Andrew Bowden Hub

Best 5 Affordable Telescopes For Budding Astronomy Beginners….

Are you interested in buying a telescope but have no idea where to start? If your first telescope is too large and unwieldy or requires a lot of tinkering, you’ll be put off, you’ll find it difficult to transport and your scope maybe consigned to the garden shed or garage, never to be used again.

But how can you know where to start? Good advice is to join your local astronomy society, attend a star party or find your nearest astronomy kit stockist. Speak to people who know best, and you may even get the chance to try before you buy.

Have a look at our pick of some of the best telescopes suitable for astronomy beginners. For more detailed help you can also read our guides to choosing your first telescope and how to spend your first night with a telescope

Top 5 first time buyers telescope guide

Sky-Watcher StarQuest 130P Newtonian reflector

The Sky-Watcher StarQuest 130P Newtonian is short, which makes it a nice, easy scope for beginners to handle. Plus, it weighs just 8kg and is easy to assemble. This means it’s a great choice for newcomers but also, for more experienced astronomers, it’s not as likely to get left in storage and remain unused.

The 130P Newtonian may not be an imaging telescope, but we did manage to attach a smartphone adaptor to the 25mm eyepiece and were able to use our iPhone to capture an image of the Moon.

The StarQuest 130P is easy to use, and it’s well-made. As a result, it’s great choice for first-time stargazers. At £265.00, an afordable price.

Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 70AZ refractor

At £224.00 the StarSense Explorer phone dock, which incorporates a smartphone holder and a mirror, turns this simple, basic manual telescope into one that can easily locate objects via a touchscreen phone and the StarSense app. This is a sturdy, reliable refractor that’s good value for those beginning their adventure in amateur astronomy,which seems to be a worthwhile buy.

Sky-Watcher Heritage 100P Tabletop Dobsonian

This compact, lightweight scope is easy to store and convenient for bringing out at a moment’s notice once the clouds clear. You could even place it on a sturdy patio table during your observing sessions. Importantly, the scope also gives good views of a range of celestial wonders; particularly the planets. This would be an ideal first telescope for a budding young astronomer and an ideal christmas present at £135.00

Celestron Omni XLT AZ 102 Refractor/basic mount

This scope comes with a finderscope, diagonal, eyepiece and mount that boasts slow-motion controls. Setting it up is relatively quick and easy due to the mount and tripod coming pre-assembled. All you need to do is attach the telescope to the mount, add the diagonal and eyepiece and you’re ready to go. It offers pin-sharp views of stars and galaxies and, weighing just 6.2kg, can be easily moved around your viewing spot or taken on trips to dark-sky sites. A great looking scope for the price of £229.00

Bresser Messier AR-80/640 AZ NANO Telescope

At £169.00 this 3-inch telescope enables observations of a wide range of celestial objects and comes with an altaz mount that’s intuitive to use. The whole package is a doddle to set up. An aluminium dew shield cuts down on unwanted light and keeps dew at bay, while the supplied red dot finder makes locating bright celestial objects easy. Emphasis is on lightweight materials, making it a good ‘grab and go’ instrument to encourage beginners to leave the light pollution behind and head for a dark-sky site.

Credit BBC Sky at night Magazine for the report