7 Best Budget Home Telescopes

Best Budget Home Telescopes

If you are avid astronomer, a home telescope is an indispensable tool to have. Telescopes are considered a source of entertainment for every member of the family. They provide magnificent views of the sky at night and helps us to see the deep sky objects that can’t be seen with naked eyes. So, if you are looking for a way to enjoy quality time with your family, you should consider getting a home telescope.

A good home telescope doesn’t have to cost a fortune. You can still explore the celestial objects with a budget telescope, provides it’s well made. But with so many telescopes available on the market today, finding a good but cheap telescope can be hard. In this post, we have compiled a list of the best budget home telescopes that provide stunning views of the moon, stars, planets and deep-sky objects. These telescopes are easy to use and great for home use.

Without further ado, Let’s get started.

Best Budget Home Telescopes- Our Top Picks

  1. Gskyer Telescope Astronomical Refractor Telescope

Gskyer Telescope, Telescope for Adults, 600x90mm AZ Astronomical Refractor Telescope

 

 

The Gskyer Telescope for Adults 600x90mm is your best option for budget home telescope. This telescope is designed to family. It’s simple to use and suitable for both kids and adults. It provides beautiful scenery of the great outdoors and bright views of the moon, stars and planets.

This telescope uses high power eyepieces to give you clear detail of the objects you are observing. The high-quality optical coating maximizes light transmission to provide clean and clear as crystal views in any lighting conditions. Besides, it comes with a 3x Barlow lens that trebles the magnification strength of each eyepiece.

This telescope is perfect for novice astronomers. It’s simple to set up with no tools needed. It’s also quick and simple to focus. Better yet, it comes with a stainless-steel full-size tripod. You can adjust its height from 31.5” to 49”. Through this tripod, you can adjust tripod into different viewing angles to get the most out of your viewing expedition.

Features

  • 3x Barlow lens
  • Three replaceable eyepieces 24x, 60x and 120x
  • Quick and simple to focus
  • Simple, tool-free assembly
  • Fully coated optical glass lens
  • Adjustable stainless-steel tripod
  • Aluminum alloy tube construction
  • 600mm focal length
  • 90mm/3.5-inch aperture
  1. Celestron Portable Refractor Telescope

Celestron- 70mm Travel Scope- Portable Refractor Telescope

 

 

If you are looking for a versatile telescope that you can use at home as well as on the go, look no further than the Celestron- 70mm Travel Scope- Portable Refractor Telescope. It offers excellent optical performance in a small, portable size. It weighs 3.3 pounds only and it’s quick and simple to assemble with no tools needed.

This product is a manual alt-azimuth telescope. It comes with a pan handle for navigating the skies with ease and you can mount it on a 1.25-inch tripod and adjust the height to the most comfortable viewing position.

This telescope features top-tier fully-coated optics which facilitate maximum light transmission. This provides bright and clear views of both celestial and terrestrial objects at night and during the day. It also features a 70mm refractor objective lens for high-resolution and color accurate views. To top it all, the telescope comes with 2 powerful eyepieces for up-close viewing.

Features

  • 20mm and 10mm high-quality eyepieces
  • 70mm objective lens
  • High-quality, fully-coated optics
  • Lightweight and portable
  • Quick and simple tool-free assembly
  • User-friendly design
  • Full-height stainless-steel tripod
  • 5×24 finder scope
  • Backpack for storing the telescope and accessories
  • Erect image optics for watching terrestrial objects
  • Starry night astronomy software
  1. ESSLNB Telescope 

ESSLNB Telescope for Adults Kids Astronomy Beginners 80mm Astronomical Telescopes

 

The ESSLNB 80/400 Telescope is one of the best budget telescopes for kids, beginners and amateur astronomers. One unique thing about this telescope is that it provides erect images. It has a 128° upright zenith mirror with integrated reversing lens which work together to produce erect images.

The large 80mm objective lens offers you a wide field of view which is essential for smooth target identification and better observations. The 5×20 finder scope produces upright images, while the fully-coated optical all-glass lens increases light transmission for bright and clear images.

Featuring the HD Kellners eyepiece, this telescope gives you comfortable target views with minimal eye fatigue and dizziness. Thanks to the 360° rotation capability, you can adjust the telescope to different angles until you find the angle that’s most comfortable for you. Better yet, this product comes with a retractable tripod for snug viewing.

The tripod has a tray where you can put the eyepieces and Barlow lens. To top it all, you can use a smartphone adapter with the 10x eyepiece and capture every single object that you see with your smartphone.

Features

  • 3x Barlow lens
  • Metal moon filter
  • Retractable tripod with tray
  • 9mm and 25mm Kellner eyepiece
  • 5×20 erect-image finder scope
  • 128° upright zenith mirror
  • Fully-coated optical all-glass lens
  • 80mm objective lens that provides a wide field of view
  • Smartphone adapter with 10x eyepiece
  1. Celestron- AstroMaster  Telescope

Celestron- AstroMaster 114EQ Newtonian Telescope-Reflector Telescope for Beginners

 

 

Here is another quality telescope from Celestron. The AstroMaster 114EQ Newtonian Telescope is a dual-purpose telescope suitable for terrestrial and celestial applications. It provides sharp and detailed views which makes it the best tool for discovering the sky at night and terrestrial objects during the day.

This telescope has an EQ mount for smooth and precise pointing and two eyepieces for comfortable viewing. The user-friendly design makes it kid-friendly while the lightweight frame makes it easy to carry. Furthermore, the telescope has a fully-coated 114mm primary mirror to prevent light loss due to reflection.

Another good thing about this telescope is the simple set-up process. It sets up in seconds with no tools needed. It also comes with an adjustable tripod and a 2 heavy-duty control knobs that let you make precision adjustments to the objects you are viewing.

Features

  • Lightweight frame
  • Quick and straightforward tool-free set up
  • High-quality 114mm primary mirror
  • Sturdy, stainless-steel tripod
  • Fully-coated glass optics
  • 2 1.25” eyepieces, 10mm and 20mm
  • 2 slow-motion control knobs
  • Manual equatorial mount
  • User-friendly design
  1. Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope 

Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope for Adults Kids Astronomy Beginners

 

The Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope is ideal for viewing the moon and planets. Featuring high-precision optics and fully multi-coated lenses, this telescope provides crystal clear and sharp views with minimal aberrations.

What makes this telescope stand out among similar products is the compact and portable design. It’s much more compact than a refractor telescope and almost similar to a camera. This makes it perfect for both home and travel application. Better yet, it’s suitable for both celestial and terrestrial observation. It comes with an erect-image diagonal for terrestrial viewing.

The superior 20mm eyepiece provides superior optical performance while remaining comfortable on the eyes. It provides a whole 37.5x magnification which provides clear detail of the distant objects.

Lastly, this telescope comes with several accessories to help you get the most out of your viewing experience. They include a phone adapter, tabletop tripod and an upright-image diagonal.

Features

  • Compact and portable design
  • High-quality 20mm eyepiece
  • High-precision fully multi-coated optical glass lens
  • Erect-image diagonal
  • Maksutov-Cassegrain design
  • Crystal sharp views
  • Angled image erector for day and night observation
  • User-friendly design
  1. HEXEUM Telescope for Kids & Adults

HEXEUM Telescope for Kids & Adults

 

The HEXEUM Telescope features a 70mm aperture which provides a wide viewing angle for easy target identification. The lenses are fully multi-coated to increase light transmission for bright and clear image production. Its simple to operate and ideal for both kids and adults.

This astronomical refractor telescope will help you explore both celestial and terrestrial bodies at the comfort of your homestead. It features a high-definition imaging tube that helps you to see clearly and powerful magnification that brings distant objects closer. The 3x Barlow lens triples the magnifying strength of each eyepiece, while the 5×24 finder scope helps you locate your objects with ease.

The telescope is fairly light for easy portability. If you decide to use it for travel, a carrying bag is included for convenient transportation. Additionally, it come with an aluminum alloy tripod that has an adjustable height and a smooth 3-way head.

Features

  • 5×24 finder scope
  • 10mm and 25mm eyepiece
  • 70mm aperture
  • Fully multi-coated lenses
  • Multi-functional aluminum alloy tripod
  • 3x Barlow lens
  • Wireless remote control
  • Phone adapter mount
  • Lightweight design
  1. OYS Telescope, Telescope for Adults

OYS Telescope, Telescope for Adults

 

The OYS Telescope is another excellent telescope suitable for home use. This telescope offers an array of high-quality features at an affordable price. First, it features a 70mm large aperture which allows for more light to pass through. The high-quality all-glass lens is fully multi-coated to increase light transmission for bright and clear as crystal images.

The telescope is perfect for both day and nighttime use. You can use it to view birds, nature and wildlife during the day and later use it to watch the deep-sky objects at night. If like to capture and record images of what you observe, there is a smartphone adapter included.

Another major selling point about this product is that it’s perfect for both adults and kids. It has a lightweight design that makes it portable and simple set up process. Its intuitive to operate and requires virtually no maintenance.

Moreover, this product comes with two 1.25” eyepieces, K20mm and K9mm which provide a varying magnification from 20-44.5x. In addition to everything else, the telescope comes with a 5×24 finder scope for easy object identification.

Features

  • Variable 20-44.5x magnification
  • 5×24 finder scope
  • Smartphone adapter
  • 70mm aperture
  • High-quality multi-coated glass optics
  • Lightweight and portable
  • Simple and quick setup
  • Intuitive and easy to use
  • Two 1.25” eyepieces, K20mm and K9mm
  • Day and night performance

See Also

Criteria for Choosing the Best Budget Home Telescopes

Aperture

Aperture in the main feature that you should pay keen attention to. If you are new in the market, aperture is the diameter of the lens. The bigger the aperture, the better. Large apertures allow for more light to pass which is essential for bright and clear image production. However, large apertures have a drawback of being hard to store and transport. For home application, a model with 70mm aperture will suffice.

Ease of Use

If you want to get the most out of a telescope, make sure that you buy a model that’s not only user-friendly, but also simple to set up. You don’t want to get a product that’s not only hard to operate, but also complex to set up especially at night. Modern computerized telescopes are easy to set up and use compared with manual telescope. However, they are expensive and less ideal for the budget buyers.

Magnification

Magnification is the other important factor you should consider. Generally, magnification depends on the telescope’s focal length and the eyepiece. Most telescopes come with different eyepieces that you can use to change the magnification power. If the telescope has a high magnification, it should also have a large aperture to allow you to see every detail of the objects you are observing.

Mount

A mount keeps the telescope steady and lets you turn it into different angles as you search for objects. There are 2 types of mounts: altitude-azimuth and Equatorial. If you are a beginner, the altitude-azimuth is your best mount. It’s very simple to use. It moves up and down(altitude) as well as left to right(azimuth).

On the other hand, Equatorial mounts are more ideal for beginners. They are the best for tracking moving objects.

FAQs on the Best Budget Home Telescopes

  • Are home telescopes worth it?

Yes. These telescopes are not only affordable, but also quality. They provide clear views of terrestrial objects during the day and celestial objects at night. They are easy to use and ideal for both kids and adults.

  • Which telescope is best for beginners?

The best telescope for a beginner should be easy to set up and easy to use. Majority of home telescopes are best for beginners as they are easy to set up and simple to operate.

  • What does f10 mean on a telescope?

The f/number in a telescope represents its focal ratio. A telescope with a 1000mm focal length and a 100mm aperture has a focal ratio of 10 and it is designated f/10”.

Conclusion

If you have been thinking about getting a home telescope, we hope that this post has given you the insight into the best budget home telescope. All telescopes listed provide great views whether you use them during the day or at night. They are also very simple to use and great for every member of the family.