Our reviews of the top 5 best astronomical telescopes for beginners are available at Amazon for sale.
Thinking of buying your first telescope? Do you want to go to the next level and change your old telescope to one that offers you more possibilities? Whatever your case, do not miss this selection with the best astronomical telescopes.
There are many, many models of telescopes on the market, almost as many as there are stars. Among so many options it is difficult to choose.
But don’t worry, I’ve already done the dirty work. In this guide, you will discover which are the best astronomical telescopes, and whatever type of telescope you are looking for.
If you want a telescope to get started in astronomy and observe planets, the Moon, nebulae, galaxies … Great! Because on this list are the best astronomical telescopes for beginners.
If you are looking for a good telescope that offers you more for less if you want to get the most out of each euro, don’t miss the section with the best quality-price astronomical telescopes.
If you want to take a quality leap in your observations and go to the next level, the section with the best astronomical telescopes for advanced amateurs is designed for you. The telescope you are looking for is just a few lines down …
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The best astronomical telescopes for beginners
Without further ado, let’s see the 5 best beginners astronomical telescopes to buy. Are you ready? Let’s start then.
Celestron PowerSeeker 127EQ Telescope
This telescope is a super classic. The Celestron Powerseeker 127 EQ is one of the most popular telescopes for beginners looking for their first telescope.
It is a reflecting telescope that offers you a very large aperture for a very affordable price.
With a large aperture, your observation possibilities are multiplied:
- You will have a luminous image of the Moon and the planets, and you can also explore distant objects such as the Orion Nebula or the Pleiades.
- Also, the larger the aperture, the more magnification the telescope will support and the closer you will be to the objects you want to see.
The eyepieces it includes are not the best. They can help you get started, but eventually, you will want to invest in higher-quality eyepieces.
The telescope comes with an equatorial mount. It is more complicated to mount and handle than the altazimuth mount, but with a little practice the tracks are more comfortable and the observation experience is better.
Aperture is the most important factor in choosing a telescope, keep that in mind because there are very few telescopes that offer you a 127mm aperture for the price of the Celestron Powerseeker 127 EQ. Want to know more and read user reviews? Just follow the link below.
Slokey Telescope for Astronomy for Adult Beginners
The Smokey 50080 is one of the best sellers because it offers everything that any beginner could want to get started in astronomical observation. This is a telescope with good optical quality and is easy to use. In addition, it does not need maintenance.
Refractor telescopes are more resistant and do not need maintenance or interior cleaning (the tube is sealed). They are the best option for beginners who just want to observe the sky without having to worry about other things.
This Slokey telescope includes an altazimuth mount (very easy to mount and handle) mounted on a very robust and stable stainless steel tripod. It has an 80mm aperture that will allow you to explore the Moon, planets, galaxies, and easy-to-see nebulae like Orion’s. Want to know more and read user reviews? Just follow the link below.
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Celestron NexStar 127SLT
The Celestron NexStar series catadioptric telescopes are the most popular in the world. And that’s for something.
The Celestron NexStar 127 SLT MAK makes it easy for you. It has a GoTo mount with an automated system that searches for the object you want to see for you.
Its database has more than 4,000 celestial objects, you just have to indicate which object you want to see and the telescope will look for it for you.
You will be able to go from the rings of Saturn to any of the moons of Jupiter, in a matter of seconds and without having to do practically anything.
Other of its great strengths are its lightness and portability. It has a super large focal length (1500mm) in a tube that only weighs 8kg, it is the magic of catadioptric telescope design.
It is a very easy-to-assemble telescope, thanks to its quick-release system you can configure it in an instant.
The Celestron NexStar 127 SLT MAK is a true all-rounder. You can use it to observe nearby planets and also the deep sky. It has a compact design and a GoTo mount. It is a 4 × 4. This device is not cheap but you will have a telescope for many years. Want to know more and read user reviews? Just follow the link below.
AOMEKIE Telescopes for Adults Astronomy Beginners
The Aomekie AO2001 Refractor Telescope, 400 x 70mm, is a great telescope of unbeatable quality and reliability, designed for beginners.
Among the many advantages of this telescope, I can highlight its extraordinary lens with a 70 mm aperture. Thus, it collects more light, significantly increasing its performance in observation.
This observation instrument brings a wonderful Kellner-type eyepiece, ideal for beginners. Its manufacturer recommends it as the best achromatic eyepiece. Also, it has visual relief, delivering a good amplitude and little field curvature. It is important to note that all its glass pieces are treated with a chemical coating.
The Aomekie AO2001 Telescope includes a K6 mm and a K25 mm eyepiece, as well as a 3x Barlow-type lens that increases the magnification of the eyepieces and a 5 × 24 scope finder with a focal length of 400 mm. All this to guarantee the best images, both terrestrial and the sky.
This incredible tool helps us to expand the sky and introduce the love of astronomy to children. It has the advantage of being very simple to assemble since it does not require tools or complex processes. In addition, its size is very practical to keep in a backpack and transport easily, as well as to store. Want to know more and read user reviews? Just follow the link below.
Skywatcher Explorer 130M
Its large opening of 130 mm will allow you to reach hundreds of objects in the sky, delivering magnificent images full of light. In addition, the Sky-Watcher Explorer Telescope for beginners is complemented with its wonderful magnifications of up to 260 times, which will make you enjoy contemplating a large number of planetary discs in all its splendor.
This magnificent reflector-type observation instrument is in the range of instruments for beginners, but it does not cease to surprise, since its mirrors give us 30% more light than in a 114 mm telescope, thus achieving greater depth. in the sky that will even allow us to admire fuzzy objects.
It comes with 2 eyepieces (10 mm eyepieces and 25 mm), a 2x Barlow lens, plus an EQ2 equatorial mount. It also has a solid aluminum Tripod that includes an interesting and very useful compartment. Want to know more and read user reviews? Just follow the link below.
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Types of astronomical telescopes
As you know, there are several types of telescopes depending on their design.
No one type of telescope is better than another in itself, each type of telescope has a different design and characteristics that make them better or worse for different situations. It is not the same as choosing a telescope for beginners, a telescope for children, or a professional telescope.
If you are not sure which is the best telescope for you, take a look at this section and discover its differences.
Refractor telescope
It is the classic long and narrow tube, it has a lens in the front (objective) and an eyepiece in the back.
It is more resistant than other telescopes, it does not require adjustments or specific maintenance.
The refractor telescope’s good quality offers sharp images with good contrast, even using high magnification.
The problem is that the lenses are expensive, and the relationship between aperture size and price is the worst of all telescopes.
They offer excellent images of bright and close objects, They are ideal for viewing the Moon and planets, but with smaller apertures, they are usually not good for viewing deep-sky objects.
Reflecting telescope
Instead of lenses, reflecting telescopes use mirrors to capture and transmit light.
They are cheaper than refractors, for the same price you will have a reflector with an aperture much larger than that of a refractor.
The downside is that they need maintenance. Having the tube open is more likely that dust accumulates inside and you will have to clean it. In addition, you will also have to collimate the mirrors periodically (adjust them).
Dobson telescope
The Dobson telescope is a type of reflector that does not use an equatorial mount. It is very popular with beginners because it is a cheap telescope, easy to use, and has good portability.
They usually have large apertures for a very cheap price, which makes it a good way to see stars, galaxies, and nebulae.
Catadioptric telescope
The catadioptric telescopes use mirrors and lenses to capture and transmit light and are a fusion between reflectors and refractors.
They are very compact and light, thanks to their optical design they also have large focal lengths.
Retro-reflectors are very versatile and can be used for different purposes, both to see planets and the deep sky.
The relationship between aperture size and price is in the middle between refractors and reflectors.
What to look for before buying an astronomical telescope?
Several aspects are key and that will determine the quality of the images that you will obtain with your telescope and the comfort that you will have when using it. These are the 4 most important aspects.
1. Openness, the key factor
The aperture, the diameter size of the objective, is the most important aspect of a telescope. It determines two fundamental factors: the brightness and the sharpness of the images.
The bigger the opening, the better.
For example, when looking at the Moon, the larger the aperture, the sharper the images will be and the better you will be able to distinguish smaller craters.
2. Augments, use them wisely
With increases, you have to be careful. Here more is not always better. If you use a lot of magnification, more than the telescope supports, the images will be of poor quality and will be out of focus.
To know the maximum magnification that a telescope supports, you just have to multiply the aperture (in millimeters) by 2.
With a 75 mm aperture telescope never use more than 150x, if you do the images will be a horror. With a small telescope, with good optics, you will have good images of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn with 75x.
Don’t go crazy with magnification, as a general rule the image quality will be better at low magnification.
The key is to choose the appropriate magnifications for the type of object you want to observe, in general lines:
- Low magnification for distant and dim objects such as galaxies and nebulae.
- Medium and high magnification for luminous objects, such as the Moon and planets.
The weather conditions will also determine the magnifications you can use.
On very hot days when looking through your telescope, you can have an unstable and distorted image, as if you were looking underwater. This sensation becomes more noticeable with more magnification.
Changes in the temperature of the atmosphere will make observation conditions better or worse.
How to calculate increases?
Each telescope has a focal length. It is the distance that the light travels from when it enters the objective until it reaches the eyepiece.
It is usually engraved on the telescope tube. The distances vary in each telescope, the most common are between 500 mm and 1,500 millimeters.
The eyepieces also have a focal length: of 8mm, 15mm, 25mm, etc.
To calculate the magnification, you just have to divide the focal length of the telescope by the focal length of the eyepiece you are using.
For example, with a 1,000mm telescope and using a 25mm eyepiece, you will have 40x. When changing the eyepiece, the increases will be different.
With a Barlow lens you can multiply by 2, by 3… the magnification you get with each eyepiece.
3. The mount, the basis of observation
No matter how good the telescope is, without a solid and stable mount, the images will not be good. With a good mount, you will not have vibrations in the images even using high magnification.
A quality mount will allow you to easily aim and track with smooth movements.
There are two types of mounts: Altazimuth and Equatorial.
Altazimuth mount
It is easier to use for beginners as its movement is more intuitive. It moves on two axes (up-down and right-left).
They are lighter than equatorial mounts and much easier to mount.
Some include slow motion so that tracking of objects is more precise, it is a very useful extra when using a lot of magnification.
Equatorial mount
More experienced hobbyists prefer equatorial mounts because tracking is only done on one axis.
The drawback is that before you have to put the mount in the station and align it with the North Star, it is not a very easy task for beginners.
GoTo
It is an automated system that makes the telescope point automatically. They can be fitted to equatorial mounts and altazimuth mounts.
The downside is their price. They are quite expensive systems.
4. The eyepiece: how you see the image
There are many varieties of eyepieces for astronomical telescopes, each one has different characteristics that will influence the quality of the image. Do not rule out using filters for telescopes, they are not expensive and they are very useful.
The most important aspects to look for when choosing an eyepiece:
- The focal length, as you saw earlier, will determine the magnification you will have with your telescope.
- The more elements the optical design of the eyepiece has, the better the image will be. It will have a wider field of view and fewer chromatic aberrations …
- The most common OD is 1.25” (31.8mm), and 24mm are out of phase.
- Eye relief is the distance at which you have to place the eye from the eyepiece. The bigger it is, the better, the more comfortable it will be to look through it (especially if you wear glasses).
If you are going to use the telescope with your family or friends, you can use an astronomical laser pointer. It will be very useful to point to the sky so that everyone easily knows where you want them to look.
Each type of telescope offers us different features and they are better for seeing some objects in the sky or others, What do you prefer? A refracting, reflector, or a retro-reflective telescope? Respond in the comments.
That’s all for now, friends.