How much does a good telescope cost? – here’s the breakdown.
When it comes to entering the astronomy community, one of the most often asked questions is “how much does a nice telescope cost?” Well, it depends on a couple of factors…
The cost of the telescope is determined by its characteristics, such as the components used in its construction, its capacity to zoom in on extremely distant objects, and whether or not it contains sophisticated technology such as NexStar.
We’ll go into more depth later, but here are some general guidelines to follow when deciding which telescope to buy:
- Dobsonian Telescopes have the biggest aperture of all telescope types
- Refracting Telescopes have the widest range of price, you’ll find the cheapest and the most expensive telescopes under this category, the problem is the aperture doesn’t usually go above 5″ in size.
- Newtonian telescopes are your best value category from 4″-6″
- Catadioptric telescopes are the best value from 8″-12″
When choosing a telescope, the important aspects to consider are Aperture, which is the size of the telescope’s mirror or lenses, and Lens Excellent, since quality lenses and mirrors are required to attain extremely high accuracy or magnification.
These have the biggest effect on the final pricing since they are the most important factors distinguishing decent telescopes from the BEST telescopes.
More factors to consider are the sort of telescope you want to use…
Here’s The Biggest Telescope for The Money…
A Skyquest Dobsonian telescope
The Dobsonian is the kind of telescope that has all others beat when it comes to total size.
Because of the size constraints on all other kinds of telescopes, the largest mirrors can only fit on a Dobsonian; all others, by design, cannot have an aperture larger than 12′′.
Dobs are best suited for astronomers who want to just point and shoot; because of the way they are built, they cannot be upgraded with technology or luxury amenities of any sort.
How Much Does a Good Reflecting Telescope Cost?
This category includes Newtonian and Catadioptric telescopes, and if you must pick one, keep the following two considerations in mind:
- Newtonians are less expensive to make and hence less expensive to purchase because of their simplicity of design.
- Catadioptric telescopes are superior, but not worth the money if the aperture is less than 4 inches.
However, with apertures larger than 4′′, we have Schmidt-Cassegrain type catadioptric telescopes, the ALL-TIME BEST of which is the Celestron NexStar 8se.
It has NexStar technology, which can monitor stars and planets for you and even adjust your telescope for you to observe them.
So What’s The Cost of a Good Newtonian Telescope?
Perhaps you want a more adaptable telescope with a large aperture and an equatorial mount; here is where the Newtonian comes in.
For less than $300, you can acquire a good Orion telescope with a 4′′ mirror.
How Much Does a Good Refracting Telescope Cost?
Because anything that goes under the category of a refraction telescope may vary widely in price, this one has the most diverse pricing of telescope…
The quality of the lens, the number of lenses, and the coating of the lenses may all cause variances. All of these factors affect the eventual overall cost of the telescope.
In an odd sense, these telescopes are both the cheapest and most costly you can purchase, depending on the specs.
- Here’s The Cost of the Cheapest Beginner’s Refractors…
The most basic refractors are also the most affordable, with a simple two-inch lens inserted in a small tube, set on a mediocre tripod, and furnished with eyepieces that will need to be replaced.
While this isn’t the most enthralling compliment for these low-cost instruments….
They may be an excellent starting point for developing a lifetime interest in astronomy, making them particularly suited for children and amateur astronomers.
I’ll never forget staring through one of them and experiencing my first lunar eclipse; a 2′′ refractor is enough to make a memory last a lifetime.
The Celestron astromaster is one of the best-selling telescopes in history, and for good reason: it’s one of the greatest telescopes in this price range.
- Here is the Cost of a High-quality Refractor…
Even while refractors are nothing to write home about at the low end of the price spectrum, as the price range rises, they can truly compete with other types of telescopes!
It’s difficult to top the picture quality of a refracting telescope with a double or triple apochromatic lens!
The main drawback of producing such high-quality photographs is that high-quality lenses are costly to produce, particularly in bigger sizes.
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