Stargazer Telescope for Astronomy Kids Children Adults Beginners - Portable Telescopes, 50mm Aperture, 400mm Astronomical Moon Planets Refractor, Eyepieces, Adjustable Tripod, Storage Bag

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Unistellar eVscope 2A fantastically designed telescope, brilliant for photographers who want to get into astronomy and have the budget or astronomers who want an all-in-one system that’s simple to use and set up. ★★★★½ The app itself has an extension that allows you to direct Space Navigator telescopes or binoculars to particular stars, planets or objects. This will be handy if you already own one, but these aren't particularly high-end products, so they haven't made it into our lists of best telescopes and best binoculars for that reason.

It's best to have at least three good quality eyepieces that deliver low, medium and high magnifications — say around 50x, 100x and 200x. Taking as an example a 100 mm f/10 telescope, those eyepieces would be of 20 mm, 10 mm and 5 mm focal length. Let's assume that these particular eyepieces are of the commonly used Plossl variety. A field of view around one degree across (an area of 0.8 square degrees) is given by the 20 mm eyepiece — ideal for sweeping the deep skies and finding objects. The 10 mm eyepiece will just take in the half-degree diameter moon and have a field covering just one-quarter that of the 20 mm eyepiece. With its high magnification, the 5 mm eyepiece has a field of view covering just one-sixteenth that of the 20 mm eyepiece and can only be used when seeing conditions allow. How we test the best telescopes If portability is your main concern, the Celestron Astro Fi 102 would make a great option. It's also an excellent choice for beginners who are eager to delve into the celestial wonders of the night sky, and it'll serve you well even if you have no prior astronomy experience. The app uses the GPS on your smartphone to display a map of the stars that are above you in real-time, and you can also link the app to your telescope via Bluetooth or WiFi, making it a great companion for serious astronomers. Whilst it doesn't give quite as detailed information on different objects as some other stargazing apps, it offers fantastic high-definition photos of the Moon, nebulas and galaxies that you can zoom in on. If you're looking for an affordable telescope to get started with astronomy, the Inspire 100AZ is a great option. Celestron Omni XLT 102:A great option for intermediate users, it has good quality optics and a sturdy design, although we think the focuser could be better.★★★★

Don’t Overlook the Mount

Refractors work by bending — or refracting — the light they gather to give you a view of your astronomical target. Easy to set up, the refractor is best suited to planetary and lunar viewing, using lenses to collect and focus light to form an image, while an eyepiece magnifies the view. 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. If you decide to go for the expensive option, you will be stunned by the views you will get through these excellent telescopes. Be warned, though, you might find that some apochromatics come without a tripod, something that you'll have to buy separately along with any accessories. A Masaai man watches the stars, while nearby elephants look on. Daniel Chu Owen, Travelling Telescope The focuser is lovely and smooth to operate and the Skymax 150 keeps a good amount of fine focus once it's been found, which is vital for long nights of astrophotography sessions.

To guarantee you're getting honest, up-to-date recommendations on the best telescopes to buy here at Space.com we make sure to put every telescope through a rigorous review to fully test each instrument. Each telescope is reviewed based on numerous aspects, from its construction and design, to how well it functions as an optical instrument and its performance in the field. If ease of use, portability and convenience are high on your requirements, and you like gadgets, then a short focal length refractor of up to 4-inches or catadioptric (Schmidt- or Maksutov-Cassegrain) up to 5-inches on a computerized mount may well fit the bill. Both types of instruments are versatile performers and will show many deep-sky objects and reveal considerable detail on the moon and planets at high magnification. With its mix of a 102mm aperture and f/10 focal ratio, this scope is able to produce excellent views of the planets, from Jupiter's atmospheric bands and moons to Saturn's rings and the craters on the moon, showing great contrast between areas in shadow and those bathed in daylight. There is a small amount of color fringing, but overall, the views you'll get through this telescope are outstanding. For beginners and anyone on a budget, the Celestron Inspire 100AZ is a great choice. It comes with various accessories, and it's sturdily built and equipped with a ton of user-friendly features, making it a breeze to use and good value for money.During our Celestron Advanced VX 8 EdgeHD review, we were pleased to find that the optics in the EdgeHD negate the blurred edges, creating a perfectly flat field right to the edge of the frame for pinpoint sharpness across the whole image. The Celestron Advanced VX 8 EdgeHD's optical performance is impressive, with crisp and clear views with no optical distortion or false color.