Best telescopes for visual observing
Hand-picked telescopes for looking through, with the compromise each one asks you to accept stated as plainly as the reason we chose it.
4 hand-picked telescopes
Best telescopes
Every pick on these pages is chosen by hand for a stated set of circumstances. None of them is assembled from scores, because a score cannot know whether you have a garage, a dark sky or a first-floor flat.
Best telescopes for nebula photography
Hand-picked telescopes for photographing large emission and reflection nebulae, with the mount each one demands and the compromise each one asks you to accept.
4 hand-picked telescopes
Best telescopes for galaxy photography
Hand-picked telescopes for imaging small galaxies, where focal length and mount accuracy matter far more than speed — with the demands each one places on your setup stated plainly.
3 hand-picked telescopes
Best telescopes for planetary photography
Hand-picked telescopes for high-resolution imaging of the Moon and planets — where aperture, native focal length and thermal behaviour matter far more than the mount or the sky.
3 hand-picked telescopes
We do not publish "top 10" lists assembled by sorting a spreadsheet. Every entry states why it was selected, what it is best at, the main compromise it asks you to accept and what else you will need to buy. How we work.