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Here at OPT we are dedicated to making sure you find the best possible astronomical telescope to suit your desires. Whether you're a beginner just getting started or a seasoned astronomer looking for your next research tool, we are here to help. We provide three questions that make it much easier to narrow down our huge selection of telescopes to find the perfect model to suit your desires. First and foremost among these questions is the most basic- what do you plan to do with your telescope? We offer telescopes that are optimally suited to a wide variety of tasks, with each different model being optimized for different uses. The next question you have to ask yourself is where do you plan on setting the telescope up, and how much can you comfortably lift? Telescopes and their accompanying gear can be highly portable, or they can add up to a monumental load of weight. The difference between a permanent and stationary setup and one you move from dark site to dark site is thereby a massive one. The final question is, how much are you able to comfortably spend? Telescopes range in pricing from a few hundred dollars all the way into being multi thousand dollar investments- and for most people, the best choice is somewhere in the middle. For further guidance, there is a much larger and in depth guide below. For even more information on types of telescopes, take a look at our telescopes types video!
Here at OPT we are dedicated to making sure you find the best possible astronomical telescope to suit your desires. Whether you're a beginner just getting started or a seasoned astronomer looking for your next research tool, we are here to help. We provide three questions that make it much easier to narrow down our huge selection of telescopes to find the perfect model to suit your desires. First and foremost among these questions is the most basic- what do you plan to do with your telescope? We offer telescopes that are optimally suited to a wide variety of tasks, with each different model being optimized for different uses. The next question you have to ask yourself is where do you plan on setting the telescope up, and how much can you comfortably lift? Telescopes and their accompanying gear can be highly portable, or they can add up to a monumental load of weight. The difference between a permanent and stationary setup and one you move from dark site to dark site is thereby a massive one. The final question is, how much are you able to comfortably spend? Telescopes range in pricing from a few hundred dollars all the way into being multi thousand dollar investments- and for most people, the best choice is somewhere in the middle. For further guidance, there is a much larger and in depth guide below. For even more information on types of telescopes, take a look at our telescopes types video!
OPT provides an extremely wide selection of reflecting telescopes that come in a number of varieties suited for a diverse range of applications. A reflector telescope refers to any telescope that uses one or more curved mirrors to reflect light and form an image. This results in images that are free of chromatic aberration, which is one of the main issues to plague models of telescope that do not utilize reflecting designs. One of the main benefits of the reflector design is that it enables a very wide diameter objective. This means that reflector telescopes are capable of being made much larger than comparable refractors, meaning that it is easier to make a reflector capable of gathering more light.
OPT is the Telescope Authority- and our wide selection of great Refractor Telescopes proves it! The word “refractor” means a telescope whose principal focusing element is a lens. A refractor telescope is a type of optical telescope which is also referred to as a refracting telescope. Its curved primary (or largest) lens gathers light, bends it, and sends it back to a focal point where it is further modified by the use of another set of lenses called the eyepiece. The curvature and size of the primary lens dictates the amount of distance needed to achieve the focal point.
Astrographs are the premier imaging Telescopes, and OPT a huge array of astrograph telescopes such as Ritchey-Chretien and Dal-Kirkham telescopes. An astrograph is a telescope designed specifically for astrophotography. Astrographs are commonly employed when doing wide area surveys of star fields and are also used to detect comets and asteroids. To make the astrograph effective, the focal plane is normally designed to work with a specific size photograph plate – or modern CCD chip. This helps to deliver the largest, flattest field possible with clarity to the edge of the image.
OPT has a long history of catering to the telescope needs of professionals in the field of astronomy of all kinds, providing professional grade telescopes to the government, educational institutions, and private astronomers who demand nothing less than the absolute best possible. We are proud to supply a wide range of the very finest telescopes in the industry, both in terms of sheer size of aperture and in terms of optical quality and craftsmanship. If you're looking for the hardware required to perform research level astronomy, look no further- the pieces in this category are the very finest available. We stock such top level manufacturers as Planewave, OOUK, and Officina Stellare, supplying the very best possible in research grade astronomy.
The Schmidt-Cassegrain design is a high quality reflecting telescope design, producing top notch Cassegrain Telescopes that we at OPT are happy to offer. OPT offers a wide array of high quality Cassegrain Telescopes from name brands such as Meade, Celestron, Takahashi and many more. The Cassegrain is a type of reflecting telescope which employs a combination of a primary concave mirror and a secondary convex mirror into its design. In the classic Cassegrain telescope a parabolic primary mirror has a hole placed in its center. While this may seem like a very strange thing to do, the incoming electromagnetic waves are actually captured by the parabolic mirror’s edges and re-directed to the hyperbolic secondary mirror where they converge. The light (or wave) is then refocused back towards the hole where it converges to a focal point – the eyepiece.
Some of the most convenient and easy to enjoy views of the sun are found by utilizing a specialized Solar Telescope. A solar telescope is a refractor-based optical system that uses special filters to view specific wavelengths of light, the most common of which is H-alpha. The H-alpha telescope allows safe observation of the entire solar disc, providing superb views of prominence's, chromosphere's, and surface details such as sunspots, plagues, flares, filaments, and granulation. H-Alpha filtering also gives the most "natural" view of the sun, in brilliant yellow, orange, and red.
Here at OPT one of our primary missions is to make the Astronomy Hobby easy to enter for beginners, which is why we offer so many ideal telescopes for beginners. These telescopes are ideal for learning the ropes of exploring the night sky, and are designed to be fun and easy to use. So, if you're looking to take your first steps into the wonderful universe of astronomy, look no further- you've come to the right place to find your first tool for that journey! There's a lot to learn, but OPT will be by your side at every step of the way. We'll even buy back your first telescope once you're ready to move on to the next step- so look at that first telescope as an investment in your future enjoyment.
The Ritchey–Chrétien Telescope design is used in some of the most famous telescopes like Hubble, SLOAN Digital Sky Survey, and LORRI on board the New Horizons spacecraft. RC Telescopes only use hyperbolic mirrors to eliminate optical errors like coma and chromatic aberrations off-axis while producing the flattest focal plane possible without lenses. Since they only use two reflective surfaces, Ritchey–Chrétiens are also very efficient with light compared to most other telescope systems that use 4, 6, or event more surfaces that will reduce the amount of light hitting the focal plane. The lack of refractive lens elements allows this telescope design to detect wavelengths broader the visual spectrum making them very useful for measurements in the ultraviolet (UV), near infrared (NIR), and infrared (IR) wavelengths.
We provide kids telescopes as part of our huge stock, perfect for introducing younger audiences to a fun and scientific hobby and picking a first telescope. These telescopes have been gathered together based on shared simplicity- being some of the easiest to use that can be found. They are perfect for learning the basics of the field, and are sure to engage the interest of young and intelligent audiences. Indeed, the simple and easy to use nature of these telescopes makes them supremely suited to the purpose of reaching out to spread interest in the field of astronomy, and a great tool for sharing just how beautiful space can be with the next generation!
We know how long and complex a process it can be to hand pick every single component of your astronomy setup to go perfectly with your telescope. That's why we offer a wide variety of telescope kits to do the hard work for you! We have a wide array of prepared kits available for use, centered around various high quality telescopes. These kits range from matching together a telescope and mount perfectly and leaving the rest to your choice, all the way up to completely assembled and ready to go full systems for both imaging and visual astronomy.
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