Category

Telescopes & Mounts

A telescope sets the ceiling on what you can see: aperture governs faintest star and finest detail, while the mount decides whether the target stays put. This group covers the three main optical designs, the two mount families, and the tripod underneath them all.

$Technical line drawing of a refractor telescope$ Refractor Telescope A lens at the front, an eyepiece at the back — the simplest and most robust optical path. Telescopes & Mountssetup

Technical line drawing of a reflector telescope

Reflector Telescope Mirrors instead of lenses — the most aperture per unit of money, at the cost of collimation. Telescopes & Mountssetup

Technical line drawing of a catadioptric telescope

Catadioptric Telescope Lenses and mirrors folded together — long focal length in a short, portable tube. Telescopes & Mountssetup

Technical line drawing of a equatorial mount

Equatorial Mount One axis pointed at the pole, so tracking a star needs only one motor. Telescopes & Mountssetup

Technical line drawing of a alt-azimuth mount

Alt-Azimuth Mount Up-down and left-right, which is how you already think about the sky. Telescopes & Mountssetup

Technical line drawing of a tripod

Tripod The least glamorous component and the one that most often limits the view. Telescopes & Mountssetup

Other categories

Eyepieces & Optics Where magnification is actually decided — eyepieces, Barlows, reducers, diagonals and finders. Filters & Solar Contrast tools for nebulae, plus the only category where a mistake can cost you your eyesight. Imaging & Astrophotography Cameras, guiding, filter wheels and dew control — everything that turns photons into a processed image. Observing Accessories Star atlases, planispheres, red lights, chairs and cleaning kits — the kit that makes a long night work.