FAQs

Aperture of a telescope refers to the diameter of the diameter of the objective lens (for refracting telescope) or the primary mirror (for reflecting telescopes).  The aperture of the telescope determines how light the telescope and observe hence how much detail you can see. The rule of thumb: the bigger the aperture, the more detail you can see.

Aperture of a telescope is what determines how much light can a telescope observe. The larger the aperture, the more light can be collected, which results in greater image resolution. In short, with a telescope with a larger aperture, you can see more detail and better detail than the one with a smaller aperture. However, the larger the aperture, the more expensive the telescope is.

The magnification of a telescope is equal to the telescope’s focal length divided by the eyepiece’s focal length. Focal length of a telescope and an eyepiece can be found on the specification sheet, on our telescope, the two are actually printed onto the body of the OTA and the eyepieces for easier access. For example, with a 20mm eyepiece, a 900mm OTA will give you 45X magnification; with a 10mm eyepiece, a 900mm OTA will give you 90X magnification.

The number on an eyepiece refers to the focal length of the eyepiece which is usually measured in millimeter (MM). For example, a 25mm eyepiece has a focal distance of 25mm. The bigger the number, the longer the focal which results in a lower magnification.

Our telescopes are perfect for taking image of bright objects such as the moon. To take an image through a telescope with your phone is very easy. Point the telescope at and focus on the object you want to take an image of, then use our included bonus smartphone holder to hold your phone with, then simply take a picture.

Better yet, you can use our included Bluetooth shutter to control your phone to avoid any potential shaking induced by touching the screen of your phone directly. You can of course simply hold your phone next to the eyepiece and take a picture.

In this case, there is a high possibility that your OTA is not properly aligned with the viewfinder.

We recommend aligning the two in the morning first. Point your telescope at a land object that is at a far distance, such as a street light or a “STOP” sign, and center the object in the eyepiece. Adjust view finder alignment screws till the viewfinder is pointing at the same object you have centered in your eyepiece.

Then, repeat the same procedure at night by pointing at a large ad bright celestial object such as the moon. Small adjustments may be required at this point.

After these two steps. Your OTA and view finder are aligned properly. 

With the included eyepieces, you can observe the crater of the moon, planets of our solar system (Saturn), as well as Orion Nebula. You can also observe terrestrial objects such as sail boat. However, please keep in mind that never look at the Sun without a proper solar filter, this may permanently damage your eyes.

Best practice is to start with lower power eyepiece because the lower magnification gives you a large Field of View (FOV) of the sky making locating the object easier. After centering the object in the eyepiece, you may switch to a higher power eyepiece to see more detail.

Yes, by default, this telescope has a 1.25’’ eyepiece adapter so it will work with all the 1.25’’ accessories.

A Barlow in astronomy is a lens to increase the magnification of a telescope. Usually, a Barlow would be labelled “2X,” “3X,” and etc. a 2X Barlow doubles the magnification of your telescope and a 3X Barlow trebles the magnification. For example, using a 2X Barlow on a setup that originally give you 150X magnification will double your magnification making the overall magnification 300X.