Often, the first name that pops into a user’s mind is that of Meade telescopes and the reason behind this is that Meade is well known for selling quality telescopes at reasonable prices, and is especially suited for the home astronomer. Before selecting a Meade telescope, one should consider the intended application and for the beginner or amateur telescope user, one may opt for a Meade telescope to see the many astronomical objects with the help of either refracting or mirror lens telescopes. The reflecting Meade telescopes are more suited for those who are interested in astronomy as these have larger apertures and provide good value for money. In any case, the Meade telescope is easy to set up and is a sturdy instrument that one can use and enjoy for years to come and grow with, while learning more about the night skies in one’s area.

A World Leader in Design of Telescopes for Amateur Astronomers

Meade telescopes are instruments that are made by Meade, which was founded in 1972 and is a world leader when it comes to the design as well as manufacture of telescopes and accessories for amateur astronomers. The products that this company sells are innovative as well as incorporate the best in technology to give to the user an advanced product that is arguably one of the best that can be found anywhere in the world. With a Meade telescope, one can expect to get quality viewing at a budget price and there are high performance 70mm refractor telescopes that would make any beginning astronomer proud to own one is it for use in terrestrial observations or for astronomy. With one of these telescopes, one can view the rings of Saturn and the satellites of Jupiter with sharpness, as well as clarity of images.

The Meade RCX400 Advanced Ritchey-Chrétien Telescopes are the best in optical design in telescopes that helps produce large, coma-free field of vision from edge-to-edge, and allows astrophotography to get the best in imaging technology and capture crisp as well as sharp images over a wider field. Through such a Meade telescope, viewers are able to pinpoint stars as well as extended objects, however far they may be. In fact, almost every professional reflector telescope, including the Hubble Space Telescope is a Ritchey-Chrétien.

Such is the quality and price/performance benefits of the Meade telescopes that most experts as well as users give them the thumbs-up and are the first choice when it comes to choosing their telescopes. Of its many useful features, the Meade telescope will also offer users AutoStar automatic location, automatic leveling as well as more to make stargazing an experience to draw much pleasure from.

Mead Telescopes provide the individual astronomer with a variety of various telescopes and microscopes for the amateur and advanced astronomer. Choosing what you would like from the website or from a little research could be helpful in understanding which to choose from in order to view the night sky. Mead has come a long way in the telescope industry and provides quality products to the amateur as well as the professional astronomer. Mead has a variety of telescopes and other viewing apparatuses and the most popular are available at varying prices; dependant on what the individual is willing to pay and to what extent you are using the equipment. Searching the Mead Telescope website shows that they have various Dobsonian models as well as refracting and reflecting telescopes. Mead Telescopes has evolved from making small refractor telescopes into providing their latest model of ETX telescopes, which provides the user, ease in set up and operation. These models also vary in prices dependant upon the expense th at the user is willing to pay for their astronomy needs.

Mead has developed the Autostar® computer keypad that provides the user the ability to set up their telescope and begin viewing celestial bodies in mere minutes. This relatively inexpensive computer keypad can help any budding astronomer to view the night sky as never before, since the keypad stores information of celestial bodies it is a great accessory for the telescope and can help keep the beginner interested in astronomy.

Humble Beginnings

Mead Telescopes began as a small company that provided the astronomy community with small refracting telescopes and as the company grew more successful, they began branching out into development of larger equipment and providing telescopes to larger groups of individuals and astronomers. Branching out to other products and providing these products at reasonable prices has enabled Mead to become the largest manufacturer of telescopes and telescope products.

No matter what path you take in astronomy it is unlikely that you can pass up viewing a Mead Telescope. While there are a variety of manufacturers out there who provide quality products, Mead Telescopes seem to provide a variety of equipment, which not only includes telescopes but also telescope components in order build your own telescope. Just a little research into the web and read the reviews by actual customers, or perhaps just talking to other astronomy enthusiasts and you will see the quality products that Mead produces.

Ever since man could wonder, he turned his face to wonder towards the stars. This is something that everyone knows, and something that everyone has probably seen at one time or another. With the invention of telescopes, man was able to actually get a big closer of a look at the things that have held him in such wonderment. Now, of course, the idea of making telescopes is something that can be considered as an art form, something that only few can do, but something that can give wonderment to plenty. In reality, making telescopes has become something of an art form. Not many people can do it, and even though telescopes are mass produced, they are done so by machinery and computers that can make the best lens, and put it at the best angle, with the best kinds of eyepieces so that you can see the furthers and the clearest. This is not something that many people know how to do, because the computers can much more easily compute what type of lens should be used and where each part should go so that you are able to find yourself with the best telescope possible.

Art Form

However, in the difficulty of making telescopes lies the actual art form. Those that began to make these devices a long time ago passed on the wisdom to their children, and to their children’s children. This is the kind of art form that is something which will last for a lifetime, and these children have never forgotten it. Even today there are people who build telescopes by hand, using just the right types of wood and just the right sizes of wooden pipes to make the telescope. The art of making telescopes is something that is much alive today.

Of course, making telescopes is an art form that does not result in telescopes that can see the farthest and the clearest. It is, in fact, something that is not done because these telescopes are going to be the best ever made. It is something that is done to preserve the original idea of exploration that these craftsmen had. If you have a homemade telescope, it will not see the farthest and the clearest. It will, instead, give you a glimpse into history and what it meant to truly be the first to discover something. You might just be impressed at what you come up with.

You can offer your children or grandchildren a head start to spark their interest in astronomy by giving them a kids telescope with which to view the stars. While it is true that you can buy a cheap kids telescope for under $10, if you hope for them to foster a sincere interest in astronomy, you should plan on shelling out $300 to $400 on a quality piece of equipment.

Telescopes in this price range are really toys and while they may hold a younger child’s interest, for those over the age of about eight, a more substantial kids telescope will not only spark an interest, it is likely it would hold their interest longer than a weekend camping trip. Although National Geographic does offer a 40mm kids telescope just under $60, many educators and astronomers recommend one with a longer focal length as well as a separate viewer to make finding objects easier and less frustrating for the first time user.

For about $150 the Discovery Channel offers a kids telescope available with an optional shoulder bag and tripod the help get beginner astrologers into the game. Its 70mm lens offers bright images and it claims easy set up to get you started quickly. It also offers decent views of the night sky and will show more detail of the moon’s surface than most of the other kids telescope models.

Numerous Models Offer Beginner Level Viewing

There are several models of kids telescopes available for under $100, some between $15 and $50, however most have a focal length of 30mm or 50mm. These will offer a generalized view of the sky, but to really zoom in on planets and constellations, 70mm or higher is recommended. Meade offers the 114EQ-ASTR for about $150 featuring a 1000mm focal length with four and a half inch aperture, which is also capable of being attached to a 35mm camera body for photographing the images.

Whether you buy a kids telescope or a top of the line model you will need to read and follow the instructions carefully in order to see things through the telescope. Many make the mistake of unpacking it and pointing it upwards and ten complaining that they cannot see anything, therefore it must be broke. Before the first use every telescope, except the absolute cheapest ones, have to be set up otherwise it is like trying to find an object while looking through a soda straw. So, parents when you buy your child a kids telescope, set it up for them so you both can enjoy the sights.

The natural sciences, as the name implies, study the phenomenon that occur in nature, and though our knowledge of this grows day by day, we still have limitations in what we know and how we can observe nature. In the science of astronomy, which makes a study of the heavens, we’re actually limited by the very air in our atmosphere, which helps to diffuse light coming in and interferes with our views of space. But sometimes, nature itself seems to help us around our limitations. The twin Keck telescopes, located on the dormant volcano Mauna Kea, is an example of how natural conditions have allowed us to overcome limitations we would find almost everywhere else on Earth and further the cause of science. There are several features that made Mauna Kea the perfect site to place the powerful Keck telescopes.

Height

Mauna Kea is the highest point in Hawaii, but even beyond that, it’s technically the tallest mountain in the world. Everest holds claim to the highest elevation, but Mauna Kea tops it in size at over 33,000 feet. While more than half of this is underwater, the remaining bit of mountain above sea level still puts this summit observatory where the air is thin and where there is very little water vapor in the air. This means that the Keck telescopes get a view with less interference from what’s in the air than most places on earth.

The Lay of the Land

Locating an observatory on a tall mountain is great for avoiding pollution in the atmosphere, but one would think that reaching the summit would be difficult to manage. However, Mauna Kea doesn’t have just height as a key feature. It’s what is called a shield volcano, which means that its sides have a very shallow slope, which makes trucking materials and people up to the summit a piece of cake. Because of this, building and staffing the Keck telescopes was an easy thing to do. In addition to this, despite being a chain of islands formed from volcanic activity, the region around the Mauna Kea is very stable. Also, the lava flows in Hawaii tend to be small and manageable, so in the unlikely event of an eruption, the danger to the Keck telescopes would be minimal.

The Perfect Location

The beautiful beaches and great weather aren’t the reason the Keck telescopes are located in Hawaii, but the miles of ocean around the Hawaiian Islands are a good reason to locate a place devoted to astronomy. Because most of the area around the Hawaiian Islands is ocean, there’s less places where cities and towns can be built, which cuts down on light pollution from street lights, lamps, and so on. This means the stars in the sky have less light from below to compete with. Little things like this would be difficult to find anywhere else in the world, and because of this, the Keck telescopes are located in one of the most uniquely perfect regions to study the stars in. This is one of the few times where nature itself seems to conspire to help us study the universe around us.

The Hubble Telescope is the end result of a joint program between the European Space Agency and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) whose aim is to operate a long-lived observatory in outer space to benefit the international astronomical community. The dream to construct the Hubble Telescope was first conceived in the 1940s and later designed and built in the 1970s and 80s, and became operational a decade later in the 1990s. It was meant to provide a permanent means of observing outer spaces and has special grapple features to help protect against equipment and instrument failures. The Hubble Telescope has a complement of scientific instruments that include two cameras, two spectrographs as well as fine guidance sensors. Placed into low-earth orbit, the Hubble Telescope’s location above the Earth’s atmosphere allows these instruments to produce high resolution images of all those mysterious astronomical objects that are the object of much of mankind’s continuing curiosity.

The advantage of such a telescope is, that unlike ground based telescopes that are unable to provide the kind of resolutions required to study space-based objects, and the Hubble Telescope can provide resolution of ten times greater as well as fat better images than ground based telescopes.

Plans for Hubble Telescope Change

It was originally meant to be returned to Earth every five years for refurbishment and also have on-orbit servicing every two and a half years. However, due to contamination as well as concerns regarding loading it back aboard the shuttle for servicing on Earth, it was not possible to return it to ground, and so on-orbit servicing was deemed to be adequate to help maintain the Hubble Telescope for the rest of its design life of fifteen years.

Ever since its launch and deployment into space in 1990, the Hubble Telescope has had to cope with spherical aberrations and the STS-61 (Endeavor) mission three years later obviated the effects of spherical aberrations to put it back into full functionality once again. The Hubble Telescope has managed to observe a “blizzard” of particles in a disk surrounding a young star and shown the process by which planets grow out of tiny dust grains.

These and other exciting discoveries can be received on a PDA such as a Palm or Pocket PC or to cell phones thanks to new technologies which allows individuals to view latest images as well as read up on latest discoveries. In addition, it is also possible to get on-the-go astronomy news from pod casts as well as monthly Hubble news wraps through SkyWatch.

The Hubble Space Telescope has been orbiting around the Earth and owes its name to Edwin Hubble who made the discovery of galaxies that lay outside the Milky Way as well as for his creation of Hubble’s Law that calculated the rate at which the universe is getting bigger. The Hubble Space Telescope is able to send sharp optical images of very distant objects and has, since being launched in 1990, become astronomy’s most important instrument. The Hubble Space Telescope has provided man with some of most ground-breaking observations and helped astronomers to comprehend the fundamental problems troubling astrophysicists. It is able; thanks to its Ultra Deep Field provide the most sensitive astronomical optical images that have thus far been taken by mankind.

Many Ground-Breaking Discoveries

In the twenty odd years of its existence it has proved to be a valuable aid in the study of outer space and has revealed many mysteries, but its life is coming to an end and with failing gyroscopes it may not last longer than 2007, and if another failure is to happen, it will lose its ability to point and thus become unusable. It requires replacements with the help of a manned service mission, and is in need of a re-boost to increase the diameter of its orbit so that it does not re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere, due to drag. With proper servicing, the Hubble Space Telescope will be able to function until 2013 by which time a new successor will have been launched.

The Hubble Space Telescope has been (quite literally) instrumental in resolving some of astronomy’ long standing problems, and has also provided results that have given rise to new theories to explain them. One of its primary objectives was to measure distances to Cepheid variable stars in a manner that was more accurate than ever before, and thus constrain the value of the Hubble constant. The Hubble Space Telescope helped to better the estimates of the Hubble constant to reduce errors from 50 percent and bring such errors down to a meager ten percent. In addition, it has also helped to refine the age of the universe while also casting doubts on the longevity of the universe.

The Hubble Space Telescope has also been able to provide images of the collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter in 1994, and other major discoveries include proto-planetary disks in the Orion Nebula, proof for the incidence of extra-solar planets as well as the optical counterparts of unexplained gamma-ray bursts.

Homemade telescopes are not for just the experienced astronomer and even those with little technical skills can find the right type of telescope to make with just a little effort and money. While it is easy to purchase a telescope, making a homemade telescope allows for personal pride in your creation and the ability to make the telescope to your liking. A homemade telescope is a personal choice for the amateur astronomer and perhaps a better choice for the intermediate and advanced astronomer who understands the skill necessary to build a usable telescope. Homemade telescopes are not new and throughout the centuries have been developed by those interested in seeing the stars, planets and moons that surround our tiny planet. John Dobson and his dobsonian telescope is a great example of a homemade model of telescope that caught on and allowed a greater number of individuals get into astronomy.

There are many sites online that allow the individual make a homemade telescope with a little effort and a little money for parts. Understanding how the objects are put together and the effort that you put into it allow you to understand your machinery a little better than if you just purchase it off the shelf.

Should You Make a Homemade Telescope?

Dobsonian telescopes are probably the easiest to make and the process is well documented on the internet and the products that you need are available for moderate prices. The equipment necessary includes mirrors, tubes, and lenses as well as a mounting system that allows you to move the telescope or mount the telescope. Homemade telescopes are challenging, yet you may find the experience great incentive to maintain your interest in astronomy and who knows what you can gain from the experience. Knowing whether you should make your own telescope is a big choice, since the time, energy and money necessary is a little challenging and could be overwhelming.

Understanding the choice in making a homemade telescope could put an individual off from astronomy, so if you choose to make a homemade telescope you may be biting off more than you can chew if you are not realistically prepared to put that time into making it worth your while. Yet if choosing to make the telescope is a dream that you have put off then perhaps a homemade telescope can put you back in touch with your dreams and also the celestial bodies that surround this tiny little planet.

During the 16th and 17th centuries there was a surge of interest, associated speculations and inventions that surrounded the study of stars. For example in 1543, Copernicus published his theory which hypothesized that the earth and the other planets revolved around the sun. In addition, from 1604 through 1610, a supernova was observed in the Milky Way, the orbits of the planets were studied, the first refracting telescope was invented and Jupiter's moons were observed.

One of the foremost scientific and inventive individuals, during this time, was an Italian physicist by the name of Galileo Galiliei. Often Galileo is credited with the invention of the telescope. However, this is not true. The credit for the creation of the telescope is given to an inventor from Holland by the name of Hans Lippershey. Nevertheless, the improvements made with Galileo’s telescope were significant and useful which led to his name being associated with the invention of the telescope.

Who Was Galileo

Galileo Galilei is often referred to as the "father of modern physics." Through his studies and findings he substantiated the theories of Copernicus and his work has become the basis for elementary physics taken by students.

Galileo was born in the Tuscany region of Italy on the 15th of February in the year 1564. His remedial education was received through private tutoring and eventually he attended the University of Pisa. Due to financial hardships, he was unable to finish his university training, but was offered a faculty position where he taught mathematics.

Eventually, he moved to a neighboring city and continued serving as a member of the university’s faculty. The subjects of his instruction were geometry, mechanics and astronomy.

It was in 1609 that Galileo heard of the invention of the telescope. As the story is told the inventor of the first telescope, Hans Lipperhey, was denied a patent for his invention. In addition, a foreigner tried to sell a similar invention to the government of Venice. The Venetian government refused and eventually Galileo’s telescope was submitted and was accepted by the Venetian government.

Galileo’s Telescope

The original Galileo's telescope was an eight power telescope. Through modifications and grinding the lenses himself he was able to improve the functionality of his first telescope and of course his focus became the study of the planets.

In addition to his observations he began to record what he was visualizing. Through planetary study afforded by Galileo's telescope, he was able to publish a book by the name of “The Starry Messenger."

Also, Galileo's telescope was utilized to study the moons of Jupiter. This study had a direct correlation on earth as Galileo endeavored to apply this knowledge to help sailors locate their position by determining their longitude while at sea.

In addition, the observations, as seen through Galileo's telescope were used to substantiate the theory of Copernicus. This theory asserted that the planets revolved around the sun and not vice versa.

Eventually, because of the revelations of the universe, as seen through Galileo's telescope, he was viewed by the church as promoting dangerous theories and teachings. Eventually, his teachings, which were deemed as being heretical, earned him an admonition from one of the church leaders. In that admonition he was ordered to refrain from supporting the Copernican theory.

Most quality telescopes require the use of an eyepiece as part of the magnification power of the telescope. If you have a telescope with a single eyepiece, you will want to investigated using one or two different ones for different purposes. The eyepiece telescope has this advantage of those that do not have a changeable eyepiece.

The eyepiece will play a major role in the magnification power of an eyepiece telescope and to calculate what the magnification would be with a different eyepiece you would divide the focal length by the eyepiece focal length. Since the focal length of an eyepiece telescope will remain constant, by changing the eyepiece you can change the power.

Not everyone changes an eyepiece to increase the magnification, especially if wanting to view areas that are closer or they want a wider field of view. One reason to reduce the magnification may be to create a finder lens for your telescope to be able to find an object. With a strong eyepiece telescope, finding the moon through the normal magnification could be like trying to find it while looking through a straw.

Effective Fields Of View Also Changes

The true field of view, that is what you can see as an undistorted image can also be adjusted by changing the eyepiece on an eyepiece telescope. The field stop on an eyepiece is the rotating ring that limits the field size. To find the true field of view, divide the field stop diameter by the telescope’s focal length and then multiply by 57.3.

In order to obtain lower power viewing of large objects your eyepiece should deliver the widest possible field of view. A one and a quarter inch eyepiece would have a field stop of 27mm maximum. The maximum field stop on a two-inch eyepiece is about 46 mm. A general rule of thumb with an eyepiece telescope is that choosing an eyepiece with shorter focal lengths and larger apparent field of view, bringing brighter, clearer images of objects including fainter stars.

Two things to consider when looking at news eyepieces could be a Barlow lens, which simply is a magnifier, which adds magnification power to the eyepiece telescope, and what is called eye relief. Eye relief is the space between the lens and your eye and should have enough room for you to be able to wear your glasses, if needed, as well as to keep your eyelashes from brushing against the lens.

Eye telescopes or spy glasses are commonly seen in pirate or seafaring movies, and were utilized by many seafarers in order to view land masses or to navigate the stars. Yet for the beginner to utilize the eye telescope and view the stars or even the wildlife in the backyard takes very little effort with the telescope. Searching for an eye telescope may seem a little difficult at first but with just a little research into the market finding a telescope should prove to be not as difficult. Many of these telescopes can be bought along with refractor telescopes or come along with them in order to adjust the telescope to view the night sky. While eye telescopes have been around for a number of years many people may not see them as beneficial to astronomy and disregard the eye telescope as a novelty item. Eye telescopes are also known as spy glasses and have been in use for many centuries and can be found on many newer model telescopes, particularly refractor scopes that enable the user to use the telescope to get the scope in sync with stars or planets.

What is an Eye Telescope?

Eye telescopes typically have a concave lens and an eyepiece, thus taking the shape of a small version of a refractor telescope. The compact shape allows for ease of mobility yet the ability to see very far or close inspection of celestial bodies is usually impractical for the user. Yet the utilization of an eye telescope can help you in finding a celestial body or the search for land on your trip across the lake. Using it to view the small things is a great way to introduce children to the awesome world of telescopes and astronomy.

Utilizing the telescope takes little practice and many can be off and running with it in a matter of minutes. Yet being able to use the eye telescope in conjunction with a larger telescope is a great for the astronomer, since it allows you to move the larger telescope into the view of the stars or planets. Eye telescopes are important to many astronomers in their search for the stars or moon yet no matter how you use your telescope it can be beneficial to your search of the celestial body or the back yard birds you can be sure that it will be up close and personal.

Space the final frontier… the interest in space and the universe has been an intriguing subject for many. This interest over the years has encouraged people to develop new ways to see the stars. John Dobson was one of those individuals and developed a telescope that enables individuals to view the stars relatively inexpensively. Without the frills of many high end telescope the Dobsonian telescope is a perfect choice for amateur or experienced astronomers alike. Dobsonian telescopes sound like some expensive and extremely difficult piece of equipment to obtain and utilize. Yet nothing could be further from the truth, as a matter of fact the dobsonian telescope is utilized as a beginning telescope for some college astronomy courses. While not the fanciest looking telescope, it looks like a toy canon facing up at the sky, the telescope allows the amateur astronomer the ability to locate stars, planets and moons.

What is the Dobsonian Telescope?

While it doesn’t sound that fantastic, since all telescopes are created to do this, but the dobsonian telescope is different in its ease of use and it has very few bells and whistles that some may believe are necessary. First of all the dobsonian telescope is relatively easy to use and has been utilized by amateur astronomers for years. The original intent of the method was to make an affordable and economical means in which to see the stars and planets. The tubular design of the dobsonian telescope and the ease of mobility make it great for stargazing parties and beginning astronomer may enjoy that simplicity in order to keep the interest alive.

Where Can I Get a Dobsonian Telescope?

While dobsonian telescopes can be bought there are many amateur astronomy sites on the internet that show how to design and build one for yourself. This interesting point ensures that your dobsonian telescope is unique and built with your character. What better way to see the stars and planets with something built by your own hands?

If you do not want to take the time or just do not feel confident of your manufacturing skills for just a couple hundred dollars, not much considering the high end telescopes out there, you could purchase a new dobsonian telescope made by different manufacturers. With just a little research into the varieties that are out there the right choice can be made in order to begin or continue your search of the stars.