Top rated telescopes for beginners

Beginner telescopes are ideal for learning the ropes of exploring the night sky and are designed to be fun and easy to use.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. When you buy a product through the links on this page, we may earn a commission. Maybe you have had a casual interest in astronomy for years, looking up at the night sky every chance you get. What kind should you get? What are the best telescopes for beginners? How much do you really have to spend?

Top rated telescopes for beginners

Best overall 3. Best for quick set up 4. Best for basic astrophotography 5. Best Maksutov-Cassegrain 6. Best for back yard 7. Best for wide field observation 8. Best computerized telescope 9. Best grab and go telescope Best budget telescope Best beginner telescopes FAQ How we test. If you're looking for one of the best telescopes for beginners, you've come to the right place.

An aluminium dew shield cuts down on unwanted light and keeps dew at bay, while the supplied red dot finder makes locating bright celestial objects easy.

A good telescope needn't cost the Earth. It is possible to explore the heavens with an inexpensive telescope, provided it's well-made. Are budget telescopes good? Like most questions about astronomy equipment, it depends what you want to use it for! Cheap, affordable, inexpensive telescopes are very common nowadays, spurred on no doubt by the boom that amateur astronomy has seen over the past few years.

What is the best telescope for beginners? And how do you pick the right telescope for you? This two-part guide provides everything you need to get started with beginner telescopes. Anyone can enjoy astronomy and stargazing! Beginner astronomers, families and experienced stargazers alike can share in the wonders of the night sky. Before we begin, please note that product pricing, price categories and availability are accurate as of the date of this post, but are subject to change. With a multitude of beginner telescopes to choose from, any reliable list of the best telescope for beginners will balance a variety of factors, including image quality, price range, ease-of-use and more. While specific rankings are imprecise, we are confident that each entry on this list offers a high quality telescope worth consideration by any initiate amateur astronomer.

Top rated telescopes for beginners

The list in brief 2. Best traditional telescope : Celestron Inspire AZ 4. Best smart telescope : Unistellar eQuinox 2 5. Budget smart telescope : Vaonis Vespera 6. Best for deep space : Sky-Watcher Skyliner P 7.

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Blog Equipment Toggle child menu Expand. It basically looks like a long tube, potentially as tall or taller than you, with a sturdy, swiveling base. There was a sea of information and technical specifications, most of which went right over my head. It includes the optical tube, a basic 5x24 finderscope to help you locate celestial objects, and a degree image diagonal for comfortable viewing without neck strain. Beginners often wonder what is possible to see using a basic telescope through the eyepiece. Great for lunar and planetary observing, but some views are fuzzy. However, if you're starting out in astronomy and have a low budget, it can be tricky to navigate all the various brand names, types of telescope and whether or not you're getting good value for your money. Functionality Easy to assemble and take down. Most are aimed by hand, although some are tricked out with computerized drive systems. We suggest using an external power source instead of relying on AA batteries, as a set of AAs won't last long and can become costly to replace frequently. Why you should trust us. Thankfully, they're relatively inexpensive. The Skyliner P comes with two eyepieces — a 10mm x eyepiece for displaying wide fields of view, such as the full moon or entire galaxies, and a 25mm 48x eyepiece for working in more detail, like on a close-up of the rugged lunar surface or the planets. Just like the Apertura AD8, this telescope has enough power to see solar system objects like the moon and planets, as well as distant galaxies and nebulae. Last but not least, if you'd like a telescope that can do it all and take great astrophotographs with the push of a button, smart telescopes are an ideal choice and can wow your friends and family with almost zero learning curve.

Best manual : Celestron StarSense Explorer 8"

We loved the twin-knobbed, low-gear focusing control and we were able to quickly achieve sharp views of the Moon's cratered southern highlands. Thankfully, they're relatively inexpensive. This mismatch causes field curvature, making stars at the image edges appear blurry. Best budget telescope 4. The battery life is a bit short, and the included eyepieces aren't the best quality. Astrophotography is just another creative outlet for me to share my interests with others. For example, a mm aperture collects four times more light than a mm telescope. Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more! It's heavy, so it's not one to travel with, but you'll be able to pick out faint galaxies and nebulas with ease. Aperture: 4. Functionality Backpack needed to travel with easily. Paul, Minnesota. Unless you're a seasoned skywatcher and you can afford to go for the more expensive apochromatic — which corrects for such an effect by using exotic glass for the lenses — this degree of color fringing will not ruin your observing experience to any great extent. They can be a huge benefit to beginners helping them quickly find objects that they would not otherwise see. Tabletop telescopes are among the best telescopes for beginners because of their light weight and easy set-up.