A refracting telescope is a kind of telescope that bends light in order to create an image on a lens, as opposed to a reflecting telescope which uses two lenses to focus light and make it seem like an object is closer than it actually is. There are lots of refracting telescopes available on the market today, but they’re not for everyone. There are certain pros and cons to using a refracting telescope, and by understanding each of these points, you can make a better decision as to whether a refracting type is the best for you.
List of Pros of Refracting Telescope
1. Eliminates the need for Collimation
Reflecting telescopes need their mirrors to be perfectly aligned in order to recreate the image being magnified. The slightest misalignment could ruin the image completely, and thus the need for collimating reflecting telescopes is a must. This is a tedious process of minute adjustments that could take a very long time for novices to accomplish, but the entire need for this is eliminated with a refracting telescope.
2. Ideal for Close Observation
A refracting telescope is exceptionally ideal for magnifying heavenly bodies that are closer, such as the moon and other surrounding planets. A refracting scope is capable of producing clear, crisp, and sharp images of these nearby entities.
3. Minimal Maintenance
Unlike a reflector telescope, a refractor makes use of lenses and not mirrors. This means they require much less maintenance and won’t need to be recoated like the mirrors installed in reflector telescopes.
List of Cons of Refracting Telescopes
1. Chromatic Aberration
Uncorrected lenses could produce fuzzy, unclear images of objects being observed, which is called chromatic aberration. This is a common problem among many refracting telescopes, and is absent in reflector types. The problem is not resolvable, unless better leses are purchased and installed.
2. Expensive
Refracting telescopes are significantly more expensive than their reflector counterparts. This is because the mechanism that produces magnified images in refracting telescopes is a lot more complicated than that of reflecting types. The lenses are usually expensive compared to mirrors, as well, making them costlier up front.
3. Position
A user may have to assume an awkward position when observing objects farther from the horizon as a refracting telescope isn’t the kind to feature an elbow, unlike the reflecting telescope that offers a small extension that is separate from the telescope body itself.