10-inch Telescopes (254mm)

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 telescope11-inch telescopes
Aperture10-inch (254 mm)11-inch (279 mm)
Focal Ratiof/3.9-f/10f/2.2-f/10
Focal Length1000-2500 mm620-2800 mm
Highest Magnification500-600x558-558.8x
Price630-10,000$2,400-6,500$

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 telescope12-inch telescope
Aperture10-inch (254 mm)12-inch (305 mm)
Focal Ratiof/3.9-f/10f/3.93- f/5
Focal Length1000-2500 mm1200-1525 mm
Highest Magnification500-600x600x
Price630-10,000$1,200-2,550$

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 telescope14-inch telescope
Aperture10-inch (254 mm)14-inch (355 mm)
Focal Ratiof/3.9-f/10f/6.7-f/11
Focal Length1000-2500 mm2463-3916 mm
Highest Magnification500-600x710-840x
Price630-10,000$6,000-15,500$

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 telescope15-inch telescope
Aperture10-inch (254 mm)15-inch (381 mm)
Focal Ratiof/3.9-f/10f/4.2
Focal Length1000-2500 mm1600 mm
Price630-10,000$7,500$