Over the years I’ve acquired and used a number of telescopes. From refractors (both apochromat and achromat) and reflectors (Newtonians) to catadioptric optical systems like the Schmidt-Newtonian, Schmidt-Cassegrain and Maksutov-Cassegrain. Several have been purchased simply because they were used and the deal was “too good to pass up.” As a result (for better or worse) I currently own 9 telescopes. I’ve listed them below.
- 10″ Meade LXD55 Schmidt-Newtonian
- 8″ Meade LXD75 Schmidt-Newtonian (recently acquired)
- Celestron Super C8+ Schmidt-Cassegrain
- 5″ Meade 127NT Newtonian
- Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ
- 90mm Meade ETX-90RA Maksutov-Cassegrain
- 3″ Celestron FirstScope Dobsonian Reflector
- 70mm Meade Series 6000 APO Astrograph Refractor
- ZWO SeeStar S30 Smart Telescope
So why all the telescopes? Surely you don’t need that many telescopes people say to me. Truth be told I probably don’t need them all but many do serve specific purposes. I like to think of it more as a telescope tool kit. What’s the best or most practical scope for observing a certain sky event or imaging an object. You get the idea.
The 10″ Meade SN is my primary star party telescope. Its fast optics and go-to mount make it ideal for dark skies and sharing views of faint nebulae and galaxies. I really love the star-rich, wide-field views this scope provides, and judging by the compliments party goers provide to me, so do they.
The Celestron C8 is my preferred telescope for observing the Moon and planets with a binoviewer. While several of my other telescopes are capable planetary instruments, the C8 consistently delivers the best overall experience for this type of observing.
The 90mm Meade ETX is another favorite. Its excellent optics and compact size make it a terrific grab-and-go telescope for eclipses and casual observing sessions. It’s lightweight, highly portable, and can be set up in just a few minutes. I have recently de-forked this scope from it’s original Meade RA base and now use it on a Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i tracker.
The Meade Series 6000 70mm Quad APO Astrograph telescope serves as my primary wide-field imaging instrument and excels at capturing large nebulae, star fields, and other expansive celestial targets.
Over the years I’ve also owned several other telescopes, including an Orion 12.5″ Deep Space Explorer Dobsonian, a 6″ Celestron StarHopper Dobsonian, a Meade StarPro AZ 102mm refractor, and a 60mm Orion Observer achromatic refractor on an equatorial mount—my very first telescope.