If you’re searching for a whole new way to look at the world, then a brand new telescope will surely grant you that view. Essentially, telescopes allow you to see distant objects clearly by making the image bigger. It all starts with the power of magnification through the use of convex lenses (the middle is thicker than the sides of these lenses) to focus the light received from the object through to your eye. This transfer through varying thicknesses creates the illusion of a larger image. Unfortunately, we haven’t quite developed the technology that can actually make objects larger. Otherwise, it’s a fairly safe bet that we would have all aimed a convex lens at our bank accounts by now.
However, beyond a finite distance, the image that you see through this lens arrangement is translated upside down and on a smaller scale. But it was soon discovered that by using an additional lens, the image could be both righted and magnified. The primary, big, lens is referred to as the objective lens while the other smaller lens that helps right the image is called the eye lens. The most elementary form of telescope allows for an adjustment of the distance between these lenses, allowing the user to achieve accurate focus on their intended target.
And there are certainly quite a few celestial bodies to target. Astronomy is the scientific study of objects that extend beyond the earth’s atmosphere, including the moon, stars, and more. And astronomy tends to overlap with astrophysics and elements that aren’t always visible through common technology such as personal scopes. One of the most interesting and hotly debated areas of astronomy and astrophysics are black holes aren’t. Although you won’t be able to get a glimpse of these from your scope, you’ll be able to study up on them and learn about how they might be influencers for what you can see up above.
The truly fun part is that you don’t have to know anything at all to participate in this fun hobby. Although there are many helpful books and resources you can read up on to get extremely detailed information about astrophysics and astronomy, including this site, you can jump right into this hobby with a minimal base of knowledge and experience. You can find many telescopes that will conveniently cater to any skill level. They feature easy-to-use controls and guides that will help you map out the skies.