How to choose a telescope
If you’re going to invest in a telescope, there’s a forest of varieties out there, so how do you choose?
It depends on several factors such as what you want to use it for; visually observe and/or take pictures, which objects you want to observe, etc. And of course what kind of budget you have.
Here are the three main categories of telescopes:
A typical reflecting telescope: Sky-Watcher StarQuest – 130P
A typical refracting telescope: Takahashi FC-100DF
A typical catadioptric telescope: Celestron NexStar 5 SE
Reflector telescopes typically use mirrors in their optical system.
Refractor telescopes typically use lenses in their optical system.
Catadioptric telescopes typically use combined mirrors and lenses in their optical system.
There are also a number of different telescopes under each category. Astrographs are telescopes intended for photography and equipped slightly differently than for optical observation.