| When looking at telescopes, and in particular | | | | magnification of these scopes is adjusted by the |
| astronomical telescopes one of the most important | | | | eyepiece you use when viewing the final image. |
| thing a beginner will want to know is whether they | | | | Refracting telescopes are based on the traditional eye |
| should buy a reflecting telescope or a refracting | | | | glass design, at the simplistic level there is nothing |
| telescope. | | | | majorly complicated happening here; the light comes in |
| Often this is personal choice but it helps at least to | | | | one end and is magnified by the lenses and you view it |
| know the difference so in this article we will look at the | | | | through the viewfinder end. Often there will be a 90 |
| very basic differences between the two types. At the | | | | degree mirror at the end to make viewing easier and |
| least, you will know what a dealer or a web site is | | | | many people prefer this to the viewing position of the |
| talking about when they mention the two types. | | | | reflecting telescope. Other than that there is no real |
| A reflecting telescope uses a system of internal | | | | change from the original design that Galileo created. |
| mirrors to reflect and angle the image coming into the | | | | Because of the lack of any obstruction in the mirror |
| scope thereby effectively increasing the telescope's | | | | path the image from a cheaper refracting scope will |
| length. You view the image from the side of the scope | | | | usually have a higher contrast than an equivalent |
| which seems rather odd to some people but this is an | | | | reflector. |
| easy way to spot a reflecting telescope. The aperture | | | | Reflecting telescopes do need their mirrors aligned on |
| (in this case, the width) of the scope is the basic | | | | a regular basis whereas refractors are permanently |
| measure of how much light will get into it and how | | | | aligned which means they are pretty much "ready to |
| large the main (or objective) mirror is and the simple | | | | go" whenever you need one. |
| rule of thumb here is, the bigger the better! The actual | | | | |