The original instrument to occupy the 25-foot diameter dome was the 10.5-inch Bausch refracting telescope (f/15.5) installed in the brand new observatory in 1953. Bausch & Lomb Company gave the ...

I enjoyed being the focus of my friends’envy when I had the opportunity to field test StarStructure Telescopes’ 12.5-inch f/4.8 Dobsonian-mounted, truss-tube reflecting telescope.

This Newtonian reflector telescope features a 5-inch primary mirror with highly reflective coatings to produce sharp, clear images. The 130mm aperture gatherers lots of light, so it’s plenty ...

The 5 Best Telescopes For Beginners, ... It also has a 4.5-inch (114 mm) aperture, 450 mm focal length, and a 50x optical/150x digital magnification range, allowing you to see far and wide.

A 5.1-inch/130mm Newtonian reflector telescope, the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ telescope has a focal ratio of f/5, so collects more light from distant targets.

He recommends 4.5 inches or more for a reflector-type telescope. “If you can upgrade to an 8-inch reflector or a 4- or 5-inch refractor, you’ll be very happy,” Adams says.

We’ve tested 17 top-rated telescopes over the years, and we’re certain the Celestron NexStar 5SE provides the best image quality and ease of use for beginners.

My rule of thumb is 35x per inch of aperture. For example, if you have a 60mm (2.36-inch) telescope, your image may break down over 80x magnification (2.36 x 35 = 82.6).

Even though it is a very heavy bit of kit, it's fairly compact at 35.12 x 28.5 x 15 inches, and its large 9.25-inch (235mm) aperture and focal length of 9 inches (2350mm) give you a powerful ...