When we reviewed the Celestron Astro Fi 130 telescope, we were really impressed with it and found it to be an excellent value for money. Even though it doesn't fall into the 'budget' category, it's still considerably more affordable than many other telescopes in this guide, we think it's still a great choice in terms of value for money and would be perfect for enthusiast astronomers. Refractors are particularly good at giving highly magnified and high contrast images and, because of this, are ideal instruments to use when looking at solar system targets such as the moon and the planets. The best refractors usually have an aperture of 2 inches (60mm) or more and will provide you with reasonable views of astronomical objects. A 3 to 4-inch (80 mm - 90 mm) would be best suited if you're looking for a larger aperture. Celestron Advanced VX 8 EdgeHD Intended for serious amateurs, this optically excellent telescope is suitable for all types of visual astronomy with its rugged, lightweight computerized mount. If you know the sky and plan to be doing astronomy for a long time, this is the telescope to get. ★★★★½

GoTo or computerised telescopes are the new generation of stargazing, and if you are into your gadgetry then you will definitely want to get one! The best one we have found is the Orion 27191 Starblast IntelliScope Reflector. Although it uses manual controls rather than computerised spotting, this does not detract from the overall performance. It is compact and light, making it a great choice to take out and about on stargazing trips, or even just a camping stay where you want to get some great shots of the night sky. What I like about it: We assess the ease of setup of both computerized and motorized mounts, as well as their reliability, accuracy, and noise level. Additionally, we decipher whether a telescope comes with appropriate eyepieces and tripods. We also make suggestions for any additional kits that may be beneficial for the best experience possible. The PhotoPills app is perfect for serious astrophotographers who want to plan their shots carefully in advance and can take full advantage of its wealth of specialist features. Beginners or more casual users might find it a bit complex and expensive. Astrophotography combines looking at beautiful imagery millions of miles away, with creating lasting records of those striking images. If you are looking into astrophotography, you will be looking into the best piece of kit that you can possibly find – and you have found it! T

The Ideal Telescope for Beginners and Children

Once you've set up and aligned the telescope, you can use the handheld controller to aim it at various celestial objects in the extensive database, such as planets, galaxies, double stars, star clusters and nebulas. For beginners (or those who can't decide what to observe first!), there's a 'sky tour' option that automatically guides the telescope to a range of different fascinating cosmic objects. 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. You'll get a good selection of accessories alongside the telescope itself, including a red dot finderscope, star diagonal, accessory tray, international AC adapter, hand control and two eyepieces (13mm and 40mm). It's designed to be portable and lightweight, allowing for stress-free transportation and setup. It also comes equipped with the SkyPortal app, which seamlessly locates and identifies over a whopping 100,000 celestial objects for you to explore.

Stargazing is something that a lot of people enjoy. For you to become a great stargazer and astronomer, you need great astronomical gear alongside skills and knowledge. Telescopes are pretty important when it comes to this. Planning your stargazing adventures is easy with the Star Walk 2 app. It has a 'Visible Tonight' tab where you can see which popular planets and constellations are due to make an appearance in your location. You can also fast forward in time to see how constellations or planets will progress across the night sky, which is handy for setting up your telescope in advance. Celestron's range of NexStar telescopes is renowned for excellent optics, user-friendly assembly and a plethora of features. The telescope exemplifies all of these which we outlined in our Celestron NexStar 6SE review, and we think it's a fantastic choice for all skill levels. Telescopes create a circular image of the night sky. We measure the size of the objects that appear in that image – for example, the moon – in degrees. As a point of reference, the moon takes up around 1/2° in the night sky. This is important to remember, as you’ll often see references to degrees when shopping around for telescopes. Magnification 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.

Things to consider before buying a telescope

On the morning of December 13, 1962, a Navy astronomer and an Air Force captain stepped out of the New Mexico Sun and into a small steel capsule attached to a nearly 300-foot-tall mylar balloon. Inside was a small research telescope and a suite of custom instruments designed to study the cosmos. Their trip was the culmination of a years-long project, first started in 1957, that aimed to show that high-altitude balloons could be used to observe the cosmos, far from most of the interference of Earth’s twinkle-inducing atmosphere. Tapping on the 'i' icon next to any object of interest will bring up a lengthy description of what you're seeing. The app works in portrait or landscape mode, but takes this even further by offering a 360-degree function. This means that pointing your phone at the ground will show constellations that would be visible on the other side of the world, allowing you to see what has just dipped below the horizon.

In our Unistellar eQuinox 2 review we tested its ease of use, durability and compatibility with smart devices, and found the smart telescope to be highly usable. A standout feature is its Smart Light Pollution Reduction, which makes it suitable for use in urban environments — something that many other telescopes can't cope with. Whether you're keen on stargazing and astrophotography using your smartphone or camera, planning to explore dark sky areas with a compact and portable telescope or wanting to dive deep into astronomy with a large Dobsonian model, we've got you covered no matter what. Our expert staff and knowledgeable freelance contributors thoroughly test each telescope. This ensures honest reviewing based on the telescope's price, category, and intended use. For example, a 10-inch Dobsonian should not be compared to a 2.76-inch refractor, even though they may be the best in their own class.If you're wanting to plan your next adventure, the telescope icon brings up a list of what will be visible in your location on any particular night. We also loved the app's 'stargazing index', which pulls together sunset time, moon phase and likely cloud cover into a percentage score of how likely you are to see anything on a given night — a very useful feature! Stellarium originated as an open-source planetarium desktop program and the Stellarium Mobile Plus app was developed by the same creators. It contains an extremely comprehensive map based on the Gaia DR2 database, which includes over 1.69 billion stars and all known planets and comets from a catalog of over 2 million nebulas and galaxies. Few apps can come close to matching those numbers.

Celestron NexStar 6SEWit the Celestron NexStar 6SE's flawless optical coating, its ease of use and high-quality build, you have an instrument that is built to provide stunning views of the night sky for many years to come.★★★★½ But despite their best efforts, Project Stargazer lost funding, leading to the cancellation of all but one of the mission’s four planned crewed flights. And ultimately, that single flight marked the end of a brief era of high-altitude, crewed balloon flights. White’s role on the project was to help develop scientific instruments that could be attached to the outside of the balloon gondola to measure radiation exposure — and the larger team’s efforts were successful. The data they gathered showed that astronauts would be subjected to high-energy particles from solar flares, which could harm their bodies. In fact, a version of the suits worn by the Strato-Lab pilots would ultimately be chosen for NASA’s Mercury astronauts.A surprising amount of air disturbance comes from close to the ground, including your telescope itself. The first thing you can do is leave your telescope to cool down to your surroundings’ ambient temperature. Warmer air will rise up in front of your lens until your telescope cools down, so set it up and leave it for a few minutes. Celestron Inspire 100azAimed at beginners and those looking to upgrade, this 4-inch refractor is at its best with the moon and planets and comes with a lens cap that converts to a clever smartphone holder for easy astrophotography.★★★★ 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.