My Telescope

When we mention about refracting telescope or any other astronomical telescope for that matter, we always think about how images from space such as that of the moon, planets, solar system and even far beyond can be clearly seen. And really a thousand times better than if you are going to use your naked eye.

Telescopes in fact are meant to study the universe and what it has been and become for billions of years. In fact, the images that you might have been observing from your peek through an observatory telescope are millions and millions, even billions of years old.

But what about the search for ET’s or aliens on outer space. Are telescopes also capable of finding or detecting any intelligent life that’s present anywhere in the universe? Surely your refractor or reflecting telescope is not equipped to find one even if you train it up the sky 24 hours a day.

Actually there is one that’s intended to look for ET’s – and this is the radio telescope. By the way, there is what we call SETI, the acronym for search for extraterrestrial intelligence. This phrase was coined as the pursuit of scientists and astronomers to search for alien beings intensified.

There are some radio telescopes that exist with the main purpose of detecting and identifying alien life forms. Two of such scopes are the Allen Telescope, found in California and the Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico. Hopefully, with the sheer power of these telescopes working non-stop every minute of the year, success of finding a life form other than our own will become a reality.

Many sky gazing newbies seem more concerned about the power or magnification of their astronomical telescopes. They equate the level of magnification to the power or ability of their scope to capture vivid space objects.

Actually another feature of the astronomy telescope that the owners should be concerned and familiar with is the size of the objective lens or more popularly known as the aperture. This feature of the scope is directly connected with the clarity or vividness of the image as well as its definition and details.

If you want to obtain excellent space images, then it is best to acquire an astronomical telescope that has large objective lens. However, aperture has a negative effect on the vividness of the space image if the power or magnification of the scope is increased.

If you try to increase the magnification of your telescope way over the power limit of the scope’s aperture, then instead of obtaining clear images, they will become blurred and fuzzy. You must magnify within the limits of the size of your objective lens in order to get the desired image result.

When using your refracting telescope or any other type of astronomical telescope, the saying “practice makes perfect” also applies. One way of utilizing your telescope to perfection is by focusing it on a faraway object, and a carefully and steady manner. This way, it helps you obtain a much clearer and more detailed view of your desired object.

Another proper way of using your scopes is by avoiding it to be trained directly to the sun rays. A direct hit of the sun will definitely damage your telescope’s lenses and eyepieces. What’s more, direct sunlight can inflict irreparable damage to your eyes. So it can be said that while the sun is such a tempting object to trying seeing with your telescope, actually doing it is a no-no.

And if you really want a perfect view from your refracting telescope, there is actually no trick behind it. Many of us have the tendency to increase the scope’s magnification. However, in doing so, all you get are fuzzy images brought about by the overuse of strong magnification power. All you have to do is perform the opposite. Just maintain a lower degree of magnification and you can enjoy all the vivid space objects you want.