Looking for inspiration for this year’s Christmas shopping? We’ve made this blog to try help with some suggestions of what to get your loved ones this holiday season. Our fourth blog of the Galway Camera Shops Christmas gift suggestions will focus on telescopes for astronomy
Astronomy’s popularity the last few years has been growing. The joys of astronomy come from intellectual discovery and knowledge of the cryptic night sky. It’s a fantastic hobby that appeals to all ages and stimulates our curiosity. With lots of astronomy clubs around Ireland it offers a great chance to meet new people or as a quality bonding experience for families.
If your thinking of buying for a budding astronomer in your life then we have something that will suit your budget here at the Galway Camera Shop.
We are the only family run specialist photographic store in the west of Ireland. Operating since the late 70’s we are conveniently located on 1 William St, Galway, and have had our new online store recently launched.
We usually stock a few different Celestron and Dorr brands and a few different models of each brand offering variety to cater for people on different budgets and interest levels. We will compare our models here with links for each one so you can do further research.
First up we will explain a few points to look out for then do a comparison of our models:
Is the telescope a refractor telescope which uses lenses or a reflector telescope which uses mirrors.
Both refractor and reflector telescopes include:
an optical tube, which is the main part of the instrument and creates the images of the stars;
a mount, which supports the optical tube and allows it to be turned towards a specific direction. Mounts generally come with a tripod;
accessories, the most important being the eyepieces and the finderscope (or red dot finder).
Beginners usually opt for refractor telescopes, which are slightly easier to use than reflector telescopes.
The aperture is the most important thing to consider when evaluating the power of a telescope. If budget isn’t an issue, it is best to go for an aperture that is as big as possible since:
- the diameter of the aperture determines the images’ brightness. The bigger the scope, the more light it gathers
- the diameter also determines the images’ amount of detail. Under ideal conditions (flawless telescope, stable atmosphere), a diameter doubled in size will reveal twice as much detail.
The focal length determines:
- the telescope’s magnification. The longer the focal length, the greater the magnification (but watch out! As you’ll see later, high magnification is not always the best).
- the telescope’s size.
Along with our product comparison we have made a list of astronomy clubs around Ireland should you wish to meet other enthusiasts in the future:
https://corkastronomyclub.com/
https://www.galwayastronomyclub.ie/
http://kerryastronomyclub.com/
https://socs.universityofgalway.ie/societies/astronomy
https://www.limerickastronomyclub.com/
We hope this blog has been of some help. If you have any further queries then feel free to contact us on our websites contact page or call into us in Galway.
Have a merry Christmas from the Galway camera shop.
