Image Quality

The most important part of any telescope is going to be image quality. You do not want too many blurry images. Instead, you want the images that you find to be vivid and bright. Magnification is going to make the most difference when it comes to quality, but you should also keep in mind that other factors can affect the quality of your images. For example, if you have to deal with a lot of light or air pollution, then getting the clearest images is not necessarily going to be all that easy for you. In order to solve the problem of light and air pollution, you might want a little bit extra magnification. However, the most highly rated telescopes are not going to have any problems with dust and light interfering with your image. As long as you know how to adjust the lens in order to perfect the clarity, you should be able to get nice clear images of different objects throughout the solar system and maybe even beyond if your telescope is powerful enough. However, you also want to be careful about too much magnification. After all, when you zoom in more, certain details can start to become indistinguishable. Therefore, you also need to take an aperture into consideration in order to ensure that enough light is getting into your telescope. Smaller telescopes might have good magnification, but they are not going to have the aperture to give you a good quality image. Even larger telescopes do better with less magnification. When you use a telescope, you should probably start with the lowest magnification possible and zoom in a little bit at a time until you see an image clearly. However, if you do want to zoom in, then the best telescopes will come with the option to zoom in a lot, while still maintaining the quality of the images that you are trying to focus on.

Simplicity

With a good telescope, you should not have any difficulty finding various space objects. Some objects are going to be more difficult to spot, but your telescope should definitely be making it somewhat easier for you. If you are a beginner, then it is especially important that your telescope is not too confusing. However, even experienced stargazers should not have to be up all night before they figure out how to work their telescope. Therefore, the best telescopes are going to be easy to use. They will have various features to help you adjust your telescope just right. They should also have features to help you align it perfectly so that you can find the right objects. Some telescopes will have software that can help point your telescope in the right direction. Others will just have very simple controls. If you are amateur, be aware that a good telescope is still going to require a certain amount of patience before you get it just right. Although there are telescopes that can do the work for you, it is definitely less satisfying than finding different objects on your own. Additionally, if you do not do any of the hard work, then you will never really learn how to use a telescope. Without knowing how to really adjust and align your telescope, you will never be able to leave the amateur stages of stargazing, which means you probably will be unable to really start using the more powerful telescopes designed for advanced users. You may be perfectly happy with being an amateur for the rest of your life, but you should know that the super basic telescopes are usually unable to see anything beyond the moon, Jupiter, and Saturn’s rings. If you want to get some images of faraway nebulae in the Milky Way, then you need to learn how to use some of the more complex telescopes.

Sturdiness

Of course, you do not want your telescope to fall over as you are using it. Your careful alignments can get completely ruined if your telescope starts to tip over. No matter where you are stargazing, your telescope should be able to balance nicely. Tabletop telescopes are generally designed to rely on smooth surfaces to stand as steady as steady. Other telescopes are designed to remain steady on any type of surface. After all, it would be pretty devastating if your telescope fell over and broke. Even if it does not break, it is definitely a big inconvenience if it falls. In fact, your telescope should not shake or wobble at all as you use it. If your telescope is shaky, then your image is going to be even shakier. Since you are looking at objects that are so far away, even the tiniest wobbles are going to give you an image that is not sufficiently steady. The moon may be a close enough object to allow for a very small amount of wobbling. However, even when you are looking for images of the moon, it is going to require a little bit of sturdiness. Images even further away from the Earth will not allow for any wobble at all. Therefore, you need a telescope with a good base. Additionally, some telescopes will move with the rotation of the Earth so that it can stay focused on faraway objects throughout the night without necessitating constant realignments. This feature means that some sort of motor will be running in your telescope. Only the best telescopes will have motors that do not cause any shaking as they work. If they do, then it is usually best to turn this feature while you are viewing far away objects. Otherwise, you will not be happy with your images.

Durability

It would be pretty frustrating if your telescope did not last you a long time. It is also definitely going to be upsetting if some of your equipment stops working. The chances are pretty low that anything is going to physically break unless you do not take care of your purchase. However, it is possible that various equipment will start to get old. Lenses may not work as well, images may start getting less clear, extra dust might start getting the way of your images. All the best telescopes will be made from materials that are designed to last, and none of your equipment will stop working. Eventually, it is possible that you may need to replace a telescope, especially some of the cheaper ones designed for beginners. However, if you get a more expensive telescope, you really should not have to ever think about getting a new telescope. You may decide that you want a new telescope to supplement the one that you already have, but you should never have to replace your old one unless you are simply upgrading to a more advanced model designed for more experienced stargazers.

Size

The size of your telescope is going to be important for a number of reasons. First of all, you want it to be easy to transport. After all, your favorite stargazing location may switch up sometimes, especially depending on the weather and the time of year. Smaller telescopes are definitely going to be easier to transport. However, smaller telescopes do come at a disadvantage when it comes to aperture. Smaller telescopes are going to have lenses that do not collect enough light for the best possible images. Without enough light coming in, your vision will not get much farther than Saturn’s rings. Of course, looking at Saturn’s rings is definitely exciting, but better telescopes will allow you to see much more than that. Therefore, if you want to see beyond our solar system and maybe even beyond our galaxies, you are going to have to get a telescope that is big in order to ensure that it has a big enough aperture.

Portability

Size is only one factor that affects portability. Plenty of telescopes are difficult to assemble, bulky, and come with lots of extra equipment. However, if you want to be able to travel with your telescope, you probably want to travel light. Therefore, many of the best telescopes have a very compact design. They also will not come with too much bulky equipment. After all, when you go camping, stargazing is a great activity because you are usually far away from light pollution and air pollution. It is definitely an advantage if you can take your telescope camping with you.

Additional Features

The best telescopes are going to come with additional features that make it easier for you to stargaze. Some will come with software that will tell you about what images you are looking for. Sometimes, this type of software can also make it easier for you to find your favorite images. Other good telescopes may come with features that allow the telescope to spin slowly so that the rotation of the Earth does not throw off your angle. It is also beneficial if your telescope comes with many different types of lenses in order to allow you to adjust the magnification.

Assembly

Many telescopes do not come assembled, which means you will have to take care of the assembly on your own. Although the amount of time it takes you to put your telescope together is not going to affect how well it works, it definitely is a hassle if your telescope is difficult to assemble. Therefore, most of the highly regarded telescopes should not be impossible to assemble. Many will also come with instruction manuals to ensure that assembly goes as smoothly as possible.

Cleaning of your Telescope

The lens of the telescope is fragile and should be treated gently. You can easily scratch the lens or coating of the lens. The best advice is to keep the lens covered when not in use to prevent dust or other contaminants from getting on the lens. You should never wipe the dust off the lens as you risk the chance of scratching the lens. Compressed air in a can be used to blow the dust off the lens. If after this you still have oil from fingerprints or eyelashes, you can use lens cleaning wipes and a microfiber cloth. First using the microfiber dry then the lens cleaning wipes. If absolutely necessary a lens cleaning fluid can be used after these steps. The fluid should never be dropped or poured directly on the lens as it may seep around the lens into the telescope. The fluid should be placed sparingly on the microfiber cloth and used in a gentle circular motion on the lens. Next, use a dry part of the microfiber cloth to completely dry the lens.

Cost

Some telescopes are definitely going to be more expensive than others. However, all the best telescopes should be worth their price. If it is expensive, then it should last you a long time, it should give you high-quality images, and you should be able to see a wide range of the object. The more expensive it is, the more you should be able to see. Additionally, the more expensive telescopes should also come with certain features to make it easier for you to get a great image.