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Step 1: Decide how you will you use your telescope

Our telescopes for sale come in many shapes and sizes, and each type has their own strengths and weaknesses. The first step in deciding which telescope to buy is knowing what you want to use it for. Here are the ways to use a telescope:
  • Visual Astronomy — the process of looking through an eyepiece attached to a telescope to view distant objects
  • Astrophotography — the practice of using a camera attached to a telescope or lens to photograph objects in outer space
  • Both Visual Astronomy & Astrophotography — If you want to use a telescope for both visual and imaging, that's okay too! Just know that telescopes that can do both well will generally cost more
For visual astronomy, especially in the case of beginner telescopes, most telescopes come as a complete package. That means the telescope will be ready-to-use out of the box. The same typipcally holds true for telescopes for kids. These kits typically include the telescope, the mount, and anything else you'll need to get started like eyepieces and other accessories. For astrophotography with a camera other than a smartphone, the telescope's components are usually sold separately to allow for a more customized approach. This means that if you're interested in more than just smartphone astrophotography, you'll usually need to buy the telescope, mount, and camera individually.
Best Biginner Telescopes
A few popular beginner telescopes: Refractor, Schmidt-Cassegrain, and Dobsonian
 

Step 2: Decide what you want to see with your telescope

The second step in deciding which telescope to buy is having an idea of what you want to observe or image. If you're able to narrow your observational goals, it will make your decision on which telescope to buy much easier. Of course, a telescope can be used for other purposes, such as terrestrial (daytime) viewing, but it's important to decide how you'll be using it at night first:
  • Deep Sky Objects — includes galaxies, nebulae, star clusters, and anything else beyond our solar system
  • Widefield — similar to Deep Sky above, widefield astrophotography focuses on capturing distant objects over a wide swath of sky
  • Planetary/Solar System Objects — includes close-up views of the planets, Moon, Sun
  • Both Deep Sky & Planetary — there is a select group of premium telescopes that are great at both deep sky & planetary uses, especially for astrophotography.

Step 3: Choose which telescope to buy

The third and final step in deciding which telescope to buy is incorporating your budget, how portable of a setup you want, and your skill level into your decision. We've compiled this helpful chart of some of the most popular telescope types by their common use cases to help you:
Popular Telescope Types & Their Uses
Telescope Use Visual Astronomy
(with Alt-Az Mount)
Astrophotography
(with EQ Mount)
Both Visual & Imaging
(with EQ Mount)
Beginner Refractor, Tabletop Dobsonian, or Binoculars Small Refractor or Camera Lens Small Refractor
Widefield Small Refractor, Tabletop Dobsonian, or Binoculars Small Refractor, RASA, or Camera Lens Small Refractor
Deep Sky Dobsonian, Refractor, SCT, or Newtonian Refractor, SCT, Newtonian, or RC Refractor, SCT, or Newtonian
Planetary SCT, Mak-Cass, or Dobsonian SCT or Mak-Cass SCT or Mak-Cass
Deep Sky & Planetary Dobsonian or SCT SCT with Reducer SCT with Reducer
The above chart is meant to serve as a general guide to put you on the right track. It does not list every single type of telescope, just the most popular ones. If the names of these telescopes sound foreign to you, don't worry! In the next section, we'll go over our six most popular telescope types and explain their strengths and weaknesses. Although there are many types of telescopes out there, the six below are the most common telescopes for sale. Looking for a more in-depth comparison of telescopes? Check out our blog Which Telescope To Buy? Pros & Cons of 12 Popular Telescope Designs.
 

Types of Telescopes For Sale

Refractor Telescopes

Great telescopes for beginner visual observing and deep sky imaging for all skill levels
Popular Refractor Telescopes For Sale
Refractors are what you imagine of when you think of a telescope. They were the first telescope ever invented, and many beginners and advanced observers alike swear by refractors today. Though refractors have some competition for the best beginner visual telescope, they are widely regarded as the best beginner telescope if you're entering the hobby of deep sky astrophotography. Refractors are excellent for their portability, ease-of-use, and familiarity — refractors are very similar to camera lenses, which is a big plus for budding astrophotographers.
For all of the great things they have going for them, quality refractors like apochromatic triplets are some of the most expensive telescopes for sale, per inch of aperture, or diameter of the telescope. For that reason, a Dobsonian telescope will usually outperform a refractor of the same price range visually, and a Schmidt-Cassegrain will outperform a refractor of the same price range for planetary viewing and imaging. That said, refractors are some of the easiest and most versatile telescopes to use, and we highly recommend them especially for those looking to begin deep sky imaging.
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Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes (SCT)

The most versatile telescope type when paired with added extras
(SCT) Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes For Sale
Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes (SCTs) are wildly popular telescopes for sale among both beginner and advanced amateurs thanks to their versatility. Offering some of the longest focal lengths available in telescopes, SCTs are a fantastic choice for those looking to view — and especially to image — solar system objects like planets and the moon. The long focal length is a double-edged sword, though, as it can make locating objects in the night sky like trying to look at space through a straw. Many beginner SCTs come packaged with a motorized mount that can automatically point and track objects after a simple alignment process, which is basically a requirement to make sure you don't get lost in space looking for an object.
SCTs are also arguably the most versatile telescope for sale today. Though their native focal length is very long, a variety of focal reducers made for SCTs can allow them to be used at medium and ultra-short focal lengths, which transform them into excellent performers for deep sky astrophotography. These focal reducers add a significant extra cost to SCTs, though, and will need to be paired with an equatorial mount for best imaging results. 
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Dobsonian Telescopes

Best bang-for-your-buck visual performer
(SCT) Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes For Sale
Many dedicated visual observers swear by the Dobsonian design because of its simplicity and pure light-gathering power. Although they are usually large, heavy, and all manual, Dobsonians can visually outperform other telescopes for sale in the same price range because of their large aperture, which gathers more light. Although the telescope itself is technically a Newtonian and the term Dobsonian refers to the swivel-style mount, most amateur astronomers still know and refer to these telescopes as Dobsonians, or Dobs for short. These telescopes are an excellent choice for visually observing all kinds of celestial objects, but because of their large aperture, viewing faint deep sky objects is where Dobs really shine.
Although Dobsonians are great visual performers, their simple altitude-azimuth mounts make them a poor choice for astrophotography, especially for deep sky imaging. Since they are technically Newtonian telescopes, Dobs will require frequent collimation, which is regular but easy maintenance similar to tuning an instrument before you play it. All things considered, if you're strictly looking to do visual observing and don't mind a heavy telescope, a Dobsonian gets our first pick.
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Newtonian Telescopes For Sale

Best for those who want a large aperture for both visual and imaging
Newtonian Telescopes
Newtonian telescopes are the classic reflector design. Instead of using lenses like refractors, Newtonians and other reflectors utilize mirrors to focus incoming light. Since lenses that are both large and high quality can get expensive fast, the Newtonian mirror design allows for a larger aperture — and therefore overall better light-gathering ability and detail — allowing for telescopes for sale at much more affordable price. In addition, reflectors like Newtonians don't suffer from color fringing on bright objects like some lower-end refractors do.
This doesn't mean that Newtonian telescopes aren't without their own issues. Many of which become present when used for astrophotography. Newtonians inherently have coma, which is an optical aberration in which stars appear elongated as you look farther away from the center. On some models, this is correctable with a coma corrector, which is highly recommended for imaging, but this also adds extra cost. Newtonians also need to be collimated, or realigned frequently. This is easy to do, but can increase the overall telescope kit cost slightly for collimation tools. Last but not least, Newtonians are large and heavy telescopes and require an adequately heavy-duty mount to carry them, especially for astrophotography. Despite these drawbacks, Newtonians can still be one of the most affordable ways to get a large aperture telescope at a reasonable price.
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Ritchey-Chretién Telescopes For Sale

Best for long focal length deep sky astrophotography
Ritchey-Chretién Telescopes For Sale
The Ritchey-Chretién (RC) design is one of the best optical performing telescopes for sale to consumers. Many professional astronomy telescopes, including the Hubble Space Telescope, utilize the RC design. Unlike their Newtonian cousins, RCs do not suffer from coma. RCs usually feature a long focal length, making them ideal for intermediate to advanced deep sky astrophotographers hoping to capture smaller targets like distant galaxies. They are also quite versatile, and can be used with focal reducers and extenders to alter the focal length, but not quite as much as SCTs. In addition to all of their benefits, entry-level RCs can actually be affordable compared to other dedicated astrophotography telescopes.
RCs do of course have their downsides. Unlike SCTs, for example, Ritchey-Chretiéns make for poor planetary imaging telescopes due to their large secondary mirror, which lowers contrast. This also limits their effectiveness as a visual telescope, so RCs are somewhat of a one-trick-pony for deep sky imaging. With their long focal lengths, Ritchey-Chretiéns are a great choice for intermediate to advanced astrophotographers that only want to focus on deep sky objects.
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Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescopes

Best for affordable solar system/planetary viewing and imaging
Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescopes For Sale
The Maksutov-Cassegrain, or Mak-Cass for short, is very similar to the Schmidt-Cassegrain design in that it uses folded optics to keep the overall size of the telescope more compact. Mak-Casses feature very long focal lengths for their size, which make them well-suited for planetary viewing and imaging out of the box, without the need for extras like Barlow lenses for magnification. As an added plus, Mak-Casses are very affordable and portable telescope for sale, making them great grab-and-go planetary telescopes for beginners.
For those looking at buying a Mak-Cass telescope, they are often compared to SCTs which are similar. Mak-Casses will take a longer time to adjust to air temperature outside than an SCT will, which could delay star parties. And while SCTs are usually set around f/10, Mak-Casses are generally around f/12 to f/15. This makes them a poor choice for imaging deep sky objects due to longer exposure times required. Unlike SCTs, Mak-Casses are much less compatible with focal reducers, which makes them much less versatile overall. However, they are generally great optical performers at their native focal ratio.
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FAQs

Still have questions? We have answers.

It depends on the telescope. Each telescope will give a different view, depending on their focal length and aperture. However, most telescopes, even many beginner telescopes, can see craters on the moon, Jupiter's four main moons, Saturn's rings, and possibly some brighter deep sky objects like the Pleiades Star Cluster.

Away from city lights, more faint deep sky objects become visible. This includes the Andromeda Galaxy, the Orion Nebula, and many other objects. To find out what's in the sky tonight and the coming weeks, head to EarthSky.org for reference. Telescopes with larger apertures (front openings) will give better and more detailed views.

With larger aperture telescopes of around 8" (200mm) and up, even more details can be revealed. You can begin to see details like the Great Red Spot on Jupiter with the right eyepiece. With even larger telescopes, the sky is the limit — literally!

The three main types of telescopes for sale are:

- Refractors: use lenses to focus incoming light
- Reflectors: use mirrors to focus incoming light
- Catadioptrics: use a combination of lenses and mirrors to focus light

All optical telescopes fall under one of these three categories, and each have their strengths and weaknesses. To learn about each type in more detail and understand the pros and cons of each, head to our blog post about The Basic Telescope Types.

A telescope gathers large amount of incoming light through an opening at the front called the aperture. It then uses lenses, mirrors, or both in combination to magnify and focus that light, which gets projected out of the telescope to an eyepiece or camera. You can read more (and watch a helpful video) on how a telescope works here.

Determining the telescope aperture size that works best for you will depend largely on what type of viewing experience you are hoping to achieve. A telescope's aperture is essentially its lens size, essentially how much light it can gather and magnify. Generally, telescope apertures range from 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) all the way up to 30 inches (75.6 cm). So, depending on your distance of observation and detail you are seeking, telescopes with larger apertures offer greater clarity, fidelity, and magnification power than smaller ones. Those wanting to observe astronomical events should consider investing in telescope with a large aperture as they provide better resolution and more details when compared to telescope models with smaller lenses.

A telescope can be a major investment, and its cost depends on the telescope’s type, size, brand, aperture, and additional features. A beginner telescope may range from $150 to $400; mid-level telescopes may cost anywhere between $400 and $1,000; and large telescope systems may cost up to several thousand dollars.

While it can be tempting to choose the telescope with the highest magnification, it’s important to remember that telescope magnification has its limits. Generally speaking, telescope magnifications of 10x or 15x are considered ideal for novice astronomers as they provide adequate resolution without excessive strain on the telescope’s mechanics or difficulty in using it. More experienced astronomers may opt for telescope magnifications up to 50x or even higher depending on their field of study and the view desired. As telescope magnification increases, so does the quality of the telescope’s optics and its price tag.

When it comes to good telescope focal lengths, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Different types of observations and different levels of proficiency require different focal lengths. For basic astronomy, a good starting point for a beginner would be a telescope with a focal length somewhere in the range of 500 to 1000 millimeters. However, if you are looking for more difficult objects or scanning large deep sky objects, you might need to look into telescopes with even greater focal lengths. Ultimately, choosing the best telescope focal length depends on your own observational needs and preferences.

Generally speaking, the bigger telescope diameter means the telescope will collect more light. That leads to brighter and clearer images, which are especially useful when looking at faint and distant objects in the night sky. The most widely used telescope diameters range from as small as two inches to as big as fourteen inches. Telescopes with larger diameters provide deeper views of the night sky than smaller telescope diameters but may be harder for amateurs to use due to their larger size and bulkiness. Ultimately, the size of telescope you choose should depend on your budget, experience level, and what type of astronomy you plan on doing..

Celestron is a well-known brand, known for their versatile telescope designs with models ranging from telescope diameters of 60mm to 155mm. Meade Instruments is another manufacturer of both smaller telescope designs as well as larger telescope models with a telescope diameter range up to 406mm. Others that should be considered in terms of good telescope brands are Orion Telescopes & Binoculars, and Sky-Watcher USA. Ultimately, the telescope brand that's right for you depends on your individual viewing situation and budget, so consider all the available options before making your telescope purchase.

There are many telescopes for sale that are great for visual astronomy. If you're a beginner just starting out on a limited budget under $250, check out our bestselling visual telescopes. If you have a little more budget to spend between $250-$500, you can get a larger aperture telescope including some full-size Dobsonians. Above $500, you can choose from many telescopes with go-to capability, which automatically point to and track objects. For visual astronomy, we recommend buying the largest aperture telescope you can both carry and afford.

While many telescopes are great for visual astronomy, a much smaller percentage of telescopes are great for deep sky astrophotography. Here are some general features to look for in telescopes for deep sky astrophotography, regardless of telescope type:

- Fast focal ratio of around f/7 or lower (or attainable with a reducer)
- An image circle large enough for your camera's sensor (or attainable with a reducer)
- The telescope weighs less than half of your equatorial mount's payload capacity
- A quality equatorial mount is just as important as the telescope for deep sky imaging.

While it's true you can take photos of the planets with just a smartphone, you can get even better results with the right telescope and a planetary imaging camera. Here's what to look for in a telescope for planetary imaging:

- Long focal length, ideally 2000mm or longer
- The largest aperture telescope you can afford, ideally 7" or larger
- Preferably a SCT or Maksutov-Cassegrain optical design

Generally speaking, telescopes with larger apertures than others will have better resolution. This also depends on the optical design, but large aperture telescopes can resolve more detail than those with smaller apertures.

Never look at the sun without the proper filters, especially through a telescope! Since telescopes gather much more light than the human eye, looking at the sun without proper equipment can cause serious injury or even blindness. Before you even point your telescope at the sun, you need to attach a solar filter based on your telescope's size.

There are also dedicated solar telescopes that are designed to only observe the sun with h-alpha filters. These telescopes will provide even better views and images than a normal (white light) solar filter. Click here to shop dedicated solar telescopes.

We wish! Not even the Hubble Space Telescope can see the flags left on the moon. You can, however, locate the approximate location of the Apollo landing sites with most telescopes and a lunar map.

Glossary

In this section, we’ll go over some common manufacturer’s specs and define them in layman’s terms, so you can know what each specification means when buying a telescope.

This is the optical design of the telescope, i.e. APO Triplet Refractor. You can reference almost all popular consumer optical designs and their pros and cons above.

Aperture is the diameter of the front opening of the telescope. It’s the most important indicator of a telescope’s performance. The larger the aperture, the more details a telescope will be able to resolve. Aperture is usually measured in either inches or millimeters (mm).

Like in a camera lens, focal length is the measurement of how far the light travels once it enters the main optic of a telescope until it reaches the point of focus. This measurement is half of what determines how zoomed in the view or image will be, with the eyepiece or the camera being the other half. Focal length is usually measured in millimeters (mm). Generally speaking, a telescope with a focal length under 500mm is considered short, 500-1000mm is considered medium, 1000-2000mm is considered long, and 2000mm and up is considered very long. For beginner astrophotographers, a short to medium focal length telescope is recommended to begin.

Focal ratio is a measurement used to determine how fast a telescope gathers light. It’s a simple formula that takes the focal length divided by the aperture. For example, if a telescope has a focal length of 480mm and an aperture of 80mm, it would have a focal ratio of f/6. Fast scopes (usually f/7 or lower) gather light quicker, but usually lack the long focal lengths used to get zoomed in views. Fast, shorter focal length scopes are best suited for deep sky object viewing and imaging. Slow scopes (usually f/8 or higher) gather light slower and are generally more zoomed in, but usually lack the light-gathering power to reveal faint details for deep sky astrophotography. Slower, longer focal length scopes are best suited for planetary/lunar viewing and imaging.

OTA stands for Optical Tube Assembly. In today's terms, this phrase is simply a fancy way of referring to a telescope on its own. When you see a telescope with "OTA" or "OTA only" in its description, that means that the product only includes the telescope and not a mount or other components.

This is the total weight of the telescope only, usually not including accessories like a finder scope or something else unless otherwise specified. This is an important number to pay attention to if you’re buying a telescope and mount separately, as many mounts have a maximum payload (weight) capacity that they can handle. For visual use, the OTA Weight can be a few pounds/kg below the payload capacity of a mount. For deep sky astrophotography, though, a highly recommended rule of thumb is that you keep the OTA Weight around half of the total payload capacity for the mount. This is because deep sky astrophotography requires a much higher degree of accuracy than visual observing, and mounts perform at their best with lighter payloads.

This is a small telescope or red-dot finder that rides on top of the main telescope. When looking for an object through a longer focal length telescope, it can be easy to get disoriented in space quickly. A finder scope’s purpose is to help you find objects using a much wider field of view. Once you’ve centered the object in your finder scope, the object should be readily visible in the main telescope.

A diagonal, or star diagonal, refers to the right angle part found in most refractor and catadioptric telescopes that reflects light out the back of the telescope and up into the eyepiece.

This figure describes the most magnification you’ll want to use visually with the telescope in reference and any given eyepiece. Since the Earth’s atmosphere blurs and distorts the view for all ground-based telescopes, you won’t want to expect better than this magnification rate. A general rule of thumb is that the highest useful magnification is 50x its aperture in inches, or 2x its aperture in millimeters.