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10 Best Telescopes for Amateur

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Why We Recommend These Products

Out of thousands of reviews for 42 products, over 60 people recommended Telescopes specifically for Amateur. These 10 are the most highly recommended products we found.

No 1 Celestron NexStar 130SLT 31145 306 x 130mm
Celestron NexStar 130SLT (31145) (306 x 130mm) Telescope $370 - $440 Compare Prices
  • Comfortable Eyepiece
  • Optical Design: Newtonians
  • Finderscope: Optical
  • Mount Type: Altazimuth
  • Released over 2 years ago
7 People Recommend
"i'm a newbie astronomy buff, and this is my first "real" telescope.…"

- Telescopes.com User

"the scope does have a 2" eyepiece adapter, which is unusual and a really nice feature on a starter scope such as this.…"

- Amazon.com User

"as a novice, i'm really happy with my new nexstar 130 slt.…"

- Telescopes.com User


No 2 Orion StarBlast Astro 9814 267 x 114mm
Orion StarBlast Astro 9814 (267 x 114mm) Telescope $180 Compare Prices
  • Optical Design: Newtonians
  • Mount Type: Altazimuth
  • Released over 3 years ago
3 People Recommend
"naievely thought i'd be able to see at least a smaller image of those beautiful hubble-style nebula shots, but later learned that almost no amateur scope can deliver that kind of viewing.…"

- Amazon.com User

"in sum, an excellent option for amateur use.…"

- Amazon.com User

"first, let me share my credentials: i'm an advanced amateur astronomer, having been in the hobby for over 15 years.…"

- Amazon.com User


No 3 Meade RB-60
Meade RB-60 Telescope $169 Compare Prices
  • Optical Design: Refractor
  • Mount Type: Altazimuth
  • Released 12 months ago
3 People Recommend
"we bought this for our granddaughter, she will have alot of fun with it in the future, good starter telescope.…"

- Amazon.com User

"the features on it are limited, but that's perfect for an amateur astronomer.…"

- Amazon.com User

"that being said 60mm is the lowest readily available starter scope.…"

- Walmart.com User


No 4 Meade NG-70 140 x 70mm
Meade NG-70 (140 x 70mm) Telescope $99 - $199 Compare Prices
  • Optical Design: Refractor
  • Finderscope: Optical
  • Mount Type: Altazimuth
  • Released over 3 years ago
2 People Recommend
"excellent for beginners and amateurs.best buy if you are planning to become a future astrnomer.…"

- Telescopes.com User

"we purchased this telescope as a starter for our 10 year old son.…"

- Amazon.com User


No 5 Meade LightBridge 12 in. Deluxe 600 x 304.8mm
Meade LightBridge 12 in. Deluxe (600 x 304.8mm) Telescope $899 - $900 Compare Prices
  • Optical Design: Newtonians
  • Finderscope: Red-Dot
  • Mount Type: Altazimuth
  • Released over 2 years ago
2 People Recommend
"john dobson's simple and portable but powerful scopes opened up the world of deep-sky observing to the average amateur astronomer.…"

- Amazon.com User

"john dobson's simple and portable design made large telescopes available to the average amateur astronomer.…"

- Amazon.com User


No 6 Celestron PowerSeeker 127 EQ 21049 750 x 127mm
Celestron PowerSeeker 127 EQ 21049 (750 x 127mm) Telescope $130 - $285 Compare Prices
  • Comfortable Eyepiece
  • Optical Design: Newtonians
  • Finderscope: Optical
  • Mount Type: Equatorial
  • Released over 3 years ago
2 People Recommend
"i think this is a good starter scope...…"

- Ritzcamera.com User

"picked this one up late december for a starter scope.…"

- Telescopes.com User


No 7 Orion SkyQuest XT10 IntelliScope
Orion SkyQuest XT10 IntelliScope Telescope $550 - $700 Compare Prices
  • Optical Design: Newtonians
  • Finderscope: Optical
  • Mount Type: Altazimuth
  • Released over 3 years ago
2 People Recommend
"i am a novice astronomer, but have been recently invigorated and inspired by a trip to nasa space center houston.…"

- Amazon.com User

"this is the kind of scope that experienced observers have been trying to steer novices towards for decades.…"

- Amazon.com User


No 8 Celestron NexStar 8 SE 8" 203mm
Celestron Celestron NexStar 8 SE 8" (203mm) Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope Kit $1,399 - $1,600 Compare Prices
  • Optical Design: Catadioptrics
  • Finderscope: Red-Dot
  • Mount Type: Altazimuth
  • Released 1 year ago
2 People Recommend
"i'm a novice at astronomy, so i can't really make any comparisons.…"

- Amazon.com User

"novice would be the best way to describe my viewing experience.…"

- Amazon.com User


No 9 Orion SkyQuest XT4.5 Dobsonian 269 x 114mm
Orion SkyQuest XT4.5 Dobsonian (269 x 114mm) Telescope $200 Compare Prices
  • Optical Design: Newtonians
  • Finderscope: Optical
  • Mount Type: Altazimuth
  • Released over 3 years ago
2 People Recommend
"it is ultra-portable, gives great views, and took a rank amateur (me) less than an hour to assemble and align the optics, thanks to a very good instruction manual.…"

- Amazon.com User

"this is the kind of scope that experienced observers have been trying to steer novices towards for decades.…"

- Amazon.com User


No 10 Barska Optics AE10756 70076
Barska Optics Barska AE10756  70076, 525 Power Reflector Telescope with Tripod  StarWatch Astronom $145 Compare Prices
  • Finderscope: Red-Dot
  • Mount Type: Altazimuth
  • Released 1 year ago
2 People Recommend
"this is a great inexpensive telescope that would be suitable as a starter or 1st telescope, worked well for the purpose i got it for.…"

- Amazon.com User

"i purchased this scope based on positive reviews on a couple of web sites that cater to amateur astronomers.…"

- Amazon.com User


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