It doesn't appear telescopes were ever part of starships. Too bad, really. Kirk could have at least got a glimpse of the barrier, rather than having to use his ship to test it. One thing I wondered, though. This is supposed to be an exploration ship. It would seem having drones, or probes would certainly have been a better alternative to testing the barrier than taking the Enterprise through it.
The best way to frustrate a cyberbully is to ignore him.