Meade Instruments, also known simply as Meade, was founded in 1972 and is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of telescopes, alongside Celestron, Sky-Watcher, Vixen and Orion. A manufacturer of binoculars, microscopes, spotting scopes and charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras for astrophotography, Meade also trades under the name of Coronado in the sale of amateur solar telescopes for observing the surface of the sun.