Getting started
Almost every disappointing first telescope fails for one of three reasons: it does not collect enough light, it will not hold still, or nothing else fits it. Magnification is not on that list, and it is the number most often printed on the box.
Light-gathering goes with the square of the aperture: 130 mm gathers about 3.4 times what 70 mm does. It is the one figure that cannot be improved later. The Sky-Watcher Heritage 130 gives 130 mm with a parabolic mirror for $269.
A telescope that shakes for four seconds after every touch shows nothing at high power. A tabletop Dobsonian is steady because it is short and low. An equatorial mount with slow motion on both axes, like the AstroMaster 130EQ, follows a planet with one knob once aligned.
Check for a 1.25-inch eyepiece fitting. With it, every eyepiece, filter and Barlow sold today will fit. All five telescopes here use it, or a kit built around it.
A refractor such as the AstroMaster 70AZ needs no collimation and doubles as a spotting scope. A computerized Maksutov such as the NexStar 4SE finds objects for you, at about $650.
Magnification. It is the telescope’s focal length divided by the eyepiece’s and can be made as large as any box likes. Twice the aperture in millimeters is the practical ceiling.
What you want is to point at something and see it. Simplicity outranks any specification.
The sky is poor but the Moon and planets stay available. The instrument counts for less than regularity.
There stated aperture takes on full meaning, but transport becomes the real constraint.
| What you think you buy | What really decides | What comes next |
|---|---|---|
| A magnification | Stated aperture | The eyepieces |
| A tube | The mount | The tripod |
| An instrument | The transport | Where you observe |
| An image | The evening’s sky | Patience |
A new instrument suffers above all from excessive care. Optics need cleaning far less often than people think, and every clean leaves microscopic traces that accumulate.
This site publishes stated specifications and describes no solar observing.
Prices quoted in this text were read on November 7, 2026. The live price is at the top of the page.
130 mm (5.12 in) parabolic mirror · tabletop Dobsonian · collapsible tube · 94% reflectivity coatings
Sky-Watcher's Heritage 130: a 130 mm parabolic Newtonian with a collapsible tube on a tabletop Dobsonian base, delivered assembled with 10 mm and 25 mm eyepieces and a red-dot finder.
Best for: A real 130 mm parabolic mirror that stores in a closet and needs no assembly
≈ $269
130 mm (5.1 in) Newtonian · aluminum and SiO2 coatings · German equatorial with slow motion on both axes · no motor
Celestron's AstroMaster 130EQ: a 130 mm Newtonian with aluminum and SiO2 coatings on a manual German equatorial mount with slow motion on both axes, a 20 mm erect-image eyepiece, a 10 mm eyepiece and a StarPointer.
Best for: Five inches of mirror on a geared equatorial, for an observer content to turn the knobs
≈ $290
70 mm (2.8 in) fully coated achromat · panhandle alt-azimuth · 20 and 10 mm eyepieces · erect-image diagonal · StarPointer
Celestron's AstroMaster 70AZ: a fully coated 70 mm achromatic refractor on a panhandle alt-azimuth mount, with 20 mm and 10 mm eyepieces, an erect-image star diagonal and a StarPointer red-dot finder.
Best for: A first 70 mm used on landscapes as well as the Moon
≈ $180
102 mm (4 in) Maksutov-Cassegrain · 1325 mm at f/13 · GoTo fork with built-in wedge · 21 lb with tripod
Celestron's NexStar 4SE: a 4-inch Maksutov-Cassegrain with StarBright XLT coatings on a computerized single-arm GoTo mount whose tripod has a built-in wedge, 21 lb with tripod.
Best for: A first computerized telescope for the Moon and planets that can also take short-exposure photos
≈ $649
70 mm (2.76 in) lens · 400 mm (15.7 in) focal length · 20x to 100x · alt-azimuth tripod · backpack · from age 8
Bresser's JUNIOR 70/400 backpack set: a 70/400 refractor on an azimuthal mount and height-adjustable aluminum tripod, with H20, H12 and H6 eyepieces, a zenith prism, a 1.5x erecting lens, a 5x24 finder and a phone holder.
Best for: A child from about eight who will carry and set up the telescope with little help
≈ $179
Enough to show the Moon's craters, Jupiter's moons and Saturn's rings, which begins around 70 mm and improves steadily to 130 mm and beyond. Aperture cannot fix a shaking mount.
Because 1.25 in is the size almost every eyepiece, filter and diagonal uses. A telescope with a 0.965 in fitting can only use what came in its box.
It has nothing to align and moves the way you look around. It does not track, so objects drift and must be nudged back; that is the trade.
For observing: A real 130 mm parabolic mirror that stores in a closet and needs no assembly
Where it is strong: Parabolic 130 mm mirror with 94% reflectivity coatings, stated
Where it is weak: Needs a table, wall or stool outdoors
For observing: Five inches of mirror on a geared equatorial, for an observer content to turn the knobs
Where it is strong: 130 mm with named coatings at about $290
Where it is weak: Focal length not published
For observing: A first 70 mm used on landscapes as well as the Moon
Where it is strong: Erect-image diagonal: right-side-up views by day and night
Where it is weak: Focal length not published
For observing: A first computerized telescope for the Moon and planets that can also take short-exposure photos
Where it is strong: Built-in wedge for polar alignment, which reduces field rotation in exposures
Where it is weak: 4 inches of aperture limits faint deep-sky objects
For observing: A child from about eight who will carry and set up the telescope with little help
Where it is strong: 70 mm lens: a real view of the Moon, Jupiter's moons and Saturn's rings
Where it is weak: Sold only by third parties on Amazon.com, at about $179
$44 – $179
11 models
$180 – $320
11 models
Model against model, where the comparison is already published.
The models above are taken from the catalog of this site. Specifications are the ones the maker publishes and the ones on the Amazon page; prices are the Keepa reading for the date shown, and both change. Ranking uses declared specifications, the weight of stated strengths against stated limits, and price. Nothing here has been pointed at the sky by us, and the page makes no such claim.
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