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7 Best Telescopes for Amateurs

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Why We Recommend These Products

Out of thousands of reviews for 167 products, over 60 people recommended Telescopes specifically for Amateurs. These 7 are the most highly recommended products we found.

No 1 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 2 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 3 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 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 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 6 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 7 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


Compare Top Telescopes for Amateurs All Amateurs Telescope Products

Tip: for more recommendations, try best Telescopes for "Stars", "Tripod", "Night".


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