Astronomy is a fascinating lifetime hobby enjoyed by young and old. For people from all walks of life. You can observe or photograph the heavens on a casual or serious basis, or marvel at the wonderment of our existence.
All Telescope designs have basically the same purpose. To collect light and bring it to a point of focus as it can be magnified and examined with an eyepiece. but each design does it differently. All designs perform satisfactorily if properly designed and made by a reputable manufacture.

The most popular amateur telescope is of the reflecting (Reflectors) type. It use a precisely curved mirror as the main optical element to collect light and form an image. Replaceable eyepieces are used to enlarge the image--each eyepiece producing a specific magnification. The most important criteria of an astronomical telescope is its diameter. The larger the diameter of the mirror (or lens in the case of a refracting (Refractor) type telescope), the more light collected and the brighter and sharper the image becomes. Typical amateur telescopes are 4 to 8 inches in diameter and use magnifications of from 25 to 200 times. To be useful, a telescope must be easy to point at an object while being rigidly supported. For visual observing,the Dobsonian mount is the least expensive way to meet this criteria.

Unfortunately, most people purchase their first telescope based on a minimal amount of information and end up with an unsatisfactory instrument. Many times this means, poor optical quality, poor construction which leads to user frustration and loss of interest in hobby. Generally, these types of telescopes are typically found in department stores or camera stores.

Cyprus Astronomical Society can advise you and provide you the right telescope of your needs.
If you need assistance in choosing the right telescope, contact us by e-mail and we will call you, to personally speak with one of our knowledgeable astronomy staff members. Each of our staff has several years experience as amateur astronomers, and genuinely enjoy helping anyone interested in this awe-inspiring hobby. We cooperate with one of the bigest telescope manufacturer companies, offering a vast selection of telescopes to fit virtually any budget, or level of experience.

Before you go out and buy your first telescope:

1) Learn to spot a few constellations and maybe a planet or two with the naked eye. If you can't point to M42, how do you expect to be able to point a telescope (which has a much narrower field of view) there?

2) Join a club, in this case, how about CY.A.S.?? :o) or tag along on one of their observing events. This is the single best piece of advice I can give you. There is no substitute for spending time with real equipment out in the field. You may discover, for example, that you like the portability of Schmidt-Cassegrains, or that you enjoy the views through a good refractor, or that the big Dobsonian you saw in the catalog is much more of a handful than you imagined.

Our recommendation for a beginner's telescope is a 6-inch f/8 Dobsonian reflector type (or even an 8-inch f/6).

You must have some accessories with these telescopes to make them most useful. Some of these scopes come with the accessories standard or as a low-cost option. The accessories you need:

1. A zero power finder such as a Telrad or Rigel Quick-Point - Pointing a telescope is not a trivial matter. The small finders that come with them are usually not very useful.

2. At least two reasonably good quality eyepieces (a low power 25 to 32 mm, and a higher power 8 to 12 mm) - The Plossl design is very popular and competitive. Meade, Orion, and Celestron offer inexpensive Plossl eyepieces.

3. Some sort of star chart - After looking at the moon and bright planets, finding things in the sky can be a challenge.

See also:

Telescope Choices

Things you should know before buying a Telescope

WHAT YOU CAN SEE WITH A TELESCOPE

TELESCOPE QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

WHAT DOES f/5 OR f/8 MEAN?

Telescope Characteristics