Top rated telescopes for beginners

Buying a telescope is an important first step towards a new level of appreciation for the night sky, and the wonders found within it. I was once in this position myself, and I found the number of telescope options overwhelming. From my experience, the best telescope for beginners is one that guides you through the process of learning the night sky in a straightforward and gratifying way, top rated telescopes for beginners.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. When you buy a product through the links on this article, we may earn a commission. Gazing up at the stars can spark a love for astronomy in kids that lasts a lifetime. But the quest begins with a single step — choosing the right telescope. In the world of astronomy, telescopes are the magic portals that unlock the wonders of the universe.

Top rated telescopes for beginners

We know how confusing buying your first telescope can be so in this section you will find a dozen of our most popular choices for beginners. To start with we have focussed mainly on the simplest to use types of mount - Alt AZ or dobsonian. This means the telescope moves up and down and left to right making it intuitive to use, and there is no complicated polar alignment to worry about either. An Equatorial mount is needed for long exposure Deep Sky Photograph but adds some extra complexibility for some beginners. You can still have alot of fun taking shots of the moon or webcam imaging planets with all the Alt-AZ computerised scopes listed here. That said we have included some basic beginner scopes with an EQ mount in this section because they offer good value for money, and the traditional tripod is useful if you don't have a flat surface to use a dobsonian on. When thinking about these scopes you need to consider the following. The advantage of the equatorial mount is that if you align the RA axis with the centre of the earths rotation you can track objects as they move more easily by only having to move one control to do so. The disadvantage is that if you dont align it, you still have to use both controls! The larger the aperture the more you will see, but you have to find your own balance based on your budget, acceptable weight and storage space. A smaller scope that is used often is much better than a large heavy one that gathers dust! Its simple design means most of your budget is spent on the optics, and its easy and intuative to use. The drawback is that you will have to find sky objects yourselves, and when you do find them you will need to constantly nudge your scope to keep them in the field of view. On the positive side you will need to find sky objects yourselves and when you do find them you will need to constantly nudge your scope to keep them in the field of view!!

We were impressed by its performance and image quality. Even if you choose the more expensive achromatic, you'll likely get a stubborn degree of purple fringing around some targets. Delivery working days.

Beginner telescopes are ideal for learning the ropes of exploring the night sky and are designed to be fun and easy to use. So, if you're looking to take your first steps into the wonderful hobby of astronomy, look no further, you've come to the right place to find your first telescope to begin your journey! There's a lot to learn, but OPT will be by your side at every step of the way. Before you jump into the world of astronomy, you'll need to know the basics. Below you will find an informational video on the basic types of telescopes. This short video will help you get a better idea of what type you should select for your first telescope. When starting out in this hobby, it all can be a little daunting and confusing with terms like Alt-Az, EQ, Catadioptric, Focal Length, and much more terminology common in the industry.

Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. Why Trust Us? When folks think of what they love about summer, they tend to focus on what they can do in the sun — picnics , swimming at the beach, lemonade stands. After all that daytime fun, though, there are lots of great things to do on summer nights after the Sun goes down. Warm summer nights are the perfect time to try out a new telescope to see the stars, planets and galactic features of the summer night sky! If you are looking forward to experiencing these skies for yourself, a telescope is a phenomenal gift for a loved one or yourself. In fact, what many astronomers advise is to not start out with a telescope at all, but with a good pair of binoculars.

Top rated telescopes for beginners

This is a guide to help you learn about some of the best telescopes for beginners, all of which are available at highpointscientific. Choosing the perfect telescope is the first step in a hobby that can last a lifetime. The right telescope can unveil the craters of the Moon, the cloud bands of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, and other celestial wonders located far beyond our solar system. However, with so many options available, the process of picking the right scope can be overwhelming, especially for newcomers. Note: This post contains affiliate links. When you buy a product through the links on this page, we may earn a commission. How we made our picks : To make our selections of telescopes available from our affiliate partner at High Point Scientific, we considered user reviews as well as expert opinions from the Astronomy staff, who together have decades of stargazing experience. There are three main types of telescopes: refractor, reflector, and compound catadioptric. Each type has its unique characteristics and advantages, making each suitable for different kinds of astronomical observations.

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Astronomy has given me another level of appreciation for the Universe and our place within it. Pretty cool, right? Functionality Easy to assemble and take down. Although any telescope can give impressively high magnifications using short focal length eyepieces, there is a point when increasing magnification will provide a worse image rather than improve it. Buying a telescope right off the bat is like buying a set of golf clubs before ever playing the game. The MAK80 comes in a gift box with a soft carry case, 8x 21mm finderscope and two eyepieces, 20mm and 10mm, making this a great package for the price. The features we looked at included:. The slight bumps of the eyepiece that came with several people using each telescope keyed us in to which mounts were sturdy and which ones could not handle even the slightest shake without losing the image in its frame. Celestron Inspire AZ Refractor. We selected and evaluated 10 telescopes over the course of five months in , giving each telescope its own test run under a clear city night sky in Portland, Oregon.

Best for beginners 3.

So, which of these telescopes is best for beginners? You can be stargazing in minutes, without the hassles of a more complicated system such as an equatorial mount. Note: This post contains affiliate links. Supplied eyepieces: 10mm, 25mm. Functionality Lacks versatility. It has a sleek, simple design with a single button on the telescope itself and a slotting mechanism with just two screws to hold it on the sturdy tripod, making this telescope one of the simplest we've ever reviewed alongside the Unistellar eVscope 2 we reviewed. Similarly, if you already know what brand of telescope you want to purchase, we've got you covered there too. The telescope is suitable for viewing a wide range of objects and is also light and easy to transport, making for a good 'grab and go' telescope. Real time astronomy. Each type of telescope will excel in certain areas, and not others. We checked that the mount was sturdy enough to support the telescope and had no play in either of the axes. 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. It's all about the joy of exploring the night sky, which, after all, is the single thing that's going to make newcomers fall in love with the hobby. Aperture: 7. Great for experienced, long-time astronomers, this scope is excellent for astrophotography thanks to the Edge HD technology.