How to Choose a Telescope for Beginners in Astronomy

Choosing a beginner telescope is not as easy as it sounds. There are so many beginner telescopes to choose from, and so few that are really as good as they sound. Many beginner telescope kits sport unrealistic claims about their "power" such as "525x power" or other similar marketing hype. Most are made of shoddy materials, and will only lead to disappointment with both the telescope and astronomy itself. This brief guide aims to help the beginner find a decent telescope at a reasonable price.

There are many types of telescopes, and many are not suited to the beginner astronomer for technical or financial reasons. My advice is to avoid spending too much money or buying anything you can't easily understand. If you get frustrated by the telescope itself, or just decide you don't like the hobby you will have wasted both your time and a lot of money.

Stay Away From Mass Market Scopes

I can't emphasize this enough. I bought a cheap "kid's" telescope from an otherwise reputable company that promised 525 "power" and the ability to see everything in the sky . Within a month, I was sick of it. I couldn't see much, what I could see was distorted and the rickety tripod and mechanisms were horrible to set up and keep steady. I donated it to a school and gave up. Don't make my mistake! When you see one in Target, Walmart or Sears, don't waste your money.

Bigger Power Is Meaningless

Again, don't buy into "power." I keep saying it because it's important.

Start Small and Simple

That says it all. A small, simple, but quality telescope is all a beginner needs. You can carry it around, set it up anywhere, and see enough neat things in the sky to find out if you really like star gazing and to allow you to do it until you can afford the "big boy scopes." Just don't buy anything less than 80mm in lense width or you won't have much to see. Here are some beginner telescopes that really fit the bill.

Orion GoScope 80mm Tabletop Refractor
Orion Telescopes
$99.95

This little beauty is a very portable, low-cost but quality beginner scope from a reputable brand. The included eyepieces give you 18x and 35x power, and that is plenty for a scope like this. It also has a small "finder scope" that helps center objects in the big scope. With this scope you can see the moon and inner planets of the solar system with reasonable detail and clarity. At less than six pounds and $100, it's a great beginner telescope at a great price.

Edmund Scientific Astrocan Plus
Edmund Scientific
$229 (Basic Package)

The Astrocan Plus is an upgrade of the very old-school Astroscan. It looks like a ball with a tube sticking out of it, and that's basically it! The new model comes with a finder scope, a dewcap (to keep condensation off the lens) and some other minor sundries, but the big deal is the scope. It's very portable, extremely easy to set up and use, and even has a carrying strap. It's a little heavy at almost 11 pounds, but it has a much wider field of view than a refractor at this price level. Given that it is a reflector with a bigger mirror (105mm), it excels at "big sky" objects like the Milky Way and some of the brighter and closer galaxies, but it's still decent for planets. If you don't mind putting up a little more money, this is a great scope.

Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binocular
Celestron
$89.95

I know what you're thinking. That's not a telescope! True, but stay with me. This is an astronomy binocular, and when it come to low price, ease of use, and portability, nothing beats a good fixed power binocular. Instead of one lense, you get two 70mm lenses which give you a bright image with a very wide field of view compared to most telescopes. This means it's much easier for you to find and focus on objects than with a telescope. This model also has long "eye relief," meaning that you can hold your eyes farther away from the eyepiece when looking through it. People with glasses (such as myself) appreciate this. You may want to buy a tripod for extended viewing however, as unlike a telescope, you are the mount for a binocular.

I have chosen two beginner telescopes and one astronomy binocular from reputable companies at reasonable prices. All feature ease of use, portability, and almost instant gratification when it comes to viewing the night sky. You can even use them to look at stuff right here on Earth, like birds or distant landscapes.

The keys to beginner telescope selection are to buy reputable, buy simple, buy moderately-priced, and stay away from those department store scopes. You can't go wrong with the examples given here.

Happy star gazing!