The name “telescope” is actually a combination of two Greek words, tele which means ‘far’ and skopein which means ‘to look or see’. Hence the blending of these two words would be teleskopos which means ‘far-seeing’.  Telescopes are in fact used to view astronomical objects which cannot be seen through the naked human eye.

Telescopes cover a wide range of instruments which are designed for the observation of remote objects. Hence, telescopes can in fact, refer to a whole gamut of instruments.

Ideally, a telescope is used to view distant objects, but the area of application can vary greatly.

The classifications of telescope essentially vary depending on the construction and the working. Since the usage of the telescope largely depends on its working, when the working varies, the purpose for which it is used also varied greatly.

If you are looking to buy a telescope it is necessary to understand the purpose for which you want to use it. Otherwise you would end up with a room filled with a variety of telescopes, without using any of them.

Why do you want to buy a telescope?

Do you want to pursue astronomy as a hobby? Do you want to provide a significant learning experience to your child? Or is it just a something that you wish to carry along with you camping gear for your camping trip?

If your intention for buying a telescope is just focused on one particular event like your camping trip or too see if you kid has imbibed the same proclivity towards star gazing as you have, then you can probably settle for a light weight, small budget telescope or a binoculars as well.

How much do you want to spend on your telescope?

The answer for this question is usually interlinked with the purpose for which you want to buy a telescope. If you are looking for a telescope for a purpose that is even-driven or ephemeral, then investing in a telescope which costs a bomb is not worth. You might want to buy something small and not too expensive. You can also consider buying one of those toy telescopes, if it is to check on the inclination your kid has towards astronomy.

If you spend a humungous amount of money on buying a telescope that’s large and complex and you don’t use that very often, then it won’t be of much fun.

Some advice before investing for a telescope:

Before you invest in a telescope you might want to join an online club or the astronomy club in your locality. Joining a club will even help you in networking with fellow astronomers who can guide you on the type of telescope to buy that suits your purpose as well as your pocket.

You can even subscribe to a few journals on astronomy or read up on the internet about the technical details on astronomy so that you can identify a few constellations or spot a planet or two with your naked eyes. Getting yourself familiar with a few astronomical words would also be helpful.

Therefore consider the purpose and the budget before investing in a telescope.

Here are a few pointers that can help you in deciding which telescope to buy:

Decide on the budget:

Although this may sound very futile, deciding on a budget actually helps in narrowing down the choice of the telescope. Not to mention that it eases your tension by being easy on the pocket as well.

For the kind of functions that the telescope performs, they don’t come very cheap. Some small vendors may make outrageous claims about simple telescopes functioning in the similar fashion as that of big and complex telescopes. But please do not believe them.

If you are planning to spend anything less than 100$, then please go in for a pair of binoculars or a toy telescope.  It would probably perform more functions that the cheap telescopes that come with outrageous claims.

Set your expectations:

You have seen a book on astronomy that has some splendid photographs of the stars and the galaxy and are expecting your low end telescope to perform the same functions. Please do let your expectations touch the sky.

Every telescope comes with certain specialized features and not all telescopes perform all the functions. A beginner’s small budget telescope may not exactly make you see the minute stars in the Milky Way, but you would be definitely able to see Jupiter with its 4 large moons and the celestial rings of Saturn.

Magnification:

A telescope which offers you a magnification to the extent of 400x would definitely cost a bomb. A telescope which magnifies to the extent of 32x can give you a closer sight of the moon, and other planets. So you can decide on the extent of magnification you require.

Buying a used telescope:

If your are not keen on buying a new telescope and are very particular about the money that you spent, then you might as well give a thought about buying a used telescope.

Older models of telescopes are available for dirt cheap prices in the used good market. All you need is a little amount of patience to sift through the numerous options that you would be given to finally select on the telescope of your choice.

Know the difference:

There are two types of telescopes: Reflector and refractor. Both of them basically use different methods to boost light from dim objects in the sky. Before actually making an investment on buying a telescope, it would be ideal to study both the telescopes and know the difference and the purpose of each one of them.

Research:

Finally, please do some research on the kinds of telescopes available and the purpose of each of them. Internet offers a lot of input on this. You can also get in touch with the local astronomy club or use the public library which would give you a lot of input in this matter.