Your Guide to Better Stargazing

Real Experts. Trusted Advices. Our goal at TelescopicWatch is to provide accurate information on telescopes that’s free of embellishment or exaggeration, as well as informative content on the night sky and astronomy at large.

Top Sections

Sketch of a telescope

Telescope
Reviews

Dive into our comprehensive analysis of leading brands and models to find the best telescope to explore the cosmos with clarity. We aim to ensure your night-sky adventures are backed by the best equipment at the best possible price.

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A sketch of optical tube assembly

Optical Tube Assembly
Reviews

Thoroughly examine the heart of every telescope setup, the optical tube assembly (OTA), and get the best possible deal on a wide variety of visual and astrophotography optical tube assemblies that we’ve tested and reviewed.

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A sketch of a telescope mount

Telescope Mounts
Reviews

Stability and precision are paramount in stargazing. Discover alt-azimuth and equatorial mounts that offer the price, features, precision, and stability that your telescope or astrophotography setup deserves.

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Telescope Accessories

Telescope Accessory
Reviews

Enhance your night sky observing experience with the right tools for your telescope. Delve into detailed critiques of eyepieces, Barlow lenses, filters, diagonals, and more, crafted to optimize your night-sky exploration.

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Curated Ranking Lists

Almost all US astronomy products are ranked in order of quality for their price range. We use our ranking and rating system to evaluate astronomy gears for a common use case, and we provide detailed product reviews for each product so that you may apply your personal circumstances to judge the telescope’s usefulness for you. We provide impartial telescope ratings, reviews, and rankings based on our expertise, experience, and rigorous testing.
All telescope types including tabletop dobsonian, Dobsonian, Computerized Reflector, refractor, maksutov and schmidt cassegrain telescopes

Entire Telescopes
Ranking List

Navigate the night sky with top-tier equipment. Browse our list of the highest-rated telescopes, curated for both newcomers and experienced observers, sorted by price and tested by real astronomers under the stars.

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Tabletop dobsonian, Tabletop dobsonian GoTo, Classic Dobsonian and Truss Tube Dobsonian telescopes

Dobsonian Telescopes
Ranking List

Simplicity meets efficiency; that’s the Dobsonian telescope. Explore the rankings of Dobsonian telescope models favored by astronomy enthusiasts for their ease of use, sturdy design, and potent performance.

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All type of computerized telescopes including refractor, dobsonian, reflector e.t.c

Computerized Telescopes
Ranking List

Embrace digital tools and motorized tracking that aid your stargazing experience. Check out the rank list of the most acclaimed computerized scopes that guide you seamlessly across the night sky with the push of a button.

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Examples of two refractors

Refractor Telescopes
Ranking List

Experience crisp visuals with sharp views and minimal chromatic aberration with one of these elegant refractor telescopes. Find out the rankings of all of the refractor telescopes that we’ve listed.

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Manual and computerized reflectors

Reflector Telescopes
Ranking List

Maximize your light-collecting power and explore deep space with top reflector telescopes. We’ve ranked and reviewed reflector telescopes that bring distant celestial wonders right to your eye.

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Telescope optical tube assembly examples

Astrophotography OTAs
Ranking List

Capture celestial landscapes or planetary close-ups with the right gear. Highlighting the top optical tube assemblies that are an astrophotographer’s dream for night-sky snapshots in a comprehensive rank list.

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Equitorial and altaz mounts examples

Telescope Mounts
Ranking List

Steadiness that complements your astrophotography or stargazing sessions—we’ve ranked telescope mounts based on price, performance, and overall quality for you here.

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Examples of astronomy binoculars

Astronomy Binoculars
Ranking List

Witness the cosmos in dual vision. Delve into our top picks and rankings for astronomy binoculars, offering crisp wide-field views at unparalleled convenience and low prices.

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TelescopicWatch Buyers’ Guides

Learn & Improve

Tips, tricks, and guides for your astronomy journey

Best telescope retailers logos; High Point Scientific, Agena Astro, Explore Scientific

The Best US Telescope Retailers Ranked: Where to Buy Telescopes?

Purchase with confidence by checking out our guide to the most reliable and reputable telescope retailers in the US, ensuring quality, value, and expert service.

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Three dobsonian telescopes placed together

Why Buy Dobsonians, and Why Do We Always Recommend It?

Unrivaled in value and functionality. Understand the unmatched allure of the Dobsonian design and why they remain our favorite recommendation for beginners.

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A tools that could help with better stargazing; illustration

Telescope Accessories: The 15 Best Stargazing Tools To Own

Few telescopes come equipped with more than the bare essentials. Eyepieces, filters, and other accessories are must-haves to get the best possible observing experience.

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Sketch of a telescope user viewing planets

How to Best Observe the Planets with a Telescope: An Ultimate Guide

Harness our experts’ tips and techniques to magnify and appreciate the wonders of our Solar System in vivid detail, no matter your telescope or where you are.

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Example of collimated and non collimated optics

How to Collimate a Telescope? A Beginner’s Guide

Precisely aligned optics make all the difference between a sharp or fuzzy view of celestial objects. Embark on a simple step-by-step journey to perfecting your telescope’s optical alignment, or collimation, with various tips, tricks, and tools.

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Light Pollution Example

Light Pollution For Telescope Observation: An Essential Guide

Dark skies away from city lights generally mean clearer views of “faint fuzzies” like nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters. Equip yourself with knowledge on combating light pollution, ensuring the best conditions for celestial observation.

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Telescope being used by someone; demonstration graphic

How to Use a Telescope: A Newbie Guide by Expert

Exploring the cosmos doesn’t have to be frustrating, and in just a few minutes, it’s easy to operate almost any telescope with ease. Grasp the basics of setting up and aiming your telescope with expert tips and tricks, opening a universe of discovery for beginners.

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Moon Picture by Zane

How to Photograph The Moon with a Telescope

Our nearest celestial neighbor is the easiest object in the night sky to photograph, and even if you’re just holding your smartphone up to the eyepiece, we’ve got some techniques and advice for you to achieve the clearest and most breathtaking shots possible.

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A dobsonian's top covered with black cloth for storing

Storing & Maintaining Telescope & Accessories

Telescopes can last a lifetime if taken care of, yet remain surprisingly rugged. Read up on our experts’ advice on storing, cleaning, and transporting your telescope.

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Sketch of a telescope star testing using Polaris, the north star

How to Star Test a Telescope

Learn the method of star testing to evaluate your telescope’s overall optical performance and rule out any mechanical problems that may worsen the view.

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Sketch of a few galaxies

Best 50 Galaxies to Observe in the Night Sky

Embark on a deep-space odyssey. Explore our experts’ curated list of 50 mesmerizing galaxies, beckoning amateur astronomers to a visual feast under a dark sky.

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Two barlows lens

How to Use a Barlow Lens and How It Works

Understand the mechanics of a Barlow lens or focal extender, and how to leverage its magnification prowess for both visual and astrophotography purposes.

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Apertura AD6 Dobsonian Telescope

Apertura AD6 Dobsonian Review: Editor’s Choice

The Apertura AD6 is an excellent telescope, but for the price, you might be better off with a 6” f/5 tabletop telescope or saving up for a bit more for the AD8 or another 8” model with greater capabilities.

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Celestron Starsense Explorer 12" Smartphone app-Enabled Dobsonian Telescope

Celestron StarSense Explorer 12” Dobsonian Review: Recommended Scope

The Celestron StarSense Explorer 12” Dobsonian is a capable but nonetheless cumbersome instrument, where simplicity is paramount in its design and use – for better or for worse.

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Our Expert Panel:

Zane testing one of his cassegrain telescope
Zane Landers
Zane has been featured in the Sky & Telescope, TIME magazine, and National Geographic for his homemade telescopes.
Ed Anderson
Ed Anderson is a member of the ASLI and the Custer Institute and has been featured on Sky And Telescope, NewsDay e.t.c
Richard J Bartlett
Richard J Bartlett
Richard’s one of the dozen books, Easy Things to See With a Small Telescope, has got licensed for distribution with Orion Telescopes

Why can you trust our reviews?

1) We do a lot of due diligence in selecting the top astronomy products in each category.
2) At least one of the experts’ team members has personally used all the astronomy products that we review, and they do testing and evaluations without any bias and do independent reviews. Typically, we will only review equipment that we have personally used for at least one or two nights of observing or imaging in some form.
3) We also test the optics of most telescopes we get our hands on, either with Foucault/Ronchi, dual-pass autocollimation, or the star test, and our Editor-in-Chief, Zane, is building an interferometer in the future to get quantitative data on optical quality.
4) We rank and rate the products, provide an explanation for our ratings, and award the products according to their merit.

Why Does TelescopicWatch Exist?

Our Editor-in-Chief, Zane Landers, answers:

My first telescope was a relatively frustrating computerized 4” Maksutov-Cassegrain, which I got for Christmas as a kid. My parents were lulled into buying it by sponsored “reviews” and marketing that I sent to them, having fallen for it myself. While it wasn’t terrible, I had no idea what I was actually going to be able to do with it until I got to try out the telescope and was relatively disappointed by its lack of capabilities. This disappointment kept me from becoming more interested for a year or so until I got another telescope. While my situation wasn’t nearly as bad as receiving an outright “hobby killer”, I’d prefer nobody else has to go through the same experience when it can be avoided with honest and professional reviews and product recommendations.

My goal at TelescopicWatch is to provide accurate information on telescopes that’s free of embellishment or exaggeration, as well as informative content on the night sky and astronomy at large.

A lot of advertising for all sorts of products today is based on superlatives and attempts to take advantage of emotions. Telescopes, in particular, are often advertised with something other than actual capabilities, optical quality, etc. in mind, such as claims of outrageously high magnifications or leaning heavily into the computer technology bundled with the instrument. Likewise, a lot of sky guides are focused only on the “best” or showpiece objects that are well-known to amateurs or lack information on what it exactly is you are seeing at the eyepiece. I aim to solve this with my work.