You know that your interest in astronomy is past the fancy star gazing stage and you are actually serious about taking it up as a full fledged hobby. You have invested a sizable share of money in buying a brand new telescope. But you saw so many accessories at the store which complimented your telescope that you are in a dilemma on what to buy and what not to buy.

Here are some accessories that are a must have along with a good pair of telescope:

Eyepiece:

Eye piece is probably the next thing you would want to invest on, after purchasing a telescope.  Buying a good eye piece would be as much confusing as buying a  telescope, which is why you need to do sufficient home work before you get down to buying it.

Eye pieces come in quite a few diameters and not knowing which to buy, may definitely lead to some amount of confusion. The most commonly used sizes of the eye piece are 1.25″ and 2.0″.

Eyepieces not just vary in size and focal length but also in design. The cost of an eye piece depends on the complex functions it performs.

Telescope mount:

A Telescope mount is the next thing to buy, once you have bought the eye piece. The telescope mount is a stand kind of a thing, which supports your telescope and prevents that bother of having to support it manually.

A good telescope mount must be sturdy and must be able to bar the weight of the telescope. It should also be able to allow precise pointing of the instrument without having to adjust it every now and then.

Storage cases:

You have invested a huge amount of money for buying the telescope. You would obviously want it to be the centre of attraction when your friends drop in. But imagine how it would come across, if it had scratches all over and the lens was broken. Hence, you need to protect the telescope.

Storage cases protect your scope from dust, scratches and dents. A good storage case is padded with foam and sturdy. It would be able to withstand the shock when dropped accidentally causing no damage to the telescope within.

Protective scope covers:

You have decided to go camping and with to carry your favorite telescope to pursue your hobby of star gazing during your leisure time.  You would, obviously not want to leave your telescope out in the open, letting it to take it Mother Nature’s harshness of extreme sunshine and rain or even dust for that matter.

Protective telescope covers are used to protect the telescope from dust and rain. They need to be fastened with elastic to the telescope. They also reflect sunlight to a degree that the cool-down time when the scope is uncovered is short.

Batteries:

Batteries are an absolute must to carry along with your telescope especially if you are in the habit of moving along with your telescope very often for star gazing. It prevents you the hassle of finding a power supply in all the places you go and would make sure that your penchant for astronomy is a pleasant activity. Just make sure that the batteries are replaced or sufficiently charged before venturing out on your astronomy trip

These are the basic accessories that one must buy along with the telescope, not just to protect your telescope but also to have a pleasant and fun-filled star gazing experience.

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