1–20 of 36 results

Choosing Your Astronomy Equipment

How to Choose a Telescope

The incredible variety of telescopes presents a real challenge for first-time buyers. Here's a no-nonsense primer to an astronomical rite of passage.

Hobby Killer Illustration

Choosing Your Astronomy Equipment

Hobby Killers: What Telescopes Not to Buy

Here’s how to avoid buying an expensive doorstop.

Cameras: Guides & Recommendations

First Look: Canon's EOS Ra Mirrorless Camera

Canon's new EOS Ra Mirrorless camera for astrohptography promises to make a big splash in the imaging community. Here's a look at some of its features.

Choosing Your Astronomy Equipment

Astronomy for Beginners: How to Get Started in Backyard Astronomy

Astronomy doesn't deserve its reputation as a tough, expensive hobby. You just need to begin with the right advice.

Telescope in a store

Telescopes: Guides & Recommendations

How to Choose Your First Telescope

Here's a quick guide to the essential features that you should look for when buying your first telescope.

Binoculars

Binoculars: Guides and Recommendations

Binoculars for Astronomy: Ultimate Guide to Selecting and Buying

Ordinary binoculars are your ideal "first telescope." And they're so versatile that even seasoned stargazers find them indispensable.

Choosing Your Astronomy Equipment

Power and Aperture in Binoculars

They come in a wide range of apertures. But for astronomy, large aperture is only part of the story. High magnification is just as important when binoculars are used on a night sky that's not absolutely dark.

telescopes big and small

Telescopes: Guides & Recommendations

What to Know Before Buying a Telescope

Looking through a telescope introduces you to a whole new world of unexpected wonders. But telescopes come in a huge range of sizes and shapes. Here's a detailed, printable guide to the essential features that every good scope needs to have.

Cameras: Guides & Recommendations

Advanced Imaging Conference 2013 Videos

Watch senior editor Dennis di Cicco's interviews with vendors at the October 2013 Advanced Imaging Conference.

Orion SkyScanner and StarBlast reflectors

Telescopes: Guides & Recommendations

SkyScanner 100 vs. 4.5-inch StarBlast

How does the little $100 scope stack up against its venerable bigger brother?

Readying your new telescope

Choosing Your Astronomy Equipment

The Joy of Small Instruments

No photograph can compare with the experience of viewing Saturn directly — something that's possible with even the smallest telescopes.

Astroscan, StarBlast, XT4.5

Telescopes: Guides & Recommendations

Three Great, Small Reflectors

Orion Telescopes & Binoculars's XT4.5 and StarBlast 4.5 and Edmund Scientific's Astroscan set the standard of excellence for small, inexpensive, easy-to-use telescopes.

Choosing Your Astronomy Equipment

Travel Scopes

It's tough to reconcile all the different constraints placed on a telescope for the airplane-traveling stargazer.

Stargazing with Tony Flanders

Binocular Blogs

Binocular stargazing has a peaceful, organic quality that's hard to achieve through a telescope. Here's a list of some blogs the author has written on this subject.

Choosing Your Astronomy Equipment

Best Starter Telescopes

In the December 2005 issue of Sky & Telescope, Gary Seronik reviewed a collection of telescopes costing less than $200. It's quite likely that if we were to conduct the same survey today, we would still pick the same 5 as our top scopes.

Galileoscope

Astronomy and Society

The Amazing $20 Telescope

Sky & Telescope has reviewed innumerable telescopes, and only a handful of the ones that we've tried and liked cost less than $200. Now we're going to recommend a telescope that's selling for $20, and your response is going to be "you're kidding, right?" No, we're not!

Cheap scope

Telescopes: Guides & Recommendations

Cheap Enough for a Cheap Scope?

What value would you put on a cheap scope like this?

Choosing Your Astronomy Equipment

Portaball Reborn

Mag 1 Instruments, maker of the Portaball Telescope, is alive and well under a new owner.

Binoculars: Guides and Recommendations

Binoculars vs. Starblast, Redux

How do 15x70 binoculars hold up against a genuinely inexpensive telescope?

Stargazing with Tony Flanders

Binoculars Part III: One Eye Versus Two

Binoculars are qualitatively different from telescopes with identical aperture.