The best telescopes reveal the wonders of the solar system and beyond, but the best ones don't come cheap. Before you delve deep into your pockets, you'll want to know what you're spending your money on. And you couldn't have chosen a better time, as with Prime Day just around the corner on July 16/17, some of the models we've listed in this guide could be included in Amazon's Prime Day telescope deals.
Whether you want to see the craters of the lunar surface, spot the rings around Saturn or gaze deep into the Pinwheel galaxy, you'll need to know the strengths and weaknesses of each telescope depending on what you want to look at.
That's why we've covered a range of the very best telescopes to get you up and running with minimal set-up and fuss, from affordable, ready-to-go scopes for beginners to the most sophisticated professional-level scope that should last astronomy veterans for years to come. Our expert reviewers have thoroughly tested and reviewed the telescopes themselves so we can vouch for their quality and build.
But how do you know which telescope is right for you? Which accessories do you really need to achieve the best viewing quality? Whether you need a travel-friendly telescope, want to share a table-top model for use with the kids or fancy investing in one of the best computerized catadioptrics you can buy — we have you covered.
But you can also observe your favorite stars and galaxies with the best binoculars for stargazing and capture stunning cosmological images with one of the best cameras for astrophotography too.
The quick list
Best overall
Known for its legendary optical performance, compact cassegrain design, and attractive orange coloring, the NexStar 8SE is a fantastic telescope — although it's a much higher investment than others in this list.
Best for beginners
This refractor telescope is great for beginner astronomers as it has the widest aperture in the Inspire lineup, providing the brightest views possible. It's also budget-friendly.
Best advanced telescope
Premium price means premium views and this Schmidt-Cassegrain from Celestron provides some of the best around. It's solidly built, but it's bigger and heavier than other models and better suited for advanced astronomers.
Best mid-range telescope
This Newtonian reflector is a brilliant telescope for astronomers who want clear views of the night sky and are familiar with telescopes. It's affordable and produces stunning views, but beginners may struggle with it.
Best budget smart telescope
This is one of the best smart telescopes you can buy, period — it's sleek, lightweight and easy to transport, and it can capture impressively detailed images of nebulas and galaxies even in light-polluted areas. An absolute must-buy for the price.
Best telescopes we recommend in 2024
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Best telescope overall
✅ You want a long-term investment: This is a telescope that will last you for decades.
✅ You want to see planets and deep space: While some telescopes are better for viewing either deep space or planets, this one is great for everything.
❌ You're a beginner: It's probably a little advanced for beginner astronomers at first.
❌ You want something rechargeable: It uses 8 x AA batteries to work which could get expensive — you could always invest in rechargeable batteries though.
🔎 Celestron NexStar 8SE: Legendary astronomy performance in a neat little package, the Celestron NexStar 8SE Computerized Telescope gives ultra-bright, clear views of the universe. ★★★★½
Back in the 1980s Celestron made big waves among astronomers with their orange-tubed Schmidt-Cassegrains and, 40-something years on, this line is still fantastic value and gives superb optical performance.
Superbly sharp and bright thanks to the 8-inch aperture and powerful with a focal length of 2032mm, the NexStar 8SE sits atop a strong, sturdy motorized single fork arm mount which can be controlled via either the hand controller or through a computer by use of its ethernet connection.
This is our favorite of all telescopes due to its compact catadioptric design which combines technology from refractors and reflectors to deliver a powerful view of the cosmos at a fraction of the weight and size, as we mentioned in our Celestron NexStar 8SE review.
It's great for upgrading too, with serious astronomers able to go their whole skywatching lives with just this telescope provided they invest in some tasty accessories. Most will update certain items like image diagonals and seek out different eyepieces so a myriad of objects are easy to view and others will update the tripod, though the one that ships straight out of the box is certainly sturdy enough.
The 8SE requires a little more investment than others on this list though, so beginners may be put off but at this premium price, you get a premium product.
- Read our full Celestron NexStar 8SE review
| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Compact and clutter free. |
| Performance | Stunning clarity thanks to excellent optical characteristics. |
| Functionality | Requires 8 x AA batteries. |
Best for beginners
✅ You want to take photos on your smartphone: The lens cap turns into a smartphone holder so you can take astrophotos.
❌ You're an experienced astronomer: It's aimed more towards beginners, so it likely wouldn't be enough for more experienced users.
❌ You want to view deep-space objects: They lack the wow factor, it's better for lunar and planetary views.
🔎 Celestron Inspire 100AZ: An ideal telescope for budding astronomers — it's easy to set up and take down, and has everything you need to get started. ★★★★
We highly recommend this refractor telescope for astronomers who are just getting started because it has the widest aperture in the Inspire lineup and so will provide the brightest views possible. We were impressed with it when we reviewed the Celestron Inspire 100AZ over on our sister site.
It's bundled with everything astronomers need to get started, including an Alt-az mount, erect image star diagonal, StarPointer pro red dot finderscope and two eyepieces (10mm and 25mm) to view a variety of objects. Also included in the package is a red LED flashlight to aid set up at night and protect night vision.
Cleverly, Celestron has even included an integrated smartphone adapter that users can make with the dust cap so that astronomers can use the Celestron app to help guide them to nearby constellations and deep sky objects if they are not already familiar with the night sky.
While this refractor is a budget-friendly option, it does come with glass that produces slight false color issues, so it may not quite suffice for more advanced users, but it shouldn’t be an issue for beginners.
- Head over to our sister site to read a full Celestron Inspire 100AZ review
| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Lightweight but not particularly compact. |
| Performance | Excels with lunar views, not so much with deep sky objects. |
| Functionality | Easy set-up and take-down. |
Best advanced telescope
✅ You want GoTo technology: This is an outstanding GoTo telescope.
✅ You want an all-rounder: It's excellent for viewing planets, galaxies and nebulas.
❌ You want something lightweight: It's quite heavy and bulky, so not the most portable.
❌ You're a beginner: It's very advanced and likely too expensive for beginners.
🔎 Celestron NexStar Evolution 9.25: More suited to passionate and advanced skywatchers, this impressive GoTo scope can give a comprehensive tour of the universe. ★★★★½
This Schmidt-Cassegrain is an excellent catadioptric telescope for observing the night sky because it provides clear, sharp images with minimal distortions thanks in part to the StarBright XLT optical coatings.
Its 9.25-inch aperture drinks in the dim, distant starlight and combined with its 2350mm focal length will make short work of even the smallest deep sky objects, provided the correct eyepiece is used. It excels at viewing various night sky objects, from planets to deep-sky nebulas and galaxies — it's a fantastic all-rounder. It's also great for long-exposure astrophotography, too.
In the eyepieces (13mm and 40mm), celestial objects stand out with sharp clarity and striking contrast. This telescope is heavy and durable, which means it’ll remain stable even in strong wind on location, but that also makes it slightly more challenging to transport.
A rechargeable lithium-ion (LiFePO4) gives up to 10 hours of continuous observing and is a welcome change to replacing AA batteries that feature in many other motorized telescopes.
- Just starting out with astrophotography? Check out our beginner's guide to astrophotography.
| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Bulkier and heavier than other models. |
| Performance | Crisp, clear views. |
| Functionality | Rechargeable and gives 10 hours of continuous observing. |
Best affordable computerized telescope
✅ You want something lightweight and easily portable: Weighing 16 lbs (7.25 kg), it's easy to transport to dark sky locations.
❌ You're an experienced astronomer: This telescope is more suited to beginners and enthusiasts.
❌ You want excellent optics and build quality: We noted that the optical quality wasn't the best, and the tripod was a little flimsy.
🔎 Celestron Astro Fi 102: A no-frills telescope best suited toward lunar and planetary observing. The motorized mount may take some time for beginners to get set up but it comes in at a reasonable price offering fair views of the night sky. ★★★½
Computerized, motorized telescopes like the Celestron Astro Fi 102 here, make it easy for astronomers to locate and find their night sky objects without having an in-depth knowledge of constellations.
The Astro Fi 102 is controllable via an app on a smart device that can be conveniently strapped to the integrated smartphone holder on the dust cap of the telescope. We found the simple design easy to use during our Celestron Astro Fi 102 review.
Then it's just a case of tapping into the app to decide which celestial object should be viewed and the telescope will automatically slew to the target using an in-built motor in the fork arm mount.
The Astro Fi 102 comes with everything an astronomer needs to get started. A lightweight aluminum tripod comes with the bundle, as does a red dot finderscope, two eyepieces (25mm and 10mm), a star diagonal for easier viewing, and an accessory tray.
The telescope is also compatible with iPad, iPhone and Android devices.
- Read our full Celestron Astro Fi 102 review
| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Lightweight, but build quality isn't great. |
| Performance | Fair views in the center of the image circle. |
| Functionality | Simple controls make it a dream to use. |
Best mid-range telescope
✅ You want to take long exposure images: The motor can track the Earth's movement to take multiple long exposure images to stack.
❌ You're a beginner: Although the price is beginner-friendly, the mount is not.
🔎 Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ: Ideal for intermediate users, the equatorial mount enables you to take multiple long-exposure images for beautiful astrophotographs.
This Newtonian reflector is the right telescope for astronomers who desire clear views of the night sky and have used a few telescopes before.
This reflector ships with a more accurate equatorial mount which utilizes counterweights for steadier and more precise views. Because of this, it's not necessarily suitable for beginners, though those with the tenacity will enjoy it once mastered. Once set up though, the motor is superb for tracking celestial objects as the earth rotates through the night.
With a camera adapter, this makes it easy to take long exposure images of the night sky. By tracking a subject with the earth’s rotation, users can image a subject tens or hundreds of times to attain the dark and light frames required for astrophotographic post-processing.
- Into astrophotography? Read our best cameras for astrophotography guide
| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Sturdy steel tripod with accessory tray. |
| Performance | Motor is superb for tracking celestial objects. |
| Functionality | Wide 130mm aperture. |
Best premium smart telescope
✅ You want simplicity: With a sleek, premium design, easy to use app and just a single button to press on the scope itself, you can't go wrong.
✅ You like tech: Smart telescopes are full of impressive tech to play around with.
❌ You don't have a big budget: It's particularly expensive, even for a smart telescope.
❌ You're more traditional: Purists may miss using an eyepiece, changing mounts or adding a Barlow lens.
🔎 Unistellar eVscope 2: Unistellar has clearly gone over each tiny aspect of the eVscope 2’s design and every inch feels and looks premium. ★★★★½
This beautiful-looking telescope from Unistellar is the second in the eVscope line and comes with a boost in specifications and function. A futuristic telescope for the digital age — this is a smart telescope. Everything on it is automatic, from set-up to imaging and anyone can use it because it requires no prior knowledge of the constellations or any part of the night sky. We were incredibly impressed with it during our Unistellar eVscope 2 review.
Most smart telescopes have a drawback for traditional astronomers who prefer using an eyepiece because they don't have one, instead, the telescope is viewed through a smartphone or tablet via an app. However, this wonderful-looking telescope has a micro OLED digital eyepiece developed by Nikon and it captures 7.7MP stills photos of the cosmos with image-enhanced options available through the smart device app.
The telescope comes with its own tripod and an additional backpack (which we recommend) making it truly simple to carry around on location. Photographers will find this telescope much more familiar than the aged designs of other, more traditional telescopes. It can automatically identify stars and constellations and the app will suggest subjects based on location and time, automatically slewing to them with the press of the screen.
- Read our full Unistellar eVscope 2 review
| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Unique, minimalist design good for all astronomers. |
| Performance | Manual telescope control via the app is speedy. |
| Functionality | Easy to set up and carry. |
Best for intermediates
✅ You want a good all-rounder: It produces good views of the moon, planets and galaxy clusters.
❌ You're a beginner: Beginners may struggle with the mount if they aren't familiar with EQ mounts.
🔎 Orion StarBlast II 4.5 EQ: For generalist observations at an affordable price, this is a good option to go for. It's not perfect, but it produces decent views of the moon, planets and galaxy clusters. ★★★★
The Orion StarBlast II 4.5 is a good quality all-round reflector housed in a compact design for any astronomer who wants to view a bit of everything while keeping costs down. Beginners may find the equatorial mount slightly more difficult to put up than a conventional alt-azimuth mount, but the results are worth it when you persevere.
It comes with two eyepieces (10mm and 25mm) and also, happily, a 2x Barlow lens to increase reach when viewing longer distance night sky objects.
That said, it's worth bearing in mind the highest maximum magnification capabilities of this telescope to avoid being disappointed by poor views.
Inside the box, astronomers will also discover an EZ Finder II reflex sight, a tripod and a MoonMap 260 to aid you through your first observations.
- Looking for something a bit smaller? Check out a pair of the best binoculars for stargazing
| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Tripod is a little flimsy. |
| Performance | Good for generalist observations. |
| Functionality | Beginners may struggle with the EQ mount. |
Best budget smart telescope
✅ You want to travel with it: It's small, lightweight and incredibly easy to put together, making it ideal for traveling to dark sky locations.
✅ You don't have any astronomy experience: Being fully automated, you don't need any prior knowledge of the sky or telescopes, as a smart telescope does the hard work for you.
❌ You want to view planets: We found the focal ratio and image resolution were too small to get any meaningful observations of planets or the moon.
❌ You want to do long sessions: The 4-hour battery life isn't bad, but if you want to stargaze all night long, there are better options.
🔎 Vaonis Vespera II: The best budget smart telescope you can buy right now by a long shot, we think the Vaonis Vespera II outperforms competitors many times its price. However, the app's user interface could use some tweaking. ★★★★★
If a smart telescope sounds like your kind of thing but you don't have a huge budget to play with, the Vaonis Vespera II could be just what you're looking for. We gave it full marks in our Vaonis Vespera II review, and we were thoroughly impressed by its build, image quality and overall ease of use for any and every user.
Like pretty much all smart telescopes, we found it ridiculously easy to set up and use with just the push of a single button. It sports a sleek, minimalist design and is lightweight enough to pack away and take with you to dark-sky locations.
When it comes to performance and image quality, we thought it outperformed many of the more expensive smart telescopes. The images of galaxies and nebulas were stunning — which is even more impressive when you consider that we used it with a streetlight just 100 yards away. That said, we did find it a little disappointing for getting any particularly detailed observations of the moon and planets.
The images are 8.3MP standard, which is the best resolution of any smart telescope as it is, but Vaonis' patented Live Mosaic capture can boost the resolution to a massive 24MP — amazing news for astrophotographers.
The battery life could potentially be an issue if you plan on using the Vespera II for long observation sessions, but we think 4 hours should be plenty for most users — especially beginners. Another thing to note is that the Singularity App controls the whole thing, so you can't browse the internet while you use the telescope. Again, not the biggest dealbreaker, but could get a little annoying.
Overall, we think it's ideal for beginners with a healthy budget and even for experienced telescope users who want a grab-and-go option to eliminate the need to fiddle around with the setup of more traditional scopes. It isn't perfect, but we wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.
- Read our full Vaonis Vespera II review
| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Sleek, minimalist design that is easy to transport. |
| Performance | Incredible views of galaxies and nebulas, even in cities. |
| Functionality | Live Mosaic capture can boost images to 24MP. |
Best telescope for astrophotography
✅ You want to travel with it: It's lightweight and rugged, meaning it won't get damaged easily when you transport it around.
✅ You want to look at a variety of subjects: With the appropriate eyepieces, you can see the moon and planets as well as deep-space objects.
❌ You want to do long-exposure deep-sky photography: For this purpose, you'll want to invest in a sturdier mount.
❌ You have no knowledge of the sky: Setup requires some knowledge of the sky, so beginners may find it somewhat daunting.
🔎 Celestron Advanced VX 8 Edge HD: For serious amateur astronomers, this is an appealing telescope. The mount works well for everything except long-exposure deep-sky photography and there's plenty of room for growth with accessories. If you want to do long-exposure deep-sky photography, you'll need to invest in a sturdier mount. ★★★★★
The Celestron Advanced VX 8 Edge HD is a fantastic telescope for viewing all types of celestial objects, including the moon, planets and deep sky objects like galaxies and nebulas. With Celestron's EdgeHD technology, images are clearer and sharper than many other telescopes in the same class, particularly around the edges of the field of view. We also found no optical distortion or false color, which is a huge advantage when taking images of the night sky.
The 40mm eyepiece supplied with the kit is ideal for observing star clusters, galaxies and nebulas, but if you want to invest in more eyepieces to get the most out of the instrument, we'd recommend a 20mm for general purpose and 10mm for viewing the moon and planets.
When you attach a smartphone, DSLR, mirrorless or astro-camera to the telescope, you can take multiple images of celestial subjects and stack them together in image-editing software to create stunning images of the night sky that you'd never be able to see with the naked eye — it's a great option for photographers with a decent arsenal who want to get started with astro-imaging.
However, one consideration of this telescope would be the mount, particularly if you want to image deep-sky objects with long exposures. This is mentioned in the Celestron Advanced VX 8 Edge HD review over on our sister site, but due to regular corrections to the mount while in use, you'd need a sturdier mount if you want to shoot long exposures. If you want to skip the Advanced VX mount and go straight for something heftier, we'd recommend the Celestron CGX or Losmandy GM8 mount.
- Head over to our sister site to read a full Celestron Advanced VX 8 Edge HD review
| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Lightweight, rugged computerized mount. |
| Performance | Excellent optics, and it finds and tracks objects reliably. |
| Functionality | Impressive views of all types of celestial objects. |
Best telescope for seeing planets
✅ You want exceptional optics: It provides stunning views of the moon and planets that will take your breath away.
✅ You want to do astrophotography: You can capture images of the moon and planets in our solar system, and it's also capable of deep-sky imaging.
❌ You're a beginner: It doesn't ship with a mount or tripod, so it would be best suited for more experienced users.
🔎 Sky-Watcher SkyMax 180 Pro: An outstanding instrument for planetary and lunar viewing that can also turn its hand to deep-sky objects. Aimed at seasoned astronomers, it's a fantastic option to consider as an upgrade from your beginner scope. ★★★★½
For lunar and planetary viewing, you can't go far wrong with the Sky-Watcher Skymax 180 Pro, and it also gives decent views of some of the brighter deep-sky objects, too.
Known as a 'planet-killer', its 180mm aperture is perfect for bright and contrasty views of the planets in our solar system, and the views of the moon, in particular, are exceptional.
It's also a worthy contender when it comes to astrophotography. There's next-to-no chromatic aberration, coma or distortion that'll need to be fixed in editing software, and the images are crisp and sharp throughout the frame. You'll also get pleasing images of some of the brighter deep-sky objects with long-exposure photography, particularly if you take multiple images and stack them together, although planetary and lunar imaging is where it really comes into its own.
One potential issue worth noting is the cool-down time. This can take anywhere between 90 minutes to 3 hours in order to image or observe at an ambient temperature, but this will also depend on whether you store your telescope in a warm or cool environment. If it's stored in a secure outhouse, it'll take less time to cool than if you keep it inside a warm house.
| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Quite large and heavy. |
| Performance | Exceptional views of the solar system. |
| Functionality | Great sized-aperture. |
How we test telescopes
Live Science tests a large range of products, from rowing machines to binoculars for stargazing. To give readers the best buying advice possible, we subject products we review to rigorous tests, which may include in-lab benchmarks and extensive use in our test centers.
We always want to see how products live up to the promises of their manufacturers, and we often call in experts for their opinions. Products are evaluated on factors such as how easy they are to use, their success compared to their competitors, and their value for money.
Live Science is confident that with this combination of research, extensive testing, and expert consultation, readers will be able to make better-informed buying decisions.
Telescope questions answered
What is the best telescope overall?
For our money, we'd recommend the Celestron NexStar 8SE as the best telescope overall due to its excellent optical clarity, powerful focal length, top-class customization and durable build quality.
What is the best telescope for beginners?
We think the Celestron Inspire 100AZ is the best telescope for beginners who are happy to invest in a refractor. Its easy operation is due to its simple, camera lens-like design and Alt-azimuth mount that is fast to get observing with.
What is the best smart telescope?
For those with the budget we'd recommend the Unistellar eVscope 2 because it can be operated by anyone with the compatible smartphone app and it takes amazing astrophotographs right from your phone.
Do I need a computerized telescope?
Technically, no. As long as you are happy to manually slew the telescope to the next night sky object and use your knowledge of the stars to navigate (or use a proprietary stargazing app that comes with the telescope) then a non-computerized telescope is fine. However, computerized telescopes are motorized and can be programmed to find specific celestial objects with a controller or smartphone app which makes it faster and more accurate for beginners.
Which is better for astronomy, telescopes or binoculars?
While there are undoubtedly some powerful and optically proficient binoculars specifically designed for astronomy they are limited in terms of customization and aren't ideal for viewing smaller objects.
Telescopes, therefore, are much more suited to those that have the aforementioned requirements. However, they lack a stereoscopic view.
What type of telescope should I buy?
Refractors are commonly better for entry-level observers because their construction and operation is slightly more similar to how a camera lens works and most new observers are used to taking pictures.
Reflectors offer greater reach in shorter bodies, though they are typically wider in diameter and can take a little longer to set-up (collimate).
Catadioptrics are a hybrid between the two types above which means they are small but have fantastic reach. They tend to cost much more though and may be out of the budgets of many just getting started.
