A telescope’s job is to magnify an image or make it seem like you are closer to an object than you really are. It is important to find the right balance between three factors: power (magnification), brightness and resolution (clearness).

Every time you increase the power, there is a corresponding reduction of brightness and resolution. When the power is too high, the object gets blurry. To get the best possible image quality, you should use your telescope outdoors.

WARNING: Never look at the sun through the telescope! Doing so may seriously damage your eyes.

Objective lens diameter: 30 mm (1.18)
Focal length: 400 mm
Eyepieces: 20 mm, 4 mm
Maximum power: 100X

Fun things to look at:

In space: The moon and its craters. Open (galactic) star clusters, such as the Pleiades and nebulae like the Orion nebula. Learn to find stars, such as the North Star and Vega.

On earth: Trees, shrubs and flowers, birds and other animals. Suggestions for simple experiments and exciting challenges

Easy. Distance: How far away can you see? 5 km? 10 km? Or maybe more? How far out in space can you see? It’s hard to say – it depends mostly on how bright the object is that you are looking at.

Medium. The moon: Study the moon map and try to find the different craters on the real moon. Do you see the difference on the surface when the moon is full compared to a half-moon? When do you think it is easiest to see the craters? We have printed the moon map as a mirrorimage so you can compare it to what you see in your telescope.

Hard. Search the Internet to find out where the planets should be in the sky right now, and mark them on a star map. Go outside and see if you can find them. Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn – can you find them all? Or will you have to wait for another time of year, or another time of night? Do you see any differences between them when you look through the telescope?