Plate IThe short version
Four things worth knowing.
Plate IIBinoculars first
Start with binoculars.
The best first instrument for most people. They show hundreds more stars, the Moon’s craters and Jupiter’s moons, go anywhere, and stay useful after you buy a telescope.
First scope
Celestron SkyMaster 15x70
Big astronomy binoculars. Best on a tripod; the Pleiades and Andromeda look wonderful.
- DesignBinoculars
- Aperture70 mm · 2.8 in
- Magnification15×
- Field of view4.4°
- MountHandheld or tripod
- Good forMoon, Galaxies & nebulae
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First scope
Celestron UpClose G2 10x50
The cheapest real upgrade over your eyes: hundreds more stars, the Moon's craters, Jupiter's moons.
- DesignBinoculars
- Aperture50 mm · 2 in
- Magnification10×
- Field of view6.5°
- MountHandheld or tripod
- Good forMoon, Galaxies & nebulae
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Plate IIIMoon & planets
Craters, rings and cloud belts.
Planets are bright and small, so these trade wide views for focal length and sharpness. Saturn’s rings and Jupiter’s belts show in all of them.
First scope
Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ
A first telescope that's easy to aim: light, quick to set up, and sharp on the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn.
- DesignReflector
- Aperture114 mm · 4.5 in
- Focal length1000 mm · f/8.8
- MountManual, push to aim
- Good forMoon, Planets
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First scope
Celestron AstroMaster 102AZ
A no-fuss refractor: no mirrors to align, and it doubles as a daytime spotting scope.
- DesignRefractor
- Aperture102 mm · 4 in
- Focal length660 mm · f/6.5
- MountManual, push to aim
- Good forMoon, Planets
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First scope
Celestron Astro Fi 102
Works with ALLISON*Coming in an update. Built-in Wi-Fi.
Small, built-in Wi-Fi GoTo, phone-controlled from the start. A gentle way into GoTo.
- DesignMaksutov-Cassegrain
- Aperture102 mm · 4 in
- Focal length1325 mm · f/13.0
- MountGoTo, motorised
- Good forMoon, Planets
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Step up
Sky-Watcher Virtuoso GTi 150P
Works with ALLISON*Coming in an update. Connects through Sky-Watcher’s SynScan Pro app.
A collapsible tabletop scope with Wi-Fi GoTo: it finds objects for you and follows them across the sky.
- DesignReflector
- Aperture150 mm · 5.9 in
- Focal length750 mm · f/5.0
- MountGoTo, motorised
- Good forMoon, Planets, Galaxies & nebulae
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Step up
Sky-Watcher Skymax 127 AZ-GTi
Works with ALLISON*Coming in an update. Connects through Sky-Watcher’s SynScan Pro app.
A compact planet scope on a Wi-Fi GoTo mount. Long focal length for crisp, high-power views of Jupiter and Saturn.
- DesignMaksutov-Cassegrain
- Aperture127 mm · 5 in
- Focal length1500 mm · f/11.8
- MountGoTo, motorised
- Good forMoon, Planets
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Step up
Celestron NexStar 5SE
Works with ALLISON*Coming in an update. Needs Celestron’s SkyPortal Wi-Fi module.
The famous orange tube in a portable size, with GoTo. Celestron's SkyPortal Wi-Fi module adds phone control.
- DesignSchmidt-Cassegrain
- Aperture125 mm · 4.9 in
- Focal length1250 mm · f/10.0
- MountGoTo, motorised
- Good forPlanets, Moon
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Serious
Celestron NexStar 8SE
Works with ALLISON*Coming in an update. Needs Celestron’s SkyPortal Wi-Fi module.
Eight inches with GoTo in a package one person can carry. Superb on planets; the SkyPortal Wi-Fi module adds phone control.
- DesignSchmidt-Cassegrain
- Aperture203 mm · 8 in
- Focal length2032 mm · f/10.0
- MountGoTo, motorised
- Good forPlanets, Galaxies & nebulae
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Plate IVGalaxies & nebulae
Faint, far and worth the drive.
Faint things need aperture and a wide field. Take these somewhere dark.
First scope
Sky-Watcher Heritage 130P
A tabletop Dobsonian with a wide view. Grab-and-go for star clusters and the brighter galaxies.
- DesignReflector
- Aperture130 mm · 5.1 in
- Focal length650 mm · f/5.0
- MountManual, push to aim
- Good forMoon, Galaxies & nebulae
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Step up
Apertura AD8 Dobsonian
Eight inches of mirror for the money: the classic recommendation for seeing galaxies and nebulae properly.
- DesignReflector
- Aperture203 mm · 8 in
- Focal length1200 mm · f/5.9
- MountManual, push to aim
- Good forGalaxies & nebulae, Planets
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Step up
Celestron NexStar 130SLT
Works with ALLISON*Coming in an update. Needs Celestron’s SkyPortal Wi-Fi module.
GoTo with a wider field, good for clusters and nebulae. Celestron's SkyPortal Wi-Fi module adds phone control.
- DesignReflector
- Aperture130 mm · 5.1 in
- Focal length650 mm · f/5.0
- MountGoTo, motorised
- Good forGalaxies & nebulae, Moon
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Serious
Apertura AD10 Dobsonian
Ten inches pulls in faint galaxies and resolves globular clusters into stars. Heavy, but worth it at a dark site.
- DesignReflector
- Aperture254 mm · 10 in
- Focal length1250 mm · f/4.9
- MountManual, push to aim
- Good forGalaxies & nebulae, Planets
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Plate VSmart telescopes
Photos without the learning curve.
No eyepiece. They find targets on their own and stack exposures into a picture on your phone, even under city skies.
Step up
ZWO Seestar S50
A smart telescope that photographs nebulae and galaxies onto your phone in minutes, even from a city.
- DesignSmart telescope
- Aperture50 mm · 2 in
- Focal length250 mm · f/5.0
- MountAutomatic
- Good forAstrophotos, Galaxies & nebulae
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Step up
DwarfLab Dwarf 3
A pocket-sized smart telescope for wide nebula and Milky Way images, and daytime wildlife too.
- DesignSmart telescope
- Aperture35 mm · 1.4 in
- Focal length150 mm · f/4.3
- MountAutomatic
- Good forAstrophotos
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Serious
Unistellar eQuinox 2
A larger smart telescope that brightens faint galaxies live on screen, built for light-polluted skies.
- DesignSmart telescope
- Aperture114 mm · 4.5 in
- Focal length450 mm · f/3.9
- MountAutomatic
- Good forAstrophotos, Galaxies & nebulae
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Plate VINotes
Before you buy.
- * Works with ALLISON: telescope control arrives in an upcoming ALLISON update. It is not in the App Store version yet. Sky-Watcher Wi-Fi mounts will connect through Sky-Watcher’s SynScan Pro app; Celestron NexStar mounts other than the Astro Fi (which has Wi-Fi built in) need Celestron’s SkyPortal Wi-Fi module.
- The buttons open each shop’s search for that model, so you see its current price and stock there. We don’t list prices because they change too often to keep honest.
- ALLISON may earn a commission when you buy through these links. It never changes which telescopes we recommend.
- Whatever you buy, ALLISON draws field-of-view circles for your telescope, binoculars or camera, so you can see what will fit in the eyepiece before you go out.
AugmentedLiveLens forIdentifyingStars,Orbits &Nebulae
Know where to point it.
