Telescope guides
These are the pages that answer the questions that come after the purchase, which is where most people get stuck. Two of them carry the message this whole site is built on: a telescope is only as good as the mount under it, and a telescope will not show you the colours in a photograph.
12 pages in this section
- How to Choose a TelescopeHow to pick a telescope: what you will observe, where it lives, your budget, then which optical design fits. Includes a budget-band... Open →
- How to Collimate a Newtonian TelescopeA step by step Newtonian collimation guide: secondary centring and rotation first, then secondary tilt, then primary tilt, then a... Open →
- How to Deal With Light PollutionWhat light pollution actually costs you, which filters work and which cannot, how much a darker site is really worth, and the... Open →
- How to Find Objects in the Night SkyStar hopping taught step by step: learn anchor constellations, use a reflex finder like a Telrad to get within a few degrees, then... Open →
- How to Observe the Sun SafelyHow to observe the sun safely with a telescope: certified full-aperture filters, why eyepiece filters are dangerous, how to aim... Open →
- How to Photograph the Moon With a TelescopePhotographing the Moon with a telescope: the Looney 11 exposure rule, why full Moon is the worst night, lucky imaging with video... Open →
- How to Set Up an Equatorial MountSetting up an equatorial mount in the right order: level, latitude, north, balance, polar alignment and power. Includes how... Open →
- How to Start AstrophotographyAn honest guide to starting astrophotography: what it really costs, why imaging is a different hobby from visual observing, and the... Open →
- How to Use a Telescope for the First TimeA step by step first-night checklist: set up in daylight, align the finder before dark, start with the longest eyepiece, let the... Open →
- Telescope Magnification ExplainedWhat telescope magnification actually is, how to calculate it, why maximum useful magnification tops out around 50x per inch of... Open →
- Telescope Maintenance and StorageHow to store, clean, collimate and dew-proof a telescope without damaging it, and why almost every maintenance mistake in astronomy... Open →
- What Can You See With a Telescope?An honest guide to what a telescope actually shows: the Moon, Saturn's rings and Jupiter's moons look spectacular, while nebula... Open →
Start here if you are new
- How to choose a telescope, the whole decision in one page
- Complete builds at three budgets, with running totals
- Magnification calculator, the number everyone gets wrong
- What you can see by aperture, honestly