What is the difference between Telescope and Monocular?

Telescope and monocular are very handy instruments for spotting far objects. We are going to take a brief look at both these tools to find out what makes them different and whether you should get a small telescope or a monocular.

On first look, monoculars look like a miniature refractor telescope. Where the light enters through one end and you see the magnified image on the opposite side. But this is where the similarities end.

Monoculars can be seen as a combination of telescope and a binocular. It has a single eyepiece like a telescope but you hold it like a binocular. They are much smaller than even the tiniest telescope in the market and needs absolutely no setup. You simply pull it out of your bag and use it straight away.

Telescopes and Monocular

Monoculars are modified telescope which uses a series of the lens and sometimes prism to zoom distant objects. It is substantially smaller than a telescope and more compact than a binocular.

This simple design makes it easy to carry, some of them can even fit in the palm of your hands. That is the reason they are useful for hiking and hunting trips where you do not want to be weighed down by equipment. In addition to that, a monocular is very inexpensive and can be found as cheap as a few bucks.

Simple cheap monoculars have just 2 lens but high-end monoculars come with a prism between the lens which folds up the rays to make the length of the monoculars smaller while having a higher magnification.To know more.