Choosing and Using a Refracting Telescope

This comprehensive guide to buying, testing, and using a refracting telescope is written mainly for amateur astronomers who already own or are intending to purchase a refracting telescope. Refractors, which use lenses rather than mirrors as the objective to form the image, still retain a dominance over reflectors for many applications because of the precision of their optics and lack of a central obstruction in the optical path. There has been a huge increase in the popularity of commercially made refractors during the last few years. Neil English a well-known observer and astronomy writer outlines the history of the refracting telescope and looks in detail at the instruments, their evolution, and their use.