The 10 Amateur Telescopes That Changed Astronomy FOREVER

[@tabletop_railway]

I could listen to ed talking about wallpaper and be super happy

[@PetraKann]

There's wallpaper with galaxies, nebulae and constellation designs available on the market. You can also custom design wallpaper with your own graphical designs - maybe even designs of Ed Ting bending over his 14" Dobsosian. That's entirely up you what wallpaper you roll on in your bedroom😁

[@Larpy1933]

I can’t say it any better. Christmas morning (as a child) wasn’t any batter than seeing this retrospective today. Thanks, Ed.

[@vindemiator3412]

I can barely hear him.

[@Fat-totoro-cat]

As someone outside the US, I think the rise of good quality refractors and reflectors from China has been one of the biggest game changers in the hobby, to the point where both Meade and Celestron eventually got sold to the same companies.

[@ferenc-x7p]

Askar/Sharpstar is a rising brand name, pushing out scopes that rival and surpass the William Optics scopes that are made in Taiwan. Svbony- the cheap amazon brand is no longer joking around, they are Hong Kong based company and their triplet scopes they released this year are well built with good reviews and as far as pricing, they are very competitive. GSO (Guan Sheng Optical) is in the reflector/ Cassegrain business also from Taiwan.

[@spizzlo]

@@ferenc-x7p The SV555 is going to make a lot of waves too I think. Cuiv just did a review on it and it's better than a Redcat51 for $300-400 less.

[@PafMedic]

@@ferenc-x7pSVbony Has A Great Dielectric Diagonal As Well,Was My 1st Product From Them

[@lixiaoyu1067]

I think the real game changer from China is, until this point, only Seestar. Almost every quality refractor and reflector that Chinese made, exits before early 2000s, and the best thing they do is to make the price lower, which is absolutely good but not game changing. Seestar however is the real game changer.

[@spizzlo]

@@lixiaoyu1067 I think you're right as far as all time game changing telescopes. I think the cheap China scopes are game changing gradually and somewhat under the radar. Not to mention it isn't one scope. People can now get into the hobby or acquire a level of equipment that they never would have inflation and the dramatic increase in scope cost over the last few years.

[@DC-rq8zg]

Tasco 60mm in the 70s was the telescope that could show Jupiter's moon and cloud belts. Also Saturn's rings, moons craters and phases of Venus. It did more to inspire interest in astronomy than most telescopes. A bit like what the Honda 90 did for motor bikes. Very popular cheap and it worked in a modest way.

[@roberthorton7865]

I'll give a plug for Coulter's Odyssey Dobsonian telescopes (blue tube models) for having a revolutionary impact on amateur astronomy. They were the first to bring large aperture reflectors to the market, at prices that people could afford. All of the premium Dob makers that came later can thank Coulter for taking those first steps in offering commercially made Dobsonian telescopes. You could also buy large, thin mirrors directly from Coulter, and make your own Donsonian. Large, heaving equatorial mounted telescopes, like Cave Optical and others, were already becoming dinosaurs due to the Celestron C8, but I would argue that Coulter just destroyed the market for large, equatorially mounted reflectors, almost overnight. Now you could own a much larger, yet transportable telescope to show off faint deep sky objects, and they were just easier and more comfortable to use than reflectors on equatorial mounts. Having lived in that era, the introduction of the Dobsonian telescope was incredibly impactful on the hobby at the time.

[@usmcbrat2]

Do you remember the difference between blue tube and red tube Coulters? Was it just color? I had a red tube 13.1" for a while in the early 90's. It was actually quite a decent scope, though I wasn't a big fan of the alt-az bearings on the mount. I think the mirror mount might have just been a sling, and some astro-turf, though I'm not sure. I stole that idea at Celestron to use for mounting flat mirrors in a tester or two, and I think the idea came from that Coulter 13.1. Just lay the mirror on some astro-turf and it becomes a 10k point floating cell. :) Anyway, I'm curious about the difference between Coulter red and blue tubes. I tried briefly to search online but didn't find much.

[@roberthorton7865]

@@usmcbrat2 The red tube models pretty much cheapened what was already a cheap design. Plywood was replace with particle board. The rack and pinion focuser was replaced with a cheap, piece of crap plumping part to act as a focuser. I own a 10.1" blue tube model, and once a long time ago owned the blue tube13.1" . For the price, they were generally decent telescopes, particularly for deep sky viewing. I've looked through several red tube models, and found them generally inferior optically and mechanically.

[@markmeridian3360]

I can't argue against two of your choices 1) the Criterion 6". I borrowed this scope from my high school for a summer - it really cemented my passion for amateur astronomy. 2) Meade LX-200 . I bought the 12" in 1996. My first go-to scope. I would add two 1) the inexpensive refractors from Sears. There were several models from different manufacturers, but these were the only scopes available to most people and introduced many to the hobby. My first view of Saturn through that scope from Sears got me hooked. 2) Cave Astrola Newtonians. These were the first large Newtonians on mounts stable enough to try astrophotography. The first long exposure images I ever took used Tri-X film with a home-built clock drive corrector (and extensive polar alignment) on a Cave telescope.

[@paulcontursi5982]

When I was 12, I had the Criterion RV-4 because the RV-6 was a little to large for me to handle on my own. I loved it and I still have all of the Kellner eyepieces that came with it.

[@MaconMedia]

Our school library received both Astronomy Magazine and Sky and Telescope and I loved those Questar ads. I wanted one so bad, but growing up poor in the Smoky Mountains, I knew I'd never own one. A guy in my class got one for Christmas and I became friends with him just to be able to look through the Questar. It broke my heart when he threw it away just before he went to college.

[@wesleydonnelly2141]

Your story resonated with me deeply, my friend. Growing up poor in Liverpool, England in the early 80's and 90's I was so utterly desperate for a Telescope, that I would spend hours looking through Meade and Celestron catalogues, dreaming of owning one! But being one of 5 children my parents could never afford to buy us kids what we all really wanted for Christmas and birthdays ( although Bless their hearts they always did their best! ). It ultimately wasn't until my mid 30's I finally rediscovered my passion for space and bought myself a beautiful 8" Newtonian Reflector on a digital GoTo mount and I literally haven't missed a single clear night since! I now do both imaging as well as visual, and I'm again utterly obsessed with space but this time with an amazing range of Telescopes to choose from! 🤩👍

[@MaconMedia]

@@wesleydonnelly2141 I had a small 60mm Tasco. Due to a series of poor decisions and numerous financial setbacks, I've never been able to afford getting a better one. I've had some SkyMaster 25x100s, but they were stolen a few years ago and I replaced them last year with a pair of ESSLNB 15x70 binoculars found at a thrift store. I was hoping to get an 8" Celestron StarSense Dob this winter, but another financial setback has put that off until spring.

[@MikeHammer1]

Threw it away? That is practically sacrilegious.

[@MaconMedia]

@@MikeHammer1 I know. He laughed when I broke down in tears. He was a typical rich kid. He never appreciated anything. 😞

[@wesleydonnelly2141]

@@MikeHammer1 Agreed. Throwing away is sacrilegious.

[@johnpawlicki1184]

I remember grinding my first newtonian mirror. A 4 1/4" mirrot and first surface diagonal was incredible at the time. Edmuns Scientific had 3:" 4 1/4", 6" and 8" newtoniians, 4 1/4, 6 and 8 on a german mount with optional clock drives. Being 14, I loved my newtonian. Good video. Thanks.

[@ArzenalX]

Owner of a pretty much vanilla 8" LX200 (with a few knob/capacitor upgrades, EMC from circa 2000). The mount, with very few tweaks and no online or external computer feedback still tracks the skies like a champ. Planet views are excellent and still works very well as my Goto showpiece to my friends (mostly open and globular clusters)! It was my childhood obsession and even though it is roughly 24 years old (got it about a year ago for very cheap), I hope still works for some more time. Thank you Ed for the trip down memory lane!

[@cygnusstarscream]

My first telescope I was nine years old, 1963, a Gilbert 80 power reflector ordered from a comic book. It took the entire summer of collecting pop bottles to return to the small country store for 3 cents each but I did it.

[@spudliet]

ED80 is up there, it broke through a significant price/quality threshold for refractors.

[@lastsonofkrypton3918]

Great list. Imo Coulter Odyssey should have been in the list, it was the first big Dob seller in the late 70's and 80's. Dobs influenced the hobby vastly more than 80mm fracs and at least as much as SC's.

[@Kohalaskies]

I agree. The Coulter may not have been very good, but it open eyes to big bucket Dobs. Then came Obsession, Starmaster, Teeter, Teleport. Portaball and others

[@knight2255]

+1, I had to cut a lot of grass as a kid to afford my 13.1" red tube

[@quantomica]

All of Ed Ting's videos are a must view, and this is no exception. In my 5 decades of being in the hobby I can certainly relate to all his observations here. Now I was not expecting his last entry in the list, but I am pleasantly surprised in its inclusion. Absolutely no debate here. The Electronically Assisted Astronomy revolution has begun. I bought a Seestar S50 just a few days ago, and I was absolutely stunned at its first night out. I own some of the scopes mentioned here and although they are great instruments, finding and viewing objects can be frustrating. The views of DSOs through the eyepiece of conventional telescopes are nothing like the pictures. Not any more. On my first night out with the Seestar every Messier or NGC object that I selected is found and starts appearing on the screen of my smart phone, even with a half moon high in the sky and in my light polluted city location. It is so good that for a moment, you almost wonder if the live stacked image on the screen is actually the real thing or artificially built from a database. Eventually clouds rolled in and appears in the image and then I know its real. I remembering peering in the eyepiece of an Obsession 16-inch Dobsonian and struggling to make out the fuzzy patch that was supposed to be a galaxy, no thanks to the horrible and worsening light pollution of our skies. EAA smart telescope changes all this and removes the limitations of our eyes with photon integration that works even in the brightest city skies. I can only imagine how much better a later iteration or subsequent generation of this new breed of telescope will be.

[@JeffreyHoeper]

This is a fun, informative video with a lot of good history . . . but I think the emphasis on bling scopes is clear. Yet you do assert that many of the most influential scopes are those that brought costs down while maintaining quality. The Dob 8, the library scope, the Meade 2000. Personally I'm not that impressed by the high-dollar refractors or computerized scopes or even the new SeeStar/Dwarf stuff. Maybe my own vision is too flawed to allow appreciation of costly apo-refractors. And computerized astrophotography is just too automated to be a hobby at all. I can enjoy the same "Wow" factor by staying on the couch and browsing the uploads to Astrobin. . . . My goal is to get out under the night sky with my star charts and finding things for myself -- thereby stumbling my way around the vastness of our universe.

[@usmcbrat2]

+10 - Get up, go out and learn the sky!

[@Alan-vk6bk]

I have to agree about the LX200. I was amazed how good it was when i got my 10". Game changer in all senses.

[@AstroGuy99]

I bought a Celestron C8 around 1975 while working in the Middle East. I decided not to ship it home and instead sold it to a friend. In Europe, I bought a second C8 in the late 70s and actually shipped this one to the US when I moved there in 1980. But other scopes followed and soon something had to be sold to pay for new toys. Adios C8! I regretted that sale almost immediately but resisted buying a third C8 until the early 2000s. I still have that one and whenever anyone asks if I want to sell it I politely reply, NO, NO, NEVER, EVER, EVER, GET LOST!

[@slickzMdzn]

should have gone for a C11 then

[@AstroGuy99]

@@slickzMdzn Well, I considered a 9.25, but as I get older even that became too heavy for comfort.

[@johngleason6472]

I'll give a plug for the Vixen/Celestron fluorite refractor series. 70mm, 80mm, 90mm, 102mm. Beautiful long focus doublets that for me changed visual astronomy forever. Cheers!

[@MikeC2K10]

I did the same as you, Ed. In the 90's I bought a Starfire 155EDF and a Model 800 EQ mount when the waiting list was less than a year. I sold it sometime in the 2010's and I don't remember what I did with the money, either. But I wish I still had that telescope and mount.

[@CuivTheLazyGeek]

Very good video Ed! - the LX200 "philosophical" debate is very reminiscent (to me) of the debate around smart telescopes and the many people who basically say "might as well just download pictures off the Internet" - behind the scenes, I believe the Dwarflab Dwarf II and III are responsible for a lot of the Seestar S50 decisions - the Dwarf II was the first sub-$500 astrophotography smart scope and ZWO had to rush with the S50 to catch up. And the Dwarf III offers unique features such as a true equatorial mode and a much larger sensor that also make a huge difference, and that is forcing ZWO to compete with the Seestar S30! I am *extremely* glad to have Dwarflab keep ZWO on their toes in this space! - the RedCat 51 could have been on this list, at least for astrophotography! - I'm now wondering if the Askar SQA55/85/106 telescopes are ushering a new era of high quality Petzvals. I've tested the 55 and 85 on full frame and they have insane star shapes throughout the FOV Always enjoy the videos!

[@jimmazurek5589]

Great video, as always. For me, the Orion ShortTube deserves an honorable mention here as well. It’s what got me started in the hobby. Good quality, dirt cheap. super portable, pretty good for beginners in visual and AP. Thanks Ed for all the effort you put into these videos.

[@markfernald7698]

Hi Ed, another fascinating video. Thanks. My high school had a 2 or 3” Unitron refractor that I borrowed several times. That prompted me to get an RV-6 in the late 1960’s. I had so much fun with that scope. Fast forward a couple of years, the UNH physics department had a Questar. I got to borrow it several times. Yes indeed, it was and still is the benchmark for performance. When I retired, I bought myself a Meade 8” LX90. Marvelous scope. It’s been a fun journey..

[@rakitakhan]

I saw that ad with Nimoy and almost cryed. Excellent video as usual Ed ! I always learn something.

[@edwardeason3756]

From the 1960's the Tasco and Unitron refractors, at the opposite ends of the spectrum, were important.

[@lornaz1975]

I watched an interview of someone who obtained a 4 inch fluorite refractor in the 1980s which blew away all other scopes. He also mentioned an article by Roland in Sky and Telescope about refractors out performing mirrored scopes in their contrast. You mentioning the Tele Vue Genesis reminded me of this.

[@aronbortaneous2331]

Love the topic and your perspective. My big quibble: the 'big dob' revolution really isn't reflected on your top 10. The Coulter Optical series set in motion a few decades of big dobs, leading to truss tube dobs of Orion, the Obsession scopes in your honorable mention category, and the 8" Orion on your top 10 list. All of these have direct lines back to the Coulter series in the early 1980s, and as such it was tremendously influential and worthy of being in the top 10 (I'd argue the Coulter 13" blue tube is the one that should be there.) Yes, one can argue that this class of instrument is a total niche scope today, with the domination of astrophotography rigs, but so are several other scopes on your list which had a few decades of major influence, then fell to niche status. My two cents - love the topic and sure to kick up some fun debate!

[@roberthorton7865]

I recall the ad for the Coulter 13.1" saying that you could now own a large, deep sky telescope for 1/10 the price of a C14.

[@usmcbrat2]

Overall good choices. I was an optician at Celestron when the LX200 appeared. The "coffee grinder" as we jealously called it. ;) I was expecting to see Cave Astroloa somewhere on that list, as well as Coulter red tube dobs. Yeah, Coulter were thin green glass mirrors, but they got a lot of first timers into the light bucket game. And a good honorable mention would have been Dad's venerable old 8x50 binoculars. :) I was glad to see you give Obsession some love. My first time looking through an Obsession 25 at Pinos was a huge thrill.

[@meibergstrmandersen9181]

So good to hear some history about scopes. Thank you very much Ed.

[@ziggyfrnds]

I really enjoyed this video! I'd never known the history about the telescopes Ed mentioned. Informative and enjoyable, Thank you Ed! I'd like to add that I cannot agree enough with Ed's analysis about premium apo's changing the hobby, but for other reasons. I started astrophotography more than 6 years ago with a newtonian reflector (more bang for the buck and all that) but I never got good images until I got a small apo refractor, just the ease of using that OTA gave me time to focus on other things like good polar alignment, making sure the tracking is accurate, getting guiding right and then the most important thing.....processing the data properly! Before when I was using a big newtonian (8 inch, big for me) my focus was more on getting the telescope to work properly, the weight added to the complexity of balancing the OTA in 3 dimensions. And collimation was a struggle (especially since I had a cheap newtonian). So by the time I had everything else working properly, and then something would go wrong....like focus would shift.....I would stop caring at that time 😛

[@KevinRudd-w8s]

It wasn't just scopes that changed astronomy for ever, the introduction of the CCD and particularly the CMOS imaging chips at an affordable price had a massive impact. Before that astro photography was a very niche area of the hobby, now most amateurs take at least some phographs if only by pressing their smart phone against the eyepiece of their favoured scope. The only downside that I can see is that a lot of people rarely look through their scopes anymore and I have to confess to being guilty of this, though I still use my binoculars regularly. I think that fact that imagining has become so popular has had an impact on the amount and type of telescopes that are now available, it seems to me that some on sale are intended primarily for imaging and some are out and out astrographs that can't be used for visual astronomy. In a very short space of time a whole industry has been built up to service the astro photography market, which I think shows what a game changer the introduction of the imaging chip was.

[@dadwhitsett]

Wow, memory lane. I started this hobby in 2003 when I purchased my Orion 10 inch dob, which I still use. I've jumped to imaging which has changed immeasurably in that time. When you look at the images posted on Cloudy Nights from 2007 with CCDs and compare them to today one can appreciate how far we have come. TY Ed.

[@brianreynolds1098]

Ed, I completely agree with your #1 choice, the LX200. As a matter of fact, I STILL have my 1999 LX200! I was smart about it and in the early 2000's, started buying spare parts for it. 10 years later, I had a duplicate of everything that made up the LX200. Board goes bad? No problem. Got a spare. Motor gives up? No problem. Got a spare. That and having all the tant caps replaced made it a scope that I STILL use today. I have had other scopes in the stable, focusing on one type of viewing or another, but always went back to my Meade LX200. I did, however, start out with a 3" reflector to learn the sky and that was a big help, so I knew what I was looking for. But the joy it has brung me and the adventures it took me on cannot be duplicated. Ever. I commend your thought process on this one. Able to hook up to a computer. Able to do AP (with film, of course). This thing could do it all. I will be forever grateful to the good folks at Meade for this one.

[@WWeronko]

I'd have to say the Unitron 6 inch refractor was my dream scope most of my youth. It was near perfection.

[@martinlagrange8821]

I'm proud to say that I own an orange tube Celestron 8 from 1981, one of their last good years for the original run (there was a decay in quality between 1984 to 1988). Over 40 years old, there is very tiny optical wear and tear, but it remains crisp and performs at the very highest possible for the design - its a total joy. I have applied my years of experience with servicing scientific instruments (including HPLC Chromatographs, and UV-VIS Specrophotometers), and have achieved a technique which allowed me to scratch-free wash all three optical surfaces to new condition, and the corrector to fully streak-free finish on both sides (the water and cleaning solutions were a light brown after I had finished, it took 3 steps to get rid of decades worth of gunge!). The result is the telescope of my dreams, and it gets regular use - Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and the moon are magnificent, Nebulae and Clusters deeply satisfying. Mine is very special - its on a Southern Hemisphere 220V AC fork, and the motors track strong and true. A pure-sine wave inverter battery power pack can run it for months before needing a recharge. Its totally analog, no computer pointing - but I do adore it.

[@mathiasscheurer4873]

Great compilation, Ed! The Meade 2080 got me into astronomy, it was the main instrument at my school in the 1980s and the ETX90 was my first computerized telescope - I still have an ETX (125 EC). For me, another game changer was the Skywatcher ED 80/600 (the "Volks-APO") one of the first affordable telescopes with a decent imaging performance that came close to the expensive high-quality telescopes.

[@Gofr5]

Great video Ed. Was a lot of fun to watch. It's not a C8, but I have a grey tube mid 2000's C9 that I really like to use from time to time. It's my big cannon and it always wows me with its views, even if it's mushy half the time because my skies where I live are very subpar (and maybe the scope is too, I bought it used and don't really know how to tell how good this specific specimen is). The very few times I've gotten clear views from it though, man oh man. Beautiful. I have other smaller scopes I love that see more use more often, including a high quality 4 inch F11 apo doublet, but only the C9 ever gets me saying "wow". Aperture really is king.

[@nadirteymurov1]

You can make such a video for astrophotography gear. For the tubes the absolute leader must be Takahashi FSQ-106. For mounts - ZWO AM5 really made a revolution in switch to the harmonic drive mounts.

[@gw5161]

I thought Celestron C5 plus or the C5 would make the list. This is the scope the space shuttle brought aboard.

[@LiquidAudio]

Season's greetings and Merry Xmas, Ed! Thanks for another year of great videos and wise words.

[@richardpallechio257]

In the 1970s, in college, I drooled over the Questar advertisements in Scientific American. Finally, in 1983, I bought one. It is a thing of beauty.

[@Larpy1933]

Riffing on the tectonic changes associated with the SeeStar (etc) products: Recently at our club’s members’ buy & sell night, I offered my “Bright Star Atlas” for C$5.00 (a touch over US$3.00). No takers. A number of people leafed through it, each taking quite a bit of time with it. My suspicion is that many newcomers to the hobby (since 2010 or so) haven’t used a star atlas and feel no need for one.

[@DazzaS83]

Good to see another video Ed! I am looking forward to this. I purchased a Celestron C9.25 SCT and an 8 inch Dobsonian based on your recommendations.

[@anthonyrobida]

Still using the orange C8 (1983). Never needed collimation and take great images.

[@FEStanley]

Back in the 70s used to regularly borrow our Astronomy Department's Questar, which had a permanent pillar set in our hall of resident grounds.

[@leonardvorhis838]

Ed Where do the Tasco and other 60mm refractors, 4.5" reflectors, the japanese refractors and John Dobson big scope designs fit in? These were ubiquitous first scopes or they were dream scopes. Thanks for your great videos. L

[@waynewheaton3210]

Great video Ed, this is a fun one to watch! I know the video is about telescopes, and agree that the smart scopes are going to be a game changer. But, I'm wondering what the impact of remote telescope hosting will have within astrophotography sector of the hobby. So many of us now live in Bortle 7-9 and the number is increasing. Also, many of us don't have the time or energy in the evenings. I believe this another factor that will help drive the smart telescope market.

[@MarkRosengarten]

For me, it was the Televue Pronto. I've never owned one, but lusted after it for years. The ads were brilliant...a compact powerful scope nestled on a well-muscled forearm. I did get a TV76 and loved it and today a TV85 is my main scope.

[@jonathanbingham4781]

Excellent video Ed, i got my first scope a 3" cheap plastic refractor in the late 80's and that was me hooked, fast forward to the late 90's and a tal 100 4.5" was my first proper scope which gave great views and altough i struggled with the eq mount somewhat i had the opportunity in the late 2000's to purchase a meade lx200 8" sct and what a difference to my observing it made actually spending a night looking at objects was a delight ! so fast forward to 2024 and a small collection of scopes sct/mak/newtonion/refractor/solar make up a collection of astro hardware !

[@missouriskies]

Thanks again for a great video. When you reached #10, I was just getting ready to write in the comments that the Obsession 20" should be on the list until I realized that you had some honorable mentions and included it. Although I dabble in astrophotography and embrace the modern imaging and tracking electronics which many on your list point to, I still have a nostalgic affinity for the vintage Criterions and Coulters etc (I own a Criterion Custom Deluxe 8"f/8 and one of the last RV-6's to be produced ~1983). Thanks again for getting my brain going again. I wish someone would put together a compendium of amateur telescopes in book form.

[@golookup]

A legit roundup. The ones influenced me: a Jason 313, an ETX-80 (which I returned and bought a Nexstar 8i - which ignited a twenty passion), an XT12 and an Ultra-Compact 18. The scope I wish I hadn't sold: a Nexstar 11 GPS (with fantastic optics (I didn't realize how good they were until several telescopes later)).

[@mycarolinaskies]

I have to agree with Ed's general list. The LX200 was a leap forward in the hobby that pulled the hobby from the status quo setting circles, reading off coordinates to an accessible GOTO system integrated into the entire experience. From its inception it forced everyone to start thinking in new paths of how to get the observer on-target which really is the primary objective. There is no non-manual mount today that doesn't have some smart aspect to it that can be traced to the idea the LX200 popularized. Up to the point of the LX200 a lot of extras had to be bought to do what it did out of the box. The Seestar is definitely the current redefining device in the hobby because it gives performance at an XT8 price to make dim targets accessible. While not a visual experience through an eyepiece, the visceral experience of seeing an object appear in a matter of a few minutes will become integral in the future of the hobby. If someone doesn't integrate this technology into a visual telescope I'd be surprised. And by this I mean having a dual capable system either as the 'spotting scope' replacement on an Alt-az or integrated OTA system where like an OAG, the image gets picked off and available for display.

[@mattestabrook]

Great video, Ed--thank you! For the record, I actually have three of the telescopes you discussed--the Astroscan that captured my imagination as a kid in the early 1980s; the C8 that was advertised in Astronomy magazine at about the same time, but which I could not justify purchasing for another 40 years; and the Seestar, which by today's standards is very nearly an impulse item. I still use and enjoy all three! Thanks again for the fun trip through telescopic history!

[@whatmattersmost6725]

Hi Ed, 1 scope that I think was right up there that you did not talk about that CHANGED my LIFE was the Tasco/Sears refractor! That ugly green color and wood tripod, and don't forget it used those .965 eyepieces, and there Sun filter... LOL. I saw Saturn was my first object. To this day I can remember that experience. Made in Japan too.

[@j10948]

Saw Mars from one of those, got me hooked

[@dalemartinrunning]

I always appreciate your videos Ed. There seems to be a few current groups of visual observers; the race to the top of high quality optics such as the top of the line refractor viewers (maybe Questar is in there too), the planetarium goto type observers, of which EA may be an extension, and the ones chasing the light buckets, which seems to be limited by height even more so than by weight (I am surprised a volume manufacturer has not figured out how to make 16" to 24" F3.0 scopes, which would solve the height issue. Understanding they are difficult and hard to make, at some point someone will figure out a way to do it in volume).

[@NckBrktt]

This video should come with a wealth warning. I want all of them.

[@UncleDansVintageVinyl]

Thank you, Mr. Ting! This was really fun. I had a Criterion RV-6 back in the late '70s/early '80s--and then I bought another last year! Also, thank you for pronouncing "niches" the good old-fashioned American way!

[@gregoryw3311]

Great list. A little disappointed the Short Tube 80 (and all of it's clones) didn't make the list or an honorable mention. My Meade Adventure Scope 80 clone got me back into the hobby during COVID after years of being away, and I use it way more than my AT80ED.

[@MichaelEdelman1954]

I visualize of the evolution of amateur astronomy this: 1. The expensive refractors era. German and later Japanese refractors with Huygens, Kellner, and if you had the money, Orthoscopic eyepieces. 2. The mass market Newtonian era, typified by the Criterion Ed mentions. 3. The SCT era. There was a time when “series amateur” was synonymous with owning an 8” SCT. 4. The Dobsonian era. Suddenly an 8” was affordable by anyone, even if it was a Coulter Oddysee like my first scope. 5. The imported APO era 6. The astrophotography era. Cell phone camera technology and inexpensive APOs from the PRC made it possible for amateurs to produce images better than those from observatories a few decades ago.

[@edting]

Mike, yes. People smarter than me are telling me we are headed towards 100% astrophotography and smart scopes and that visual observing will be a niche activity reserved for older people. Right now traditional astrophotography is the state of the art, but the smart scopes are making leaps with every generation. Could we reach the point where we are 100% smart scopes?

[@garykielich9419]

Ed, Great video. I agree with your analysis. I owned a Dynascope RV-6, C8 & Meade LX-200. They are all great telescopes. I look forward to your review of the current smart telescope market. I have a Seestar50 and now the Celestron Origin. It is amazing how the telescope market has changed. Very exciting times!

[@johnrobison1413]

What a great list. Sure, they are Ed’s picks, and other luminaries in our hobby would have other choices. But his presentation is just so easy and logical, a real pleasure to listen to. As a game changer I would say any homebuilt dobson mounted reflector. That fellow sure had an outsized effect on our hobby.

[@kleedhamhobby]

I looked at the details of the Questar when I was observing and photographing (with film) back in the 1980s and 1990s. Honestly it struck me as a complete rip-off, and I never bought one. I had (and actually still have) a Bausch and Lomb 4000 with a 4" aperture - not as pretty as the Questar, but probably better for observing. And that was, of course, never my main scope - it was just something small, that could be used for having a quick look at things. Currently, in retirement, and not great health, I am experimenting with the latest generation of 'smart' telescopes, which are certainly a complete game-changer from how I used to do things.

[@OldCurmudgeon3DP]

Interesring video. Finally got my AD10 unboxed last weekend (11mon after it arrived). First light made me wonder why I didn't get one years ago. My 80mm Selsi can't hold a candle to the 50mm RACI finder on the AD10. My smallest eyepiece for the Selsi is a 20mm (45x). I've NEVER been able to see ANY part of Andromeda w/o taking a timed exposure w/ a phone or DSLR. I could see the hazy core w/ the 50mm finder and it was 10x (or so) easier to line up on it than with the Selsi. My next project is getting alt/az (or a platform) steppers on it. There are many options & inspirational how-tos on the web. I've already printed a collimation cap & Bahtinov mask for it.

[@EvilBonsai]

have a dwarf 3 on order. meanwhile, an 8SE for visual stuff is waiting for next clear night. That ETX was a fantasy for a poor teen reading theough Sky and Telescope and staring at the night sky with a cheap pair of 7x35s. Only got the 8SE last year. I love visual astronomy.

[@texicon]

I have both the dynascope RV-6 and a Meade 10 inch LX 200 GPS!

[@Alex000113]

Enjoyed the video and remembering these scopes. I lusted after the LX200 for many years but only had the ETX90. Ordered a Dwarf3, short setup times and good DSO imaging has reignited my interest.

[@KingLoopie1]

Always entertaining listening to your lists, Ed! Thanks for this walk down memory lane and another great video! 👍👍

[@StargazerFS128]

Fantastic video, a lot of fun listening to why these scopes earned a place on the list, it was a trip down memory lane.

[@EfficientRVer]

The wired-jaw/nurse story about your Questar visit is priceless. Indeed they are works of art and mechanically robust. But I was disappointed with mine after being spoiled by bigger scopes and better APOs. I also owned a Q700 700mm camera lens for several years. Even more robust, but still dimmer than its dog slow f number, so a very specialized piece useful only in niche situations. For those niche situations, I now use an old Celestron 750mm f/6, a camera lens version of the C5.

[@WeatherWars]

Agreed, my 1993 10” LX200 worked flawlessly until a 110 mph mountain wind brought its life to an end. Every scope I’ve owned, and there have been many, I compare to that standard. I miss ya Meade.

[@martiny1804]

Now that sucks. I still use my 1993 10" LX200 and still works darn good for a 31 year old scope.

[@OriginalFlyingElvis]

I'm more of an amateur than I thought, I hadn't heard of many of these and thought the C8 was a newt only. Great video!

[@charlesstrang2346]

Happy Holidays and great sky's for the New Year

[@richardlighthill3228]

I had fun trying to guess what telescope you were going to choose next! I have to agree with the Meade LX200. I still use it for astrophotography as it tracks really good as I have it permanently mounted in the EQ mode. And I now also use it for for asteroid occulatations for scientific research. I'm not going to give it up!

[@Astrofrank]

I would have mentioned the 60/900 mm refractor and the 114/900 mm Newtonian, as they were beginner's telescopes of decent quality and usability.

[@chasemcniss5196]

Ed, excellent insights into the amateur astronomy telescope market. Even with so many choices over the years my loyalties stayed with Celestron despite the efforts and lure of the Meade LX200. I am now happy with my third Celestron SCT variation. Keep up the great work, the amateur astronomy industry is lucky to have you and your enlightened drive. Cheers C

[@TerryLawrence001]

First time I saw a Questar was in the movie "The Mechanic" Charles Bronson used it to case the apartment of a target. The Questar was my "White Whale" When I finally got one, it was a Classic Collectable.

[@Rich-hy2ey]

The movie, "Body Double" from the 80s sold a lot of Questars.

[@cliffordstoner8225]

Is this first Ed Ting list that doesn’t put the 8” dob in the #1 spot!? I love my new scope that I just got and, thanks to you, it is a 8” Sky-Watcher Dobsonian. Thanks for all the great, thoughtful content.

[@RichNH]

Great video Ed, thanks for the walk through, it brought back some memories.

[@NatarajanGanesan]

So Astrophysics is the Rolex among the scopes! 😊

[@IndigoSkies]

Great video Ed, well thought out and totally spot on for every scope in the list. I may have added those old cheap 60mm f/12 achros on wobbly mounts but that might be unique to my own individual journey. Thanks!!!

[@tpolakis]

This is sort of like one of those "best guitarist" lists, in which everyone can argue about individuals that were left out/included. For the Dobsonian that "changed astronomy," I think you'd have to go with Coulter, as they were the first to really get into the game. You said up front that these are not necessarily the best telescopes. Also, I'd leave out one of the SCT's in favor of a solar telescope. While I love my Lunt products, Coronado made H-alpha observing of the sun mainstream and easy, even though Daystar had been involved many years before them. They sold whole dedicated H-alpha solar telescopes. Editing my post to specifically feature the Coronado PST.

[@EvilBonsai]

You argue facts. Why would you argue about opnion? The man states an opinion,. Nothing to argue.

[@tpolakis]

@ Huh? If someone states their opinion like The Bee Gees are superior to The Beatles, it’s open season to disagree, and state why or why not. That’s how things work in the real world. There are other posts in this thread that mention the omission of the PST. I’m sure Ed considered it, and like most sensible people, appreciates our *opinion* on the subject.

[@joeparham2889]

Thank you for your videos! You seem to have a way of communicating.

[@MikeHammer1]

I own a Celestron Super C8+ that I modified into a go-to scope using OnStep about a year ago. The build is posted on Cloudy Nights. I also own an ETX125AT (the improved version) that I purchased new about 10 years ago for the insanely low price of $350, delivered. At one time I owned a B&L SCT 4 1/4". A poor man's Questar. But with a bigger aperture.

[@guyyanez6949]

A very good review. I would have added the Orion/Sky-Watcher ED80 as a truly revolutionary astrophotography doublet in the 2004-2005 era. I think this small, fairly priced apo refractor sparked "refractor fever" as opposed to "aperture fever," which has continued to grow to this day.

[@kennethwilson8633]

Yep the Meade advertising is what sucked me in and I own mostly their gear. Love the video. Have fun stay safe.

[@CeresVega]

Thank you for your calming and informative videos!

[@PhoenixAstroAndy]

Thanks Ed for all the time and effort you put into your videos,always looking forward to what you release next.

[@lpaelke]

Although they weren’t great by any stretch, I believe the "department store telescopes" of the 70s and 80s-especially the 60mm Fraunhofer refractor and the 76mm Newtonian reflector-definitely deserve a spot on this list. I’m sure a lot of people started the hobby with one of those (and quite a few probably left the hobby right away... 😉).

[@ferenc-x7p]

ZWO just released the Seestar S30, for $350. Meanwhile there are 2 other companies making robotic scopes, Dwarf Labs and the more expensive Vaonis. Even Celestron had a robotic scope, but it didn't really get a lot of attention for being super expensive. I think it's ZWO who is leading the charge, pushing the boundary on the prices further down as soon kids who hoped to see the galaxies and nebulae like on the paper box they saw on a $90 department store scopes, they finally will see those galaxies and nebulae via the live stacking tech inside the smart telescopes for a very considerable price. It will only gonna get cheaper and better!

[@maktham2006]

I have 2 of them 8 inch LX200 and Seestar S50, and I love both I treat them like they are my children.

[@michael.a.covington]

Criterion held the $195 price on the RV-6 from about 1960 to 1980. Adjusting for inflation, that means they were reducing the price drastically in the 1970s. (I got one in 1970.)

[@EfficientRVer]

I got mine at age 12 in December 1969. Yep, I paid $194.95 FOB Connecticut. I still have it.

[@jongroubert4203]

My very first scope was a Criterion RV-6 in 1980. I saved up money from my paper route to buy it. But I was a dumb jerky teenager, and I took full advantage of the one-year warranty and returned it after 11 months. Ugh. I used the money to upgrade to a Meade 826.

[@GrahamCarter-d9u]

Living in the UK, does anyone remember Fullerscopes? The company dates back to the 1700,s and was based in Farringdon, London. They are gone now, but their old building is still called Telescope House.

[@michaelwalsh7846]

It's hard work getting out in the cold as you get older, even after listening to the brilliant Ed Ting I now need a lie down! Ordered the latest camera from SVbony which has new Sony 662 sensor AND wifi, so I can keep warm.

[@astronome66]

Another great one, Ed! I was sure you were going with the XT8 as your overall number one so you surprised me with your choice 😁 Re: the smart-scope revolution, the story wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Vaonis and Unistellar. They were the innovative ones who were first out of the gate with smart scopes. ZWO’s innovation in figuring out how to mass produce them at lower cost is notable, but credit for the original idea and the influence it’s having also deserves mention 👍

[@fastbow9]

WOW! Very very interesting and well presented and I’m certain will require a follow up.

[@alainmaury5941]

There are telescopes in this list which didn't sell very much (because of the price) and they really didn't change astronomy forever (Astrophysics and Questar). I would clearly have added the Coulter 13 and 17" because they really launched the dobsonian telescopes.

[@telemonk]

Maksutov telescope was quite influential. Invented in Russia in 1941 it later found its way to many schools helping educate young people in astronomy.

[@EfficientRVer]

And 2 or 3 of his top 10 pay tribute to it. Both the Questar and the Meade ETX90 are Maksutovs. My first Meade LX200 was also the 7" Maksutov version, despite the majority of LX200 scopes being SCTs.

[@frankwitte1022]

I would love to know whether you considered Coronado's H-alpha's for your list?

[@keithhanssen7413]

I’d say Celestron will come out with a really nice smart scope that taps into all or at least most of the desires of astrophotographers. They have one with a RASA, but I think they’ll come out with even a better one.

[@tjzambonischwartz]

I have my own list. I'll be curious to see how much crossover there's gonna be. Edit: kinda shocked the PST isn't on here. It broke the price barrier and brought H-alpha astronomy to the mass market.

[@dougfinch452]

Thoroughly enjoyed this thank you!