Today, business is all about novelty and differentiating yourself from the competition. This is why several high-end real estate offices purchase items in the office that will amaze or be of interest to their clients. Most companies offer conventional items like magazines or a TV to their clients while they are waiting for their meeting, but if you want to really stand out you should try something more unconventional, such as a quality fish tank in the waiting area, real estate market research, or even something educational like a telescope at the window with an easy-to-follow instruction manual.

A telescope is a powerful tool used in exploring objects throughout the universe. They enable us to see the invisible! Telescopes are also a time machine, allowing us to peer into the past. The word telescope was derived from the roots tele, which means "distant," and skopos, which means "to see." So a telescope is an instrument that allows us to see distant objects, such as the Moon, planets, stars and star clusters, nebulae and remote galaxies. 2009 marked the 400th anniversary of the first telescope pointed to the night sky by the famous mathematician, scientist, and astronomer Galileo Galilei. Modern telescopes are far superior in optical quality than these earlier instruments. Just like the pupil of our eye gets larger in the dark to let in more light, the larger the telescope's optics, the more faint light from distant stars and galaxies appear brighter, allowing us to see further and deeper into space. The second benefit with a larger telescope is its ability to resolve smaller and more delicate details on extended objects like the Moon and planets and permit the clear separation of close double stars.

To point the telescope's optical tube assembly at a particular location in the night sky, it will need a mounting. There are two types of telescope mountings. An altazimuth mounting has two axes at right angles to each other where one axis allows the telescope to pivot up and down (altitude) and the other axis left and right (azimuth). It's the simpler of the two. The other type is called an equatorial mounting. It also uses two axes at right angles to each other, but one of them, called the polar axis, is set in line with the earth's axis of rotation. Once accomplished, you just set the declination (north-south) axis and right ascension (east-west) on the polar axis to point at a particular object, then rotate westward on the polar axis to track an object in the sky as it appears to move due to the earth's rotation. Setting circles may be attached to both axes for locating objects using their celestial coordinates (right ascension and declination). If the polar axis has a clock drive motor, it will automatically guide this tracking at the same rate the earth is turning.

When you are purchasing a telescope for personal or business use, it is essential that you thoroughly research online the prospective model you are looking to purchase to make sure it is suitable for your needs. Telescope review sites such as The Prodview are especially useful in helping you determine the best telescope for hobbyist. These review sites include many useful pieces of information, such as the features, design, performance, handling, and a final verdict.

How about some tips for enhancing your observational experience through a telescope? If your finder is optically aligned with the main telescope, the object should appear in the field of view of the eyepiece. When observing faint objects, try using a technique known as averted vision. Instead of looking directly at an object, look off to the side a bit and see if you notice that the object appears brighter. That's because that part of your eye's retina has more cones, which are sensitive to light and dark. Become familiar with the night sky by using a planisphere, commonly referred to as a star finder. Get to know the brightest stars and seasonal constellations by name. Attend a planetarium show to learn their relative positions in the sky. It takes time, but the universe is a very serene place, one that doesn't mind waiting while we take the first steps towards understanding.