The Beginner
Buying a telescope for a total beginner with little or no knowledge about space, the stars or telescopes? Not a problem. Best thing you can do is try a GPS controlled telescope or a fully-automatic telescope. These telescopes are a great way to introduce a novice to backyard astronomy. The fully-automatic telescopes take out the work. Simply take one to your viewing location, turn it on, and the easy-to-use computer will automatically point to incredible celestial bodies that would otherwise take hours to find.
If you're working within a budget, then we've got the absolute best Beginner Bundles in the biz. These packages give you complete space and astronomy with the basic accessories you'll need -- like a copy of the book Astronomy for Dummies -- that you'll need to get started. With a few more bucks, you may try upgrading to a Deluxe Bundle or even an Ultimate Bundle for all the bells and whistles.
On A Budget -- Complete Packages for Under $200
These telescope packages include great accessories and learning materials.
- 3" Telescope - Beginner Bundle -- Solid value and a good introductory reflector bundled with great accessories to round out your first telescope package.
- 60mm Telescope - Beginner Bundle -- Great day/night combo telescope. Comes with hard carrying case, built-in compass, and lots of accessories.
- 70mm Telescope - Beginner Bundle -- A great first telescope package for the "serious" beginner. Features an advanced EQ mount that lets you take it to the next level when you're ready.
- 80mm Telescope - Beginner Bundle -- Here's our most popular introductory level telescope. Good for day and night time use, it's ultra-portable the bundle includes great items to get you started. You can always upgrade to a full-size tripod.
Step it Up -- Ideal Bundles for the Beginner
A bit more pricy, here are our top package picks for the beginner.
- 4.5" Telescope - Beginner Bundle -- Our favorite telescope for the serious beginner is this 4.5" reflector. Well balanced scope and this package gives you the essentials.
- 80mm Telescope - Ultimate Bundle -- Our easiest to use manual telescope and it comes with everything. Books, software, extra eyepieces, star charts, moon maps, the works.
- 90mm Telescope - Deluxe Bundle-- This cassegrain style telescope is ideal for day/night use. Crystal clear views, a simple "point & shoot" mount, extra eyepieces and solid accessories.
- 4.5" Telescope - Ultimate Bundle -- We love the 4.5" telescope so much, it's in here twice. If you have the cash, we love the Ultimate bundle. It's a one stop choice to get a comprehensive space starter package at a great price.
Fully Automatic "Go-To" Telescopes
We have a fantastic series of automatic telescopes that have built-in starfinding computers. Just enter your location, and these telescopes can automatically turn-to and locate thousands of pre-programmed celestial objects. Couldn't be easier.
- 80mm Telescope - Fully Automatic -- One of our best. Easy to use, great optics, light weight. Finds and tracks stars with the push of a button.
- 90mm Telescope - Fully Automatic -- Superior cassegrain optics mean high magnifications for viewing the moon and planets. Fully automatic, can also be used during the day for Earth-bound viewing.
- 3" Reflector - Fully Automatic -- Entry point for automatic telescopes, this full-featured telescope can find and track 3,500 stars on its own.
- 4.5" Telescope - Fully Automatic -- This larger reflector is priced right for the beginner. Very versatile, gives great deep-space views.
- 102mm Meade Automatic "Talking Telescope" -- Features 4 hours of audio explanations of over 500 objects thru built in speaker. Great gift.
- 6" Meade Automatic Telescope -- Can track 30,000 stars with the push of a button. Incredible sharp-as-a-tack optics. Advanced scope, easy to use.
GPS Powered Super Scopes
This is it. The best gadgets on Earth for looking at space. Just point the telescope straight up and the on-board GPS system will locate the telescope on the Earth, auto-align, and you'll be ready to begin. Can automatically locate and track 50,000 different space objects.
- 70mm GPS Controlled Telescope -- This scope is a great way to get going with a GPS-powered telescope. Solid optics, rock-solid price.
- 80mm GPS Controlled Telescope -- A favorite telescope that knows where it is at all times thanks to its GPS tracking module. Hand-held remote lets you pick celestial objects from a push-button menu.
- 90mm GPS Controlled Telescope -- Extremely balanced day/night optics means sharp views from a fully automated telescope.
- 3" GPS Controlled Telescope -- The best way to start with a GPS scope is with this smaller 3" reflector.
- 4.5" GPS Controlled Telescope -- Probably the best reflector GPS scope on the market, this 4.5" telescope balances light gathering power with "speed" and gives great planetary and deep-space views.
- 6" GPS Controlled Telescope -- Bigger can be better. The ever-popular 6" reflector is one of the largest GPS scopes on the market.
Pro's Picks for The Beginner
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Beginner Bundle - FirstView 60mm Refractor Telescope
Our Price: $ 149.97 -
Deluxe Bundle - AstroVenture 90mm Cassegrain Telescope
Our Price: $ 309.86 -
Ultimate Bundle - AstroVenture 4.5" Telescope
Our Price: $ 499.96 -
AstroVenture 80mm Computer Controlled Refractor Telescope
Our Price: $ 309.97
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Meade 102mm StarNavigator Computerized Refractor Telescope w/ AudioStar
Our Price: $ 399.99 -
AstroVenture EQ-Mounted 4.5" GPS Computer Controlled Reflector Telescope
Our Price: $ 499.96 -
AstroVenture EQ-Mounted 70mm GPS Computer Controlled Refractor Telescope
Our Price: $ 429.99 -
FirstView EQ-Mounted 3" GPS Computer Controlled Reflector Telescope
Our Price: $ 449.95
The Space Enthusiast
You know the type. Science Buff. Space Geek. Gadget Freak. If it is technical, complicated or a gadget, they're gonna love it. We know the type. Heck, we are the type. And we've got the perfect gift items for them. Our Deluxe Bundles and Ultimate Bundles cram in every gadget, accessory & book they could possibly want to start a career in backyard astronomy.
The incredible, fully-automatic Meade ACF series of telescopes will simply blow you away. We've got several GPS controlled telescope and other fully-automatic telescopes at great prices.
If you want big, we've got big. Our Celestron Advanced Refractors start at 102mm and only get larger. Or maybe the try the huge Meade Lightbridge Dobsonian Telescopes. These are wildly popular among enthusiasts as they have huge openings to gather light for viewing deep space objects.
Go Deluxe -- Stay on Budget
The starting point for your space buddy is the Deluxe Bundle. Our Pros put these packages together and they have it all. A copy of Nightwatch, one of the best books on backyard astronomy. Plus outstanding a comprehensive planetarium software system for your PC or Mac. We include a bonus eyepiece, lunar map, star charts and other goodies in every Deluxe Bundle. They're a best buy.
The Ultimate -- Kitchen Sink Not Included
We've got fully loaded ultimate bundles all packaged up and ready for you. Each ultimate has at a complete set of Meade eyepieces, 2x Barlow Lens, 5 planteary & lunar filters, two outstanding astronomy books, a complete observatory computer software package, star wheels and moon maps. So check out the Ultimates:
GPS Controlled Telescopes -- Geeks Rejoice
Geeks everywhere rejoice. The best just got better. These scopes have an on-board GPS system and will auto-align themselves and get ready to automatically locate and track 50,000 different space objects.
Fully Automatic Large Telescopes
Maybe they don't have GPS, but they're still fully automatic. We do like the big 6" and 4.5" automatic reflectors. Celestron and Meade also make some pretty cool larger aperture full-automatic telescopes.
Top of the Line
Who says you can't have it all. These are the best telescopes we sell. From giant manual Celestron telescopes with premium optics, to the incredible Meade 10" LX series scopes, there's nothing you can't do with these incredible choices. The Meade ACF LightSwitch even has a built in camera. Get your credit card ready.
MegaDobs -- Biggerer and Biggerer
Sometimes size really does matter. We often tell people to buy the biggest scope they can afford and handle. Enormous light gatherering power means brighter, clearer, more detailed space views. We'll if you want big, you'll have to try a Dobsonian mounted telescope. Our 16" is as big as they come, but we've got several we recommend.
Pro's Picks for The Space Enthusiast
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Deluxe Bundle - AstroVenture 4.5" Telescope
Our Price: $ 272.17 -
Ultimate Bundle - AstroQuest 90mm Refractor Telescope
Our Price: $ 589.96 -
AstroVenture EQ-Mounted 4.5" GPS Computer Controlled Reflector Telescope
Our Price: $ 499.96 -
Celestron 120mm Advanced Refractor Telescope
Our Price: $ 0.00
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Celestron 150mm Advanced Refractor Telescope
Our Price: $ 1,019.95 -
Meade 6" LightSwitch Advanced Coma-Free Cassegrain (LS-ACF) Telescope with Built-In CCD Camera
Our Price: $ 0.00 -
Meade 10" LX200 Advanced Coma-Free Cassegrain Telescope with GPS
Our Price: $ 0.00 -
Meade 16" LightBridge Truss-Tube Dobsonian Reflector
Our Price: $ 0.00
The Astro-Photographer
It's all about digital. We were getting so many questions about taking pictures through telescopes that we made easy on you. We have dozens of telescope and camera packages that are ready to go. We've paired a fantastic specialized Windows/Mac PC-based USB telescope digital camera with our great telescopes and put it all in a box for you. Astro-Photography isn't totally simple, but it sure is amazing when you can share your snapshots of the moon with your friends.
Manual Telescopes with Cameras
Sure you could add a digital USB telescope camera to your purchase. But we've done it for you. These bundles feature a manually controlled telescope paired with a great digital telescope camera. Best of all, we've discounted the price of the telescope and the camera as a reward for buying such a cool package.
Go-To Telescope Camera Packages
With our pre-built camera bundles, we pair a computerized telescope with a Windows/Mac based USB digital camera. Perfect for shots of the moon and planets. Use computer guidance to locate and track more than 3,500 stars. Plus we have some high-end Meade telescopes with built-in digital imagers
GPS Telescope Camera Packages
We combine an EQ-capable & GPS controlled telescope with a Windows PC-based USB digital camera. The EQ ("equatorial") feature allows the mount to auto-track along a single axis -- that means a smooth movement which is needed for long-exposure space photography.
SLR Adapters & Stand-Alone Digital Telescope Cameras
No need to buy a package, you can add on any of our great ditigal telescope Windows/Mac based USB cameras yourself. They range from 1.3 to 9.0 Megapixels. Or, use your own camera. You can adapt any Nikon or Canon EOS SLR camera with a simple 1.25" telescope adapter.
Pro's Picks for The Astro-Photographer
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AstroVenture 4.5" Reflector Telescope with Digital USB Camera
Our Price: $ 299.99 -
80mm Computer Controlled Refractor Telescope with Digital USB Camera
Our Price: $ 435.63 -
90mm Portable GPS Computer Controlled Telescope Astrophotography Package
Our Price: $ 759.98 -
Meade 6" LightSwitch Advanced Coma-Free Cassegrain (LS-ACF) Telescope with Built-In CCD Camera
Our Price: $ 0.00
the perfect telescope for your friends & family."
