Many people wonder what they can expect when they look through a telescope for the first time. After all, depending on where you live, you may have a completely different view of the stars than someone else. One of the obvious things to observe in the night sky are the stars. However, what do stars look like through a telescope?
No one sees through a telescope in precisely the same way, as no two sets of settings are exactly the same. However, a few features stay the same no matter where you look.
With the help of our article, we’ll tell you what to expect to see when you look through your telescope for the first time. We’ll help you identify the shapes of different stars, their colors, how many there are, and even how the weather can impact what you see.
With the help of our article, we can temper your expectations so you know what to look out for.
What Shape Are Stars?
Stars appear in different colors but generally look the same. Some appear brighter than others. To the untrained eye, stars are just dots in the sky.
However, with the telescope, you’ll find that some aren’t only dots. They appear in different shapes, such as ovular, and some may also have spikes. This, however is not due to the real share of the stars and most stars will appear as single dots.
When the star is more ovular, it may also appear to have a tail, like a comet. When this happens, it’s a result of a coma. A coma is when an object is distorted through a telescope. It may be present towards the edges of the field of view.
Due to coma, stars look like they’re different shapes, and not all viewers appreciate them. The best way to check how a coma affects your scope is by putting a bright star near the edge of your field of view.
If you don’t appreciate the view of a coma through your scope, we recommend purchasing a coma corrector.
If you see spikes on a star through your telescope, you call them diffraction spikes. These are only present when you use a reflector telescope. You’ll find that your telescope impacts the shape and size of stars, but diffraction spikes are not actually on stars. The spikes occur due to the interaction of light with the veins holding the secondary mirror.
What Should You Expect When You Look At Stars?
Now that we’ve briefly touched upon how your telescope can change the look of the stars in the sky, we’ll identify what you need to expect. After all, looking through a telescope isn’t like just looking at the sky; there’s a lot more detail to appreciate.
You Won’t Get A Perfect View Immediately
As we mentioned earlier, telescopes may need to be adjusted. For example, if you’re not a fan of coma, you may need to get a coma corrector.
If your telescope blurs, you must adjust it until you see exactly what you want. Telescopes aren’t an instrument that will be able to point and shoot to get what you want. Instead, you must adjust your mount and telescope to try various combinations.
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get the best sight immediately. Looking through a telescope is all about experimentation. Once you learn more, you’ll find many new ways to see the universe.
Everything Is Upside Down
We wouldn’t get too concerned if you noticed that everything in your image is upside down. When your telescope is upside down, it doesn’t mean you’ve assembled it wrong.
In fact, telescopes are expected to be upside down. Telescopes reflect the light captured by the front mirror into the lenses inside its body. This then flips the image like a mirror, so everything appears upside down.
Not every telescope will look upside down, but you shouldn’t worry if it does. If you don’t like this, you can use a star diagonal to invert the image, so it’s a better orientation for you.
Stars Appear In Different Sizes And Colors
Many people only think of stars as appearing like white dots in the sky. However, you’ll find that many stars come in different colors and sizes. You’ll see a mixture of yellows, oranges, reds, and blues.
Did you know that with the power of the Hubble telescope, even more colors are available at your fingertips? The Hubble telescope allows us to view brown, pink, and purple stars.
You’ll also find that many stars appear in different brightnesses because they are all at different distances from the Earth. As some stars are closer, they appear brigther, but the furthest away stars will look even dimmer.
It is important to remember that other than our Sun all stars are point source lights. Only with our most powerful telescopes can we resolve the disks of other stars. Even when we do, they are huge stars located near Earth. Even then, the view is of a very low resolution.
You may be wondering what color Polaris is. If so you can see our post: What Color Is Polaris?
Expect To See A Lot More Stars
One of the worst aspects of living in the city is light pollution, as you won’t see nearly as many stars in the night sky. Rural areas see more stars, and you may be surprised that there are even more than you would expect to find when you look through a telescope.
Millions of stars are in the night sky, but you can barely see them in cities. With the help of your telescope, whether you’re viewing them from your window, rooftop, or backyard, you can see many more stars than before.
However, you also need to keep weather and seeing conditions in mind. If there are clouds out, you won’t see as many stars. Telescopes in the city may still see fewer stars than their rural counterparts, but you’ll still find many more than you would without one.
Star Jewels: Binaries and Star Clusters
While we have so far only mentioned single stars when you look through a telescope the real stars are binary stars and groups of associated stars (AKA star clusters).
Star Binaries and two or more stars orbiting each other. Binary systems are more common than single stars. Some astronomers aim to resolve binaries at the smallest possible angular distance apart. The limiting factor of this is the resolving power of the telescope.
Without a doubt, the most beautiful star displays are star clusters. Star clusters can be classified into two broad categories.
Globular clusters are a spherical collection of stars held together by gravity. The concentration of stars increases towards the center of the cluster. They can be found orbiting galaxies. In a telescope, they appear as a dim smudge.
Open clusters are found in galaxies. They are loosely bound stars and contain tens to hundreds of stars. Many are very bright and contain stars of multiple colors. This makes them beautiful objects to view in a telescope.
To the right is an image of an open cluster taken through a moderate-sized telescope by the author. The brighter stars are the cluster, and the dimmer brown stars are other stars in the Milky Way. When observing through a telescope, the cluster’s stars will be prominent. The background stars will not be so evident but will be detectable.
Bottom Line
It’s incredible to look at stars through a telescope for the first time. They appear in much more detail than if you looked at them with only your eyes.
Millions of stars are visible, appearing in different colors and sizes. You need to view stars through a telescope if you have never done so before. However, keep in mind that they will still only look like single dots. That said you will see many more in a telescope than with the naked eye.
Astronomy is all about experimenting with what you can see, so you can adjust the settings and find stars of different shapes and sizes (You might also want to check out What Is Arcsec?). While there is a lot of trial and error at first, the end result is entirely worth it.
You will see more stars away from urban areas. Some people never get to see the night sky in all its glory. In 1994, a power outage in L.A. revealed the sky to residents who had never seen it. Some people were so concerned with what they saw they contacted emergency services.
While observing stars you may wonder where the energy comes from that allows you to see them. If so, you may like to read our article on Why do Stars Shine.
Hi, my name is Jason Anderson, and I am a Physics Professor. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been fascinated with space, the universe, the moon, you name it. I spent hours and hours at the planetarium close to my hometown, wondering what else could be out in the universe.
Since then, I’ve been an avid stargazer and astronomer, and love nothing more than spending my time charting stars, observing planets, and finding constellations.
This is why I decided to start Telescope Guru. I only wish to share this fun pastime with the world. With this site, I hope to answer all of your questions relating to astronomy, telescopes, and stargazing.
