The following are lists of devices categorized as types of telescopes or devices associated with

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observ ...

s. They are broken into major classifications with many variations due to professional, amateur, and commercial sub-types. Telescopes can be classified by optical design or mechanical design/construction. Telescopes can also be classified by where they are placed, such as

space telescope A space telescope or space observatory is a telescope in outer space used to observe astronomical objects. Suggested by Lyman Spitzer in 1946, the first operational telescopes were the American Orbiting Astronomical Observatory, OAO-2 launch ...

s. One major determining factor is type of light, or particle being observed including devices referred to as "telescopes" that do not form an image or use optics. Some telescopes are classified by the task they perform; for example Solar telescopes are all designs that look at the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

Dobsonian telescope A Dobsonian telescope is an altazimuth-mounted Newtonian telescope design popularized by John Dobson in 1965 and credited with vastly increasing the size of telescopes available to amateur astronomers. Dobson's telescopes featured a simplified ...

s are designed to be low cost and portable,

Aerial telescope An aerial telescope is a type of very long focal length refracting telescope, built in the second half of the 17th century, that did not use a tube. Instead, the objective was mounted on a pole, tree, tower, building or other structure on a swive ...

s overcame the optical shortcomings of 17th-century objective lenses, etc.

List of optical telescope types

Optical telescope An optical telescope is a telescope that gathers and focuses light mainly from the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, to create a magnified image for direct visual inspection, to make a photograph, or to collect data through elect ...

s can be classified by three primary optical designs (refractor, reflector, or catadioptric), by sub-designs of these types, by how they are constructed, or by the task they perform. They all have their different advantages and disadvantages and they are used in different areas of

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

and amateur astronomy.

List of telescope types working outside the optical spectrum

* Atmospheric Cherenkov telescope used to detect gamma rays *

Infrared telescope An infrared telescope is a telescope that uses infrared light to detect celestial bodies. Infrared light is one of several types of radiation present in the electromagnetic spectrum. All celestial objects with a temperature above absolute zero ...

* Radio telescope * Submillimeter telescope * Ultraviolet telescope (see also

Ultraviolet astronomy Ultraviolet astronomy is the observation of electromagnetic radiation at ultraviolet wavelengths between approximately 10 and 320 nanometres; shorter wavelengths—higher energy photons—are studied by X-ray astronomy and gamma-ray astr ...

) *

X-ray telescope An X-ray telescope (XRT) is a telescope that is designed to observe remote objects in the X-ray spectrum. In order to get above the Earth's atmosphere, which is opaque to X-rays, X-ray telescopes must be mounted on high altitude rockets, balloon ...

(see also X-ray astronomy) **

Wolter telescope A Wolter telescope is a telescope for X-rays that only uses grazing incidence optics – mirrors that reflect X-rays at very shallow angles. Problems with conventional telescope designs Conventional telescope designs require reflection or refract ...

List of broad spectrum telescopes

* Fast Fourier Transform Telescope

List of telescope mounts types

Optical and other types of telescopes are mounted on different types of mounts. * Fixed mount * Transit mount * Zenith mount * Altazimuth mount * Alt-alt (altitude-altitude) mount * Equatorial mount ** Equatorial platform *** Poncet Platform ** Open fork mount ** German equatorial mount ** English mount (Polar frame mount) ** Modified English mount ** Barn door tracker (Scotch mount) ** Springfield mount * Hexapod mount * Infinite-axis telescope

List of optical telescope types

List of telescope types working outside the optical spectrum

List of broad spectrum telescopes

List of telescope mounts types

See also