Telescopes

There are many different types of telescopes available for those interested in exploring the night sky. The three main types of telescopes are refracting telescopes, reflecting telescopes, and catadioptric telescopes, with many variations and hybrid designs for each type.

A Dobsonian telescope with a healthy aperture is great for enjoying real-time views of the brighter objects in the sky, while a refractor telescope is best used with a camera attached, to photograph faint deep-sky objects. 

The main goal of any astronomical telescope is to gather light. Therefore, the two most important factors when choosing a telescope will be your desired focal length (magnification) and aperture (how bright the object will appear).

These two factors will create a unique viewing experience based on the type of experience you are looking for (i.e. visual vs astrophotography).