How to Explore the Universe with a Telescope

There are many reasons you should put some serious thought into the power of a telescope for a beginner and what it should look like. Perhaps this will be your children’s first experience with a real telescope. They may have a healthy and thriving love of astronomy from your family trips to the country to watch a meteor shower or gaze at the stars.

And you may have piqued their interest by showing them how to enhance the experience with binoculars or even letting them play with your telescope. So when it’s time to get your children that first telescope, you want to ensure it’s just the right thing.

The reasons for taking care of your choice are many, including. But this is a big moment. You want them to “bond” with this first telescope the way you did and catch the excitement of using the power of a telescope to do things with their love of astronomy that they could never do before.

Power of a Telescope

• A telescope is a big step into the lifelong hobby of astronomy. If they get the wrong thing, frustration could make them lose interest in the machine and the field of study.
• Kids have a short attention span. You want this beginner telescope to take them from where they are to the next level while giving them those gratifying moments of discovering new things in the stars every time they use it.
• It has to be a vital piece of equipment. Kids don’t always know how to treat delicate equipment. So the starter telescope should have some good “training wheels” on it.
• It has to be their teacher even when they don’t know they are in school.
  A good beginner telescope, accompanied by some stimulating documentation written just for kids, will stimulate their excitement and use it to teach them to work hard to reach new heights in their quest for knowledge about the stars.

A lot about how you go about getting this first telescope will depend on your expertise in astronomy. If it is your passion and you have developed a pretty sophisticated knowledge about telescopes over the years, you are well equipped to make this choice, but you will be there to guide them as they begin to use it.

But if you encourage them in a beautiful hobby, you have not been involved with in-depth, congratulations. You are giving them a wonderful gift of not only knowledge but the love of astronomy and the natural wonder of nature. But you also need some help. So here are some quick guidelines.

Quick guidelines

• Find the astronomy geeks. They are easy to find in hobby shops, astronomy clubs, and societies at the local college. They will help you enthusiastically.
• Look at the power of a telescope you are considering through their eyes. It should not be too complex. Don’t get something that will intimidate them.
• Don’t buy a toy.
• Make sure it can grow and be expanded as their knowledge expands. Your kids will know the difference.

If you put some wise consideration into the power of a telescope, your kids will be as excited as they have ever been for a gift. Don’t be surprised if you hear one of them squeal, “you got a telescope!”