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Telescope Equipment Basics

• Which Telescope is Best for Me?
• Types of Telescopes
  • Refractors
  • Newtonians
  • Dobsonians
  • Schmidt-Cassegrains
  • Maksutov-Cassegrains
  • Schmidt-Newtonians & Maksutov-Newtonians
  • Ritchey-Chrétiens
  • Other Designs
• Mounts
  • German Equatorial Mounts
  • Fork Mounts
  • Dobsonians
  • Other Mounts
• Eyepieces
  • Understanding Eyepiece Types
  • Standard Eyepieces
  • Wide Field Eyepieces
  • Long Eye Relief Eyepieces
  • Zoom Eyepieces
  • Binocular Viewers
• Understanding Magnification
• Filters
  • Lunar & Planetary Filters
  • Solar Filters
  • Light Pollution & Nebula Filters
• Focusers
• Other Accessories
• Binoculars for Astronomy
• Optics 101
  • Optical Aberrations
  • Optical Designs

Using a Telescope

• The Basics of Using a Telescope
• Polar Alignment
  • Quick Drift Alignment Reference
• Balancing a Telescope
  • Balancing a Fork-Mounted Telescope
    • Quick Balance Reference, Fork Mount
  • Balancing a German Equatorial Mount
    • Quick Balance Reference, German Equatorial Mount
• Aligning a Computerized Telescope
  • Celestron Advanced Series GT
  • Celestron CGE
  • Celestron CPC
  • Celestron NexStar GPS
  • Celestron NexStar SE
  • Celestron NexStar SLT
  • Meade ETX 60/70/80
  • Meade ETX Premier Edition

  • Meade LX90GPS

  • Meade LX200GPS
  • Meade LXD75
  • Meade RCX400
  • Orion Atlas EQ-G
  • Orion SkyQuest Intelliscope
• Collimating a Telescope
  • Collimating a Newtonian
  • Collimating a Schmidt-Cassegrain
• Cleaning Optics
• Star-Testing Telescope Optics

Observing with a Telescope

• The Best Beginner's Objects
• Observing Tips
• Finding Objects
• Observing Theory

Eyepiece Calculator
Frequently Asked Questions
Glossary of Terms

Telescope Basics Home Page