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What is the One Advantage of a Large Telescope over a Small One?

Telescopes, in one form or another, have been around for centuries. The most famous of the early users was Galileo, who discovered the moons of Jupiter and the rings on Saturn and used this data to prove the Earth revolved around the sun. The most important question for any amateur astronomers is how big a telescope to buy. The one major advantage of getting a large telescope over a smaller one is the quality of the image you get back.

Distance You Can See
- The larger the telescope, the further it will be able to see into space. Huge telescopes, such as Hubble or observatory telescopes, can see into the far reaches of space due to the size of the mirrors and lenses they use. Large telescopes that amateurs may use are not as powerful, but will still see further than smaller versions.
Resolution
- Larger telescopes use larger lenses and mirrors. This means they get a greater resolution on the image, resulting in clearer pictures. Near-Earth objects, such as Mars, Venus and Mercury, will appear clearly on both large and small telescopes. The gas giants such as Jupiter, star systems and galaxies may be hard to see through smaller ones, but will be visible through larger telescopes.
Magnification
- As larger telescopes have better resolution, they are able to zoom in more on objects without blurring the image. Smaller telescopes can still magnify, but will give you a fuzzier image.
Conclusion
- Larger telescopes are more expensive than smaller ones. It is possible to spend several thousand dollars on a good-quality version. The price is closely linked to how good the telescope is. The larger the price tag, the larger the telescope, the better image you will get back.

Astronomy