For amateur astronomers, this means a highly portable large-aperture telescope with a long focal length.Ĭompound telescopes have a sealed tube making them dust-free even when you take them with you for summer night observing trips. With their ‘optical folding’ capability, these scopes are only two to three times in length compared to their width. These mirror-and-lens combos are usually very compact in their usual forms, such as the Schmidt-Cassegrain and Maksutov-Cassegrain. You will need to learn polar alignment which is to have the scope’s polar axis aligned with the rotational axis of Earth.Ĭompound telescopes are a recent invention from the 1930s, and they are designed to combine the best of both telescope types – refractors and reflectors. Equatorial mounts are almost mandatory for astrophotography and high magnification observations of the Moon or Jupiter or Saturn and so on. Telescopes with alt-az mounts are preferable for casual observers – especially Dobsonians. When you need to track a single astronomical object for long durations, a telescope with an equatorial mount is the best option since you will only need to adjust the scope along one axis only. A telescope with an equatorial mount will be needed for deep-sky astronomy and astrophotography. These refinements become useful when you are viewing a planet or the Moon at high magnifications.Įquatorial mounts are essential if you are considering buying the best professional telescope. Good quality alt-az mounts will have finely threaded slow-motion controls so that the scope can be moved smoothly in tiny increments. Small telescopes with alt-az mounts are a simple affair and can make for a great combo if you are looking for the best telescope for beginners. Equatorial mounts also move the telescope in two axes, one of which is aligned with the rotational axis of Earth. There are primarily two types of telescope mounts: altitude-azimuth and equatorial.Īn alt-az telescope mount can move the telescope up-or-down (‘alt’) and left-or-right (‘az’). And the telescope’s focus must not change when you let go of the focus knob. The telescope’s view should stay stable instead of wiggling when you are focusing the telescope with the focus knob. If you are observing a deep-sky object for a longer duration or doing astrophotography, which will require keeping the telescope pointed at an object for hours, the telescope mount will the telescope pointed at the right object as the Earth rotates underneath.Ī ‘stable’ telescope mount is one that will not keep vibrating for more than a second if you tap the telescope tube. The telescope mount carries the weight of the telescope and keeps the telescope pointed in the right direction. Whether you treat the telescope mount as part of the telescope or an accessory, you need a good telescope mount if you are looking for the best telescope for viewing planets.
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