Telescopes for amateurs

For beginners

— the key requirements for telescopes designed for beginner astronomers are ease of use and low cost; but a large degree of magnification and the possibility of observing distant objects with such an application is not required. These criteria are satisfied primarily by refracting telescopes (see "Design") with an objective diameter of up to 100 mm and a focal length of up to 1000 mm; most of them have an azimuth mount (see the relevant paragraph), but there is also an equatorial mount.