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ApertureBuy the right telescope, not the biggest one

One model, judged by its numbers

Reviews, model by model

None of these pages gives a mark out of ten. Each is computed from the same numbers the advisor uses — aperture, focal length, mount — plus what its family does well and badly. The eyepiece views are simulations, and say so.

The duels

10×50 binoculars

Small telescope with a front-mounted white-light solar filter

70–90 mm refractor on an alt-az mount

130 mm tabletop Dobsonian

150–200 mm Dobsonian

72–80 mm ED refractor

Smart telescope (30–80 mm, integrated camera)

102–127 mm Maksutov on a GoTo alt-az

250–300 mm Dobsonian

150–200 mm Schmidt-Cassegrain on a GoTo alt-az

Dedicated hydrogen-alpha solar telescope