10-inch telescopes are basically for amateur and hobbyist astronomers. On average, they have 1000-2500 mm focal lengths, and f/3.9-f/10 focal ratios. They provide six times the light-gathering power of a 4″ telescope and four times the light-gathering power of a 5″ telescope. You can get 10-inch telescopes from different brands in the price range of 630-10,000$.
What is a 10-inch telescope?
A 10-inch telescope refers to a telescope having an aperture (the diameter of the objective lens) of 10-inch (254 mm). A 10-inch telescope is considered to be in the category of a medium telescope.
What can you see with a 10-inch telescope?
- The Moon and its craters
- The phases of Venus and Mercury.
- Mercury’s small disk.
- Mars and its ice cap, and outer moon Deimos.
- Jupiter’s cloud belts, the 4 largest moons of Jupiter- the Galilean moons Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.
- Saturn’s rings and the Cassini Division along with some cloud bands on Saturn and half a dozen of its moons.
- Uranus with the moons- Oberon and Titania.
- Neptune with its moon Triton.
- Pluto is like a point.
- The spiral arms of brighter galaxies like M51 and M33.
- dust lanes in galaxies like M82 and M31.
- The H-II regions in M33, M101
- Nebulae like Orion or the Lagoon
Types and Technical Specifications of 10-inch telescopes
Types (Optical Design)
Newtonian : Example: Celestron Starsense Explorer 10″ Dobsonian Smartphone Telescope, Sky-Watcher Flextube 250P f/4.7 Dobsonian, Sky-Watcher 10″ Quattro Imaging Newtonian OTA, Orion 10″ Newtonian Reflector Astrograph, Starfield f/4 Imaging Newtonian – 10″
Modified SCT: Example: Meade 10″ ACF LX90 Telescope, Meade 10″ LX200-ACF f/10 OTA Only, Meade LX200 ACF 10″ Telescope – without Tripod, Open Box of Meade 10″ ACF LX90 Telescope
Dobsonian: Example: Sky-Watcher Flextube 250P f/4.7 Dobsonian Telescope, Explore Scientific 10″ F/5 Dobsonian (Truss Tube),Sky-Watcher Classic 10-Inch Dobsonian Telescope
Ritchey Chretien: Example: TPO 10″ f/8 Ritchey Chretien Reflecting OTA Telescope, iOptron 10-Inch f/8 Ritchey Chretien Reflecting OTA Telescope, Orion 10″ f/8 Ritchey Chretien Reflecting OTA Telescope, Orion 10″ Truss Tube f/8 Ritchey Chretien Reflecting OTA Telescope
Imaging Dall Kirkham: Example: AG Optical 10″ iDK f/6.7 Imaging Dall Kirkham Telescope Deluxe Package, AG Optical 10″ iDK f/6.7 Imaging Dall Kirkham Telescope
Technical Specifications
Aperture: 10-inch (254 mm)
Focal Length: 1000-2500 mm
Focal ratio: f/3.9-f/10
Highest Magnification: 500-600x
Light Gathering Power: 1276-1348x
Price: 630-10,000$
Images taken with 10-inch telescopes
Examples of 10-inch telescopes
- Celestron Starsense Explorer 10″ Dobsonian Smartphone Telescope
- Meade 10″ ACF LX90 Telescope
- Sky-Watcher 10″ GoTo Collapsible Dobsonian Telescope
- Sky-Watcher Flextube 250P f/4.7 Dobsonian Telescope
- TPO 10″ f/4 Newtonian Reflecting OTA Telescope
- TPO 10″ f/8 Ritchey Chretien Reflecting OTA Telescope
- TPO 10″ Truss Tube f/7.9 Ritchey Chretien Reflecting OTA Telescope
- Explore Scientific 10″ F/5 Dobsonian (Truss Tube)
- Sky-Watcher Classic 10-Inch Dobsonian Telescope
- Sky-Watcher 10″ Quattro Imaging Newtonian OTA
- Meade 10″ LX200-ACF f/10 OTA Only
- Meade 10″ LX850-ACF SCT Catadioptric OTA Telescope
- Explore Scientific Firstlight 10″ Solid Tube Dobsonian
- iOptron 10-Inch f/8 Ritchey Chretien Reflecting OTA Telescope
- Orion 10″ f/8 Ritchey Chretien Reflecting OTA Telescope
- Meade LX200 ACF 10″ Telescope – without Tripod
- Orion 10″ Truss Tube f/8 Ritchey Chretien Reflecting OTA Telescope
- AG Optical 10″ iDK f/6.7 Imaging Dall Kirkham Telescope Deluxe Package
- AG Optical 10″ iDK f/6.7 Imaging Dall Kirkham Telescope
- Orion 10″ Newtonian Reflector Astrograph
- Starfield f/4 Imaging Newtonian – 10″
- Open Box of Meade 10″ ACF LX90 Telescope
How do 10-inch telescopes compare to other size telescopes
10-inch vs 11-inch telescopes
10-inch telescope has less aperture than the 11-inch telescopes. 11-inch telescopes offer a focal ratio of f/2.2-f/10 whereas the 10-inch telescopes vary from f/3.9-f/10. Besides, 11-inch telescopes offer a focal length of 620-2800 mm whereas the 10-inch telescopes start from 1000 mm to 2500 mm in focal lengths. Moreover, 10-inch telescopes provide 500-600x the highest magnification, whereas 11-inch telescopes can magnify up to 558-558.8x..
| 10-inch telescope | 11-inch telescopes | |
| Aperture | 10-inch (254 mm) | 11-inch (279 mm) |
| Focal Ratio | f/3.9-f/10 | f/2.2-f/10 |
| Focal Length | 1000-2500 mm | 620-2800 mm |
| Highest Magnification | 500-600x | 558-558.8x |
| Price | 630-10,000$ | 2,400-6,500$ |
10-inch vs 12-inch telescope
10-inch telescopes provide focal lengths of 1000-2500 mm (f/3.9-f/10) , while 12-inch telescopes vary in focal lengths from 1200- 1525 mm ( f/2.2-f/10). Their magnification power is almost similar. 10-inch telescopes provide 500-600x the highest magnification, whereas 12-inch telescopes can magnify 600x.
| 10-inch telescope | 12-inch telescope | |
| Aperture | 10-inch (254 mm) | 12-inch (305 mm) |
| Focal Ratio | f/3.9-f/10 | f/3.93- f/5 |
| Focal Length | 1000-2500 mm | 1200-1525 mm |
| Highest Magnification | 500-600x | 600x |
| Price | 630-10,000$ | 1,200-2,550$ |
10-inch vs 14-inch telescope
14-inch telescopes provide a focal length of 2463-3916 mm with a focal ratio of f/6.7-f/11. In contrast, 10-inch telescopes vary from 1000-2500 mm in focal length and f/3.9-f/10 in focal ratio. However, the price of the 14-inch telescope is three times that of the 10-inch scope. Moreover, 10-inch telescopes provide 500-600x highest magnification, which increases to 710x-840x in the case of 14-inch scopes
| 10-inch telescope | 14-inch telescope | |
| Aperture | 10-inch (254 mm) | 14-inch (355 mm) |
| Focal Ratio | f/3.9-f/10 | f/6.7-f/11 |
| Focal Length | 1000-2500 mm | 2463-3916 mm |
| Highest Magnification | 500-600x | 710-840x |
| Price | 630-10,000$ | 6,000-15,500$ |
10-inch vs 15-inch telescope
Though the 10-inch telescope has less aperture than the 15-inch scopes, it offers a focal ratio of f/3.9-f/10 whereas the 15-inch telescopes provide f/4.2. Besides, 15-inch telescopes offer a focal length of 1600 mm whereas the 10-inch telescopes vary from 1000-2500 mm in focal lengths.
| 10-inch telescope | 15-inch telescope | |
| Aperture | 10-inch (254 mm) | 15-inch (381 mm) |
| Focal Ratio | f/3.9-f/10 | f/4.2 |
| Focal Length | 1000-2500 mm | 1600 mm |
| Price | 630-10,000$ | 7,500$ |