Best Telescopes in 2021

Our best choice for telescopes is the Gyskyer telescope with a 70mm aperture and its included accessories. This telescope is an excellent, easy-to-use telescope for beginners. Set-up takes only a few moments, meaning you can get to viewing the night sky around you faster. This telescope comes with a 70mm aperture, a 400mm focal length, two eyepieces, a Barlow lens, adjustable tripod, smartphone attachment, zenith mirror, finder scope, and carrying bag for easy storage. The comprehensiveness of this kit means you have all the accessories you need to get started right away. The only things you may want to add are filters and a light pollution filter. 

If you want to quickly share snaps of your nighttime views with those you love, this set is an excellent choice for you. The smartphone attachment and Bluetooth remote make snapping photos of the moon and other finds a breeze! Once you’ve snapped your photos, you can post them straight to your socials or send them to your loved ones. Based on reviews, the smartphone adapter is a bit small and may not work with larger smartphones. 

If you’re always on the go and want a telescope that can keep up with all of your adventures, the Celestron 70mm Travel Scope is an excellent choice for you. With this telescope, you get a 70mm aperture, fully-coated glass optics, 400mm focal length, two eyepieces, and a carry case. The carrying case for this scope comes in backpack form, meaning you’ll have your hands free to carry anything else you’ll need. This Celestron telescope is one of the best amateur telescopes because it strikes the balance of portability, quality, and cost exceptionally well. 

Portability is the name of the game with this product. The carrying case stays rather low profile, and at just over three pounds, this telescope easily goes wherever you do. One of our favorite features of this telescope is that it includes the Starry Night educational software that allows you to learn about the night sky and helps you locate objects in real-time. For more amazing products like this, check out our list of the best night vision binoculars.

The MaxUSee 70mm telescope is one of the best budget telescopes on our list. While it doesn’t top the list in features, it does provide an excellent, budget-friendly option for beginner astronomers. The 70mm aperture and 400mm focal length are relatively standard and match other devices on our list. This tabletop telescope comes loaded with accessories to make your user experience excellent. This refractor telescope comes with four eyepieces, a Barlow lens, tabletop tripod, smartphone adapter, and other accessories. 

This gadget is an excellent starting point to get them excited about astronomy and science if you have children. Your kids will love using this device to explore, and night sky viewing could turn into an activity for the whole family to enjoy together. The included smartphone adapter allows you to capture images of all of your finds and share them with your friends and family. 

Computerized telescopes are a whole new level of tech, and now, you can bring this exciting piece of technology to your home. The Celestron NexStar 8SE Telescope is a combination of bold, capable and beautiful. A burnt orange exterior tube stands out from the other models on our list, and the technology behind this device makes it truly impressive. A fully-automated mount makes finding and automatically tracking stars, planets, and celestial bodies easier than ever. 

This telescope has a unique electronic telescope focuser to make locating constellations easier than ever. If your goal is to become a budding night sky photographer, you will love the fact that this telescope provides connectivity to your DSLR camera. Striking images of all your night sky finds are possible when you bring this telescope home. 

Celestron has a solid reputation based on its construction of quality telescopes for the last 50 years. The PowerSeeker 127EQ Telescope is one of the best budget telescopes available. While there are cheaper telescopes on our list, this telescope for kids and adults provides exceptional quality at the price point. 

The PowerSeeker 127EQ boasts a 127mm aperture and 1000mm focal length, towering over its direct competitors. Two included eyepieces and a Barlow lens allow for maximum magnification and minimal need to order extra accessories. The only additional parts you may need are filters. This telescope also includes free access to the Starry Night software with information about 10,000 celestial bodies and an accessory tray to keep everything organized. At 28 pounds, this telescope isn’t the most portable option on our list, but if you’re willing to move it, it won’t be a back-breaking endeavor. 

Another excellent telescope for beginners is the 70mm Astronomy Refractor Telescope. This telescope boasts a 70mm aperture and a 360mm focal length, which is a great place to start for night sky viewing. There are no tools required for set up, meaning once the box arrives on your doorstep, you are only a few moments away from exploring the night sky with your family using your brand new telescope. This product is also easy to use, making it an excellent gift for kids. 

In the box, you’ll receive two eyepieces, a finder scope, and an adjustable tripod. You will also receive a map of the moon and planets, but we are doubtful it will provide much guidance on finding objects. You may want to consider picking up a Barlow lens or additional filters to use with this telescope. Our buying guide on top digital camera binoculars features some more quality products like this, so make sure to check them out, too.

Our next product in the Best Telescope list is a computerized, digital telescope that will make viewing the night sky easier than ever. The Celestron NexStar 130SLT is a powerful, compact telescope that allows you to tour the night sky on demand. This telescope uses the Starry Night software, like several of the telescopes on our list, to find and track celestial objects. If finding objects manually isn’t for you, you might want to opt for a computerized telescope; it will make your sky viewing much more straightforward. 

This reflector telescope has a 130mm aperture and a 650mm focal length. In the box, you’ll also find two included eyepieces and a finder scope. You may want to pick up some filters and a Barlow lens to complete your kit if this telescope ends up being your choice. Lastly, this product only weighs just over 11 pounds for such a powerful telescope, making it portable and easy to store. 

Our next telescope is one of the higher-end models available for beginner and amateur astronomers; the Sky Watcher Classic 150 is a Dobsonian telescope with an impressive 153mm aperture and six-inch focal length. This powerhouse of a telescope weighs about 40 pounds between the base and the scope, making it less than portable, but with a little bit of elbow grease, you can still get it moved. Along with this telescope, you will also receive two eyepieces, a rack and pinion style focuser, an adapter, and a finder scope. Just add in a Barlow lens and light pollution filter, and then you’ll have everything you need for exploring the night sky. 

Fully multi-coated borosilicate primary and secondary mirrors provide exceptional viewing, and Teflon bearings ensure smooth movement as you peruse the skies. A unique feature of this telescope is the tension control handles, which allow you for accurate movement even if your balance is a little off. Don’t forget to also browse our list of the best-selling compact binoculars for hiking.

I’m personally a bit partial to this one because it is teal in color, and I’m a massive fan of the color teal. I must say, if you pick your telescope based on color, this telescope is the winner by a long shot. If you aren’t choosing your telescope by color, the Mak60 telescope is an excellent, affordable, and kid-friendly telescope. This telescope is one of the few Maksutov-Cassegrain telescopes on our list. A Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope is a compound telescope that uses a mirror and a lens to capture light and present an image. 

An impressive 750mm focal length in just an eight-inch tube keeps this product light but robust. Weighing in at just under three pounds, this telescope is incredibly easy to carry and store. You’ll receive just a singular eyepiece with this product, so you may want to invest in an additional eyepiece, a Barlow lens, and filters if you choose this option. This telescope comes with a tabletop tripod, not a full-height tripod, so make sure you have something to set this scope on. 

Innovative technology and incredible power blend harmoniously in the Sky-Watcher Flextube 250 telescope. At first glance, you will notice it’s unique look and sleek black and white design. This telescope’s next striking feature is the collapsible design, which allows for easy storage and portability. Teflon bearings make for smooth movement as you find and track objects in the night sky, and the 10:1 Crawford-style focuser makes for effortless and precise focusing. 

This telescope is a Dobsonian telescope, a reflector telescope with an altazimuth mount that allows for rotation on two axes. This technology has allowed home telescopes to become larger and more powerful. With this telescope, you’ll also receive two eyepieces and a Crawford-Style focuser. A telescope like this does cost a pretty penny, and while this product is a great starter telescope, be ready to fork over some dough. 

The Sky Watcher Virtuoso is a compound Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope with a 90mm aperture. This tabletop telescope also includes a bracket for astral photography that supports a smartphone, camcorder, or DSLR. Canon Rebel DSLR users get the added benefit of shutter release functionality. The build of this telescope will make it difficult to use with a tripod, so you are limited to tabletop usage with this option. 

At just 17 pounds, this isn’t the lightest telescope on our list, but it is still portable, compact, and easy to store anywhere because of its tabletop design. This product is one of the only telescopes on our list that comes with sun filters, a bonus! 

The final telescope on our list of the best telescopes is a powerful model with an impressive aperture of 127mm. This product is a blend of lenses and mirrors in the classic Maksutov-Cassegrain compound style. This telescope boasts some serious viewing power and is best for planetary viewing. If you want a telescope that will allow you to take exceptional photos of your night sky findings, Skymax is your best choice. 

In the box, you’ll find the telescope, two eyepieces, and a finder scope. You won’t find any base, though. This telescope comes with a dovetail mount that allows it to mount onto almost any tripod or base. You will need to purchase your base separately, though. Be sure you get something sturdy and stable to minimize vibrations affecting your viewing.