How to Use an Apochromatic Refractor Telescope

Apochromatic telescopes are more expensive than reflecting telescopes, but they require less maintenance and are extremely portable.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Sky Charts
• Telescope Tripods
• Telescopes

1. Resolve to invest a fair bit of money in this telescope. You can easily spend $1,000 per inch of aperture on an apochromatic refractor - without the tripod.
2. Accept that the lower-cost models have limited light-gathering power and suffer from chromatic aberration. Chromatic aberration is color fringing around the object you are viewing.
3. Know that apochromatic telescopes use three or four lenses to eliminate chromatic aberration. This is the main reason they are so expensive.
4. Enjoy the advantage of an apochromatic refractor, which is never having to say the word "collimate." This type of telescope comes pre-assembled from the factory with all of its optics aligned.
5. Enjoy that this type of telescope requires little care and maintenance.
6. Plot your subject with the use of star charts.
7. Position your telescope for viewing.
8. Aim the telescope at the sky and find your subject.
9. Position your eye over the eyepiece and focus.