Types of telescopes

Refractors are what most people picture when they imagine a telescope. Using glass lenses, refracting telescopes magnify incoming light down a long, narrow tube. Refractors are great for those on a budget as they are the least expensive type of beginner telescope. They also require the least amount of maintenance, which is a huge plus.

However, most entry-level doublet refractors won’t provide as good of a view as a similarly-priced reflector or catadioptric because of their smaller aperture. On the other hand, higher-end triplet refractors can provide some of the best views and images of any telescope type and are an excellent choice for astrophotography imagers of all skill levels.

Reflector telescopes use mirrors to magnify incoming light. For the same price as a refractor, you can get a much larger aperture reflector. This larger sized telescope comes at a cost, however, since a larger telescope is heavier and more difficult to transport. 

Almost all reflectors need frequent alignment of the mirrors, which is known as collimation. You can think of collimation as tuning an instrument before playing — it only takes a few minutes, but you’ll need to buy a collimator to keep your telescope “in tune.”

One of the most common subtypes of reflectors is the Dobsonian, which is widely considered to be one of the best types of telescopes for visual observing.

Catadioptric telescopes, also sometimes called compound telescopes, combine both lenses and mirrors. By using both, these telescopes can offer high quality optical performance in a relatively affordable package. They also yield very high magnification views in a small telescope, thanks to what’s known as a folded optics design. Though usually more expensive, entry-level catadioptrics typically come pre-packaged with an automated mount that takes the headache out of manually finding objects in the night sky. 

By far the most popular subtype of catadioptric telescopes is the Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope, or SCT for short. These versatile scopes offer a jack of all trades assortment of features but come with a higher price tag. Another subtype is the Maksutov Cassegrain, or Mak Cass, which are also great performers with a bit less versatility for a lower price than SCTs.