Vixen Range which can be accessed above in the Telescopes Menu.
As with the quality of glass and the optimisation of lenses to produce excellent refractor telescopes, we are world leaders in the production of high quality Optics (Mirrors) which are employed in the construction of our various types of telescopes. For the purpose of this section of our website and for your information, we will concentrate on three types of Telescopes, all of which are suitable in the configurations suggested to get you exploring the night sky with the best instruments available at very reasonable prices. None of our Telescopes are "Entry Level" they are serious astronomical instruments used by Amateurs, Professionals and Beginners alike. Only attributes such as aperture (Mirror size), mount or tripod types and accessories separate them from much larger and more expensive telescopes. Put simply any of the models we feature below could be the only telescope you ever need in a lifetime of astronomy.

The Dobsonian Telescope

The Dobsonian telescope is a design that has become popular amongst amateur astronomers because it results in an extremely simple and rugged large-aperture instrument at low cost. The term "Dobsonian" or "Dob" refers to any telescope with an alt-azimuth mount and a Newtonian telescope tube assembly that feature several innovations made popular by John Dobson. The telescope is a favorite among beginners and seasoned "deep sky observers".

The basic idea is to make large aperture telescopes affordable, easy to make, and portable. The design is optimised for deep sky observing, i.e. visually observing star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies that require a large objective mirror with a lot of "light gathering" capability. Since deep sky observing sometimes requires the observer to travel out to dark locations away from street lights the design is portable and rugged.
The telescope tube is mounted on a manual box type mounting and the telescope is pointed by physically moving the tube on its base.

We feature our OD 150L Dobsonian Telescope 150mm f11 complete with Mount & Tube Rings at £399

The Best 150mm in the range for high power views of the moon and planets

Ideal introductory telescope. As with all our Dobsonians, easy to set up, simple to use. The OD150L is the most dedicated planetary and lunar model of our Dobsonian 150mm range. Being f11 with a minute 25mm secondary flat, you are guaranteed exceptional high resolution, high magnification views. Weighing less than 15 Kg, it is an ideal quick set up instrument where time is a premium. The mounting is made from aluminium plate, similar to that used in aircraft production and is incredibly strong and coated with hard polymer for scratch resistance.

For further details of this telescope and the complete Dobsonian range click the telescope heading above.

The Newtonian Reflecting Telescope

The Newtonian telescope is a type of reflecting telescope invented by the British scientist Sir Isaac Newton. It uses a parabolic primary mirror and a flat diagonal secondary mirror set inside the front end of the tube which directs the image at a right angle to exit the tube via a focuser which holds the eyepiece.

There are no lenses or corrector plates to cause chromatic aberration (image problems caused by inferior lenses) as in a refractor. Suited to all types of astronomy from Lunar, Planetary to Deep Sky.

We feature our Europa 150 f5 Newtonian Reflector Telescope complete with Vixen GP-2 Equatorial Mount and Hardwood Tripod at £389

For serious views of the night sky in general we would recommend the Europa 150 f5 in preference to the other 150mm models. The Europa 150 is the most popular 150mm (6") telescope on sale in the UK. It achieved this position primarily because of it's unquestionable optical and mechanical performance and of course it's price tag.

Featuring Vixen's world wide famous GP-2 Polaris mount with superb mechanical and tracking capabilities. We are quite sure you will not find better images in any similar aperture reflector on the market today within this price range.

It is possibe to upgrade this Mount at any time with computer control motors for a true GO-TO telescope that will find and track a Database of 22,725 objects, more than enough to keep you looking for years to come!

For further details of this telescope and the complete Europa range click the telescope heading above.

The Maksutov Cassegrain Telescope

Yes it is a bit of a mouthfull! Maksutov's (Mak's for short) use a spherical shaped front correcting lens with the convex side facing into the tube, this has a small aluminised spot (Secondary Mirror) on the inner face of the corrector lens. Mak's have the advantage of fixing the alignment of the secondary and eliminates the need for a 'spider' to hold the secondary mirror inside the tube that would cause diffraction spikes (spikes of light eminating from top, bottom, left and right of a star image in the eyepiece due to interference from the spider legs across the inside of the tube holding the secondary mirror in place). Light enters the front and is reflected off the primary mirror at the back of the telescope up to the secondary mirror (spot) and is then reflected back down through a central hole in the primary mirror to the eyepiece at the back of the telescope. Focus is achieved by moving the primary mirror with a knob on the back of the telescope tube.

We feature our OMC 140 GP-2 Maksutov Cassegrain Telescope complete with Vixen GP-2 Equatorial Mount and Hardwood Tripod at £945

This f14 High power, High resolution Mak Telescope features Vixen's GP-2 Polaris mount on varnished hardwood tripod and has standard optics and coatings.

You will be delighted with the performance of this mighty little scope. It may be more expensive than the previous two models but this is a cracking instrument.

Sky at Night Magazine awarded the OMC 140 Winner in their Group Test of Catadioptric Scopes. In summing up they said:

"the OMC140 deserved first prize for its high-quality views not just of planets but also of deep-sky objects. In the end it was those memorable moments with the Orion Nebula and Saturn with this telescope that swung our view in its favour"

Again, it is possibe to upgrade this Mount at any time with computer control motors for a true GO-TO telescope that will find and track a Database of 22,725 objects, more than enough to keep you looking for years to come!

For further details of this telescope and the complete OMC range click the telescope heading above.

We hope you find this guide of some use and we are always keen to encourage beginners and if you need further information or advice please email us or telephone.

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“Astronomy
compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another”

Plato
(Ancient Greek Philosopher)

Some Basic Astronomy Terms and Definitions

aphelion

The point in its orbit where a planet is farthest from the Sun.

apogee

The point in orbit farthest from the Earth.

astronomical unit (AU)

The average distance from the Earth to the Sun; 1 AU is 149,597,870 kilometers (92,960,116 miles).

black hole

An a region in space where gravity is so strong that the escape velocity exceeds the speed of light.

eccentric

Noncircular; elliptical (applied to an orbit).

eclipse

The cutting off of light from one celestial body by another.

ecliptic

The plane of Earth's orbit about the Sun.

hemisphere

A half of the celestial sphere that is divided into two halves by either the horizon, the celestial equator, or the ecliptic. ie: Northern hemisphere or Southern Hemisphere

light year

The distance light travels in a year, at the rate of 300,000 kilometers per second (671 million miles per hour); 1 light-year is equivalent to 9.46053e12 km, 5,880,000,000,000 miles or 63,240 AU.

meteor

The luminous streak seen when a meteoroid enters the atmosphere, commonly known as a shooting star.

meteorite

A part of a meteoroid that survives through the Earth's atmosphere.

meteoroid

A small rock in space.

minor planets

Another term used for asteroids.

nebula

A diffuse mass of interstellar dust and gas.

occulation

The blockage of light by the intervention of another object; a planet can occult (block) the light from a distant star.

perigee

The point in the orbit closest to the Earth.

perihelion

The point in its orbit where a planet is closest to the Sun.

red giant

A star that has low surface temperature and a diameter that is large relative to the Sun.

resolution

The amount of small detail visible in an image; low resolution shows only large features, high resolution shows many small details.

siderial

Relating to, or expressed in relation to stars or constellations.

speed of light

Light speed equals 299,792,458 meters/second (186,000 miles/second). Einstein's Theory of Relativity implies that nothing can go faster than the speed of light.

white dwarf

A whitish star of high surface temperature and low intrinsic brightness with a mass approximately equal to that of a Sun but with a density many times larger.