From magnification to light-gathering, here’s how to make the decision between buying a telescope or a monocular for ...

Well, any of us who has ever looked through a telescope could say the same, for the two principal types in use today were developed by giants: the refractor by Galileo and the reflector by Newton.

For the first eight years of its life, the 24-inch was the sole telescope at SBO ... left-overs from the transition between the long-and-narrow refractor and its replacement short-and-fat reflector.

Just to make it that little bit more challenging, there's also three different main types of telescopes to look out for. You have the choice of refractor, reflector and catadioptric telescopes ...