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Undoubtedly the recent pictures and videos of the Perseid meteor shower have had many people searching the internet for telescopes for sale hoping to get a first hand look at just what is going on in our night skies. Every year around August, the Earth passes through what’s left of the comet ‘Swift-Tuttle’ and small particles of this comet collide with the Earth’s atmosphere to create amazing streaks of light as they burn-up. So what else is there to see?

Well looking at pictures taken from the Hubble telescope it’s obvious that there is an amazing amount out there. Thanks to images from the Hubble space telescope, scientists are making new discoveries about our universe in regards to things like dark energy and black holes. They’ve also worked out that the earth is actually 13 to 14 billion years old as opposed to the previous estimate of between 10 and 20 billion. Unfortunately there have not been any sightings of little green men, as yet!

After some initial research for telescopes for sale on the internet you’ll find out that there are basically only 3 types of telescopes; Refractor, Reflector, and Catadioptric. The Hubble is a reflector type telescope the size of a school bus, weighing 24500 lb and you might be able to pick one up for about 1.5 billion dollars. Since Nasa will no longer be maintaining the Hubble perhaps we’ll be able to pick up pieces of it as it decays over the next few decades.

Size isn’t everything! Or is it?

A telescope works by collecting larger amounts of light than are visible to the naked eye and then magnifying it so we can see it. What this means is that if you have a telescope with a large aperture (size of main lens) then you’ll be able to get better images of fainter deep-sky objects.

Now before you rush out and buy the biggest telescope you can find there are some other considerations.

If you’re using the telescope to look at celestial objects at night then you will need to be away from bright city lights. The reason is that if there’s lots of light from other sources then light from stars won’t be able to compete.

Another consideration is pollution. You’ve probably noticed how the stars are much more visible in the countryside than built up areas. Part of the reason for there being a Hubble in the first place is because of atmospheric distortion – being above Earth’s atmosphere means it gets a much clearer, undistorted view of the universe.

What all this means is that the size and weight of any telescope is an important consideration if you’ll have to transport it into a field to get a good place to look from. Will your telescope fit in your car? Will you be able to carry and set it up on your own?

Another thing to consider is of course cost. If this is a potential new hobby and you’re not sure how interested you’ll stay in carrying a telescope and tripod to and from your car into nearby fields, a less expensive telescope might make more sense at the beginning. As with most things though, you should buy the best telescope you can find within your budget as it won’t restrict you if your interest grows. Another option would be to join a club and see how interested you really are before making a purchase.

You can find more information about telescopes for sale by following the link below.