Best Budget Telescopes: The Top 5

Exploring the night sky doesn’t have to be expensive. Whether you’re a budding astronomer or an experienced stargazer, finding a high-quality, affordable telescope can enhance your celestial adventures. A simple telescope gets the light from light years away directly into your eyes, which is a satisfying feeling. It can be a launching pad for getting into astrophotography. In this article, we review five of the best budget telescopes available today. Each offers a unique blend of performance, ease of use, and value, making them perfect choices for anyone looking to delve into astronomy without breaking the bank. Let’s dive into our top picks and discover what makes each of these telescopes a standout option for budget-conscious stargazers.

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Skywatcher 130P EQ Telescope:

When it comes to quality among equatorial telescopes, the sky watcher 130p equatorial telescope comes out at the top, while also being one of the best budget telescopes.

Key Features

1. 130mm Aperture: The 130mm aperture excels at light gathering, offering bright and detailed views of the Moon, planets, and distant galaxies.

2. Equatorial Mount: The EQ2 mount ensures smooth tracking of celestial objects, ideal for long-exposure astrophotography and precise manual adjustments.

3. Wide Focal Length: With a 900mm focal length, this telescope balances wide-field views and high magnification, perfect for both planetary and deep-sky observations.

4. Quality Optics: Featuring a parabolic primary mirror and Super eyepieces (25mm and 10mm), it delivers sharp, clear images at 36x and 90x magnification.

5. Sturdy Construction: The solid tube and stable mount ensure durability and consistent performance over time.

6. Affordability: The Sky-Watcher 130EQ offers excellent value with advanced features typically found in pricier models.

What Makes it Stand Out

Ease of Use: Straightforward assembly and user-friendly design make it accessible. The equatorial mount, while initially challenging, offers precise control once mastered.

Versatility: Suitable for observing a wide range of celestial objects, from planets to deep-sky phenomena.

Community and Support: Sky Watcher’s robust user community provides ample resources and support for setup, troubleshooting, and optimal use.

Orion Skyline 6″ Dobsonian Reflector

Dobsonians have remained as the budget-friendly options for getting high power and light gathering. Being one of the best Dobsonians, this telescope has been placed in the list of the best budget telescopes. The Orion Skyline 6-inch Dobsonian telescope is a popular choice among amateur astronomers for its combination of affordability, ease of use, and powerful observing capabilities. This telescope is particularly well-suited for beginners and intermediate users who want to explore the night sky without the complexities and higher costs associated with more advanced telescopes. Here are some key features and benefits of the Orion Skyline 6-inch Dobsonian:

Key Features

Optics

• Aperture: The telescope features a 6-inch (150mm) aperture, which is large enough to gather a significant amount of light, allowing users to see a variety of celestial objects in impressive detail. This aperture size strikes a balance between portability and performance.
• Focal Length and Ratio: With a focal length of 1200mm and a focal ratio of f/8, the Orion Skyline 6-inch Dobsonian provides clear and sharp images, making it ideal for viewing planets, the moon, star clusters, and some brighter deep-sky objects like nebulae and galaxies.

Mount

• Dobsonian Mount: The telescope is mounted on a Dobsonian base, which is known for its simplicity and stability. The altazimuth mount allows for smooth, intuitive movements in both altitude (up and down) and azimuth (left and right). This design makes it easy to track objects as they move across the sky.
• Ease of Use: The simplicity of the Dobsonian mount makes setup quick and straightforward, which is a significant advantage for beginners. There are no complex alignment procedures, and the sturdy base provides stable support for the optical tube.

Construction

• Build Quality: Orion is known for its high-quality construction, and the Skyline 6-inch Dobsonian is no exception. The optical tube is made of durable materials, and the mount is solid and well-built, ensuring long-term reliability.
• Portability: Despite its sturdy construction, the telescope is relatively lightweight and portable. It can be easily transported to different observing locations, whether it’s your backyard or a dark-sky site away from city lights.

Observing Capabilities

• Planetary Viewing: The 6-inch aperture allows for detailed views of planets like Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars. Users can observe cloud bands on Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, and surface features on Mars during favorable viewing conditions.
• Lunar Observing: The moon’s craters, mountains, and valleys can be seen in stunning detail, making lunar observation a rewarding experience.
• Deep-Sky Objects: While primarily designed for planetary and lunar viewing, the telescope can also reveal some of the brighter deep-sky objects. Users can see star clusters like the Pleiades, the Orion Nebula, and the Andromeda Galaxy, though details in fainter objects may be limited.

Celestron NexStar 5SE Telescope

Combining advanced features with user-friendly design, this telescope is perfect for both beginners and more experienced astronomers. Thus we’ll be discussing some key features of this contender in the list of the best budget telescopes.

Key Features:

5-inch Aperture: The NexStar 5SE boasts a 5-inch (127mm) aperture, allowing for excellent light-gathering power. This translates to clear and bright views of planets, star clusters, and deep-sky objects like nebulae and galaxies.

Fully Computerised Mount: One of the standout features of the 5SE is its fully computerised altazimuth mount. With the push of a button, you can automatically locate and track over 40,000 celestial objects using the NexStar+ hand controller. This feature is incredibly helpful for beginners who might find manual tracking challenging.

Compact and Portable Design: Despite its advanced capabilities, the NexStar 5SE is compact and portable. The telescope can be easily disassembled and transported, making it ideal for stargazing on the go.

SkyAlign Technology: Celestron’s innovative SkyAlign technology simplifies the setup process. By aligning the telescope with any three bright objects in the sky, even those new to astronomy can quickly get started with their observations.

High-Quality Optics: The 5SE features high-quality Schmidt-Cassegrain optics, providing sharp, clear images. This optical design combines a long focal length in a compact tube, delivering both high magnification and wide-field views.

Accessories: The NexStar 5SE comes with a 25mm eyepiece, providing 50x magnification, and a sturdy steel tripod for stability. Additionally, the telescope is compatible with a wide range of accessories, enhancing its versatility.

StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ

Among the more modern budget telescopes is the StarSense Telescope by Celestron, what is special at is its capability to guide you to the position of the deep sky objects you want to view. Unlike other GOTO telescopes, this one is more affordable and easily portable.

Key Features

1. 102mm Aperture: The StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ features a 102mm (4-inch) aperture, providing ample light-gathering ability to deliver clear and bright views of celestial objects. This makes it ideal for observing the Moon, planets, star clusters, and some brighter deep-sky objects.

2. StarSense Technology: One of the standout features of this telescope is its integration with Celestron’s StarSense technology. This innovative system uses your smartphone to analyse the night sky and help you locate celestial objects in real time. By simply placing your phone in the StarSense dock and using the StarSense Explorer app, you can easily navigate the sky and find objects to observe.

3. Altazimuth Mount: The DX 102AZ comes with a user-friendly altazimuth mount, which allows for smooth and intuitive movement both horizontally and vertically. This simplicity is great for beginners, ensuring a hassle-free stargazing experience.

4. Focal Length and Optics: With a 660 mm focal length, the DX 102AZ provides a balanced field of view and magnification. The high-quality optics, including fully-coated glass lenses, ensure sharp and clear images.

5. Portable and Lightweight: The telescope’s design emphasises portability, with a lightweight build that makes it easy to transport and set up. This is perfect for taking the telescope to different observing locations.

6. Accessories: The DX 102AZ includes a 25mm and 10mm eyepiece, offering different magnifications right out of the box. Additionally, the red dot finderscope aids in initial object location before using the StarSense app.

What Makes it Stand Out

Affordability and Value: The DX 102AZ offers advanced features like StarSense technology at a competitive price. This integration of smartphone technology with traditional telescope design provides tremendous value, making it one of the best budget telescopes available.

Ease of Use: The StarSense app transforms your smartphone into a personal planetarium, guiding you to celestial objects with ease. This is particularly beneficial for beginners who may find it challenging to locate objects in the night sky manually.

Innovative Technology: The StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ leverages modern technology to enhance the stargazing experience. This blend of traditional telescope functionality with smartphone-based guidance sets it apart from other budget options.

Orion SpaceProbe 130ST Equatorial Reflector Telescope

Key Features

1. 130mm Aperture: The SpaceProbe 130ST comes with a 130mm (5.1-inch) aperture, providing substantial light-gathering power. This allows for detailed and bright views of a wide range of celestial objects, from the Moon and planets to distant star clusters and nebulae.

2. Short Tube Design: The “ST” in 130ST stands for “Short Tube,” which refers to the telescope’s compact optical tube. This design makes it more portable and easier to manage compared to longer-tube telescopes, while still delivering impressive optical performance.

3. Equatorial Mount: Equipped with an EQ-2 equatorial mount, the SpaceProbe 130ST allows for precise tracking of celestial objects. Once aligned with the North Star, the mount’s slow-motion controls enable smooth tracking of objects as they move across the sky. This feature is particularly useful for longer observation sessions and astrophotography.

4. Focal Length and Optics: The telescope has a 650mm focal length, providing a good balance between magnification and field of view. The parabolic primary mirror reduces spherical aberration, ensuring sharp and clear images.

5. Sturdy Construction: Despite its affordability, the SpaceProbe 130ST will last a long time. The robust construction ensures stability during observations, and the adjustable aluminium tripod adds to its durability.

6. Accessories: Included with the telescope are two 1.25″ Sirius Plossl eyepieces (25mm and 10mm), providing magnifications of 26x and 65x respectively. Additionally, it comes with an EZ Finder II reflex sight, an adjustable tripod, and an accessory tray for convenient storage.