A good telescope is something you will use over and over again. However, when you’re a beginner, a telescope needs to be simple and provide a fantastic night sky view. Here are 8 of the best telescopes under £100.
Telescopes can be confusing and even pretty intimidating, so to help you avoid buying a super expensive dust collector, we have tested a range of the best telescopes under £100 so you can choose the right option for you. These telescopes are perfect for beginners, allowing you to get an insight into the night sky without breaking the bank.
What should I consider when buying a telescope?
Learning about telescopes is always a good idea if you are entirely new to buying one. Telescopes work by gathering light; the light collected by the telescope forms an image that is magnified using the eyepiece. The more light a telescope can gather, the brighter the image forms and the more detail you will see.
There are three types of telescopes: refractors, reflectors, and catadioptric. Refractors use glass lenses at the end of the telescope tube, bringing a magnified view of the sky. Reflectors use mirrors to zero in on celestial objects. There are many variations and hybrid designs to consider. When buying a telescope, it is essential to clearly understand what you want to use it for, such as photography, planetary and deep-sky etc. and how complex you want the set-up to be. That way, you can set a budget. Many different characteristics come into play when choosing a telescope, but two essential factors will be your desired focal length and aperture.
Even as complete beginners, we can better understand our place in the universe using a telescope. It helps us appreciate the wonders of our galaxy as we learn more about our place in the cosmos and how extraordinary our planet is.
What can I expect to see in the night sky?
You can see a lot in the sky with just your eyes! Of course, you don’t always need a telescope or binoculars, but they are handy for seeing fainter objects. You can also better look at the Moon, planets and star clusters. The 21st of December is an excellent time to try and spot Mercury. The planet appears farthest from the Sun’s glare in the evening sky.
Our top tips for looking at the Moon;
- Find the darkest spot you can, and remember that your eyes take up to 20 minutes to get used to the dark.
- Research suggests that the Moon had volcanic activity until about 100 million years ago, and you can spot the large black mare.
- Its a great idea to gaze at the Moon on different nights to see how it moves in its 27-day orbit of our planet, see its various phases and other craters and features.
Here are 8 of the best telescopes under £100 for you to try
1. Emarth Telescope
- Great for adult beginners and children.
- 360mm focal length and 70mm aperture refractor telescope.
This telescope is a wonderful gift for beginner adults and children interested in learning about the night sky. This telescope can view moons, planets, clusters, and fog. It gives a good observation of the moon and terrestrial objects. It’s also ideal for viewing distant scenery, like mountains, flowers, birds, and wild animals. It features fully coated optical glass with high transmission coatings to create crisp images with increased brightness and clarity. The 70mm telescope comes with two interchangeable eyepieces, which you can enjoy different magnifications from 51X to 128X.
2. Celestron Travel Scope
- Great for adult beginners and children.
- 400mm focal length and 70mm aperture refractor telescope.
The Celestron Travel Scope refractor telescope is perfect for celestial or terrestrial viewing whilst out on the go. It’s great for adult beginners and children to use together with its fully-coated, high-quality glass optics, including a refractor-style 70mm objective lens. It weighs just 3.3 pounds and assembles in seconds with no tools required. So it’s light and straightforward to use. The aperture allows high-resolution viewing without adding a lot of extra weight. The added coating on the 70mm lens allows light to enter, providing sharper, crisper viewing of celestial and terrestrial objects during the day or at night. We love that everything packs up into the handy included travelling backpack.
3. Upchase Telescope
- Great for adult beginners and children.
- 300mm focal length and 70mm aperture refractor telescope.
This astronomical refractor telescope is excellent for observing celestial bodies and terrestrial objects. This is one of the best telescopes for under £100 and is ideal for students, beginners, children, or those interested in learning more about space and the night sky. It features all coated glass optical components, and the travel scope provides clean, crisp views with high transmission coatings, which create stunning images and protect your eyes. It is lightweight and portable; this telescope is a beautiful gift for those who love observing animals and wildlife. We love that this telescope comes with a smartphone adapter to take photos.
4. Beginners Telescope
- Great for adult beginners and children.
- 360mm focal length and 50mm aperture refractor telescope.
This telescope boasts a 30x lens, H20 mm, and a 48 lens, H12.5 mm eyepiece, which offers varying levels of magnification, provides clear, up-close images of birds, wildlife, distant treetops, as well as the moon, planets, and some star arrangements. It has everything you need to learn about astronomy, so it’s perfect for beginners or children. It has a 50mm aperture which ensures high light-gathering capacity, and fully coated lenses reduce reflective loss. It provides a high light transmittance to give a better observation experience. It’s equipped with a universal phone adapter to connect your phone to the telescope to explore and record the scene. This telescope is lightweight but sturdy and great value for money.
5. Maxlapter Telescope
- Great for adult beginners and children.
- 400mm focal length and 70mm aperture refractor telescope.
We love that this model comes with a moon filter that helps to reduce bright light when observing the Moon and enhances the image quality. This telescope uses high-quality optical components to provide observers with clear and sharp images, suitable for adults with professional astronomy and geography observations. It also provides a professional start for beginners and children to learn about nature and the universe. It’s streamlined, compact, and has a stylish design which is easy to carry and install. It features a thick aluminium tripod, is stable and durable, and is adjustable in height and direction. The main barrel is made of aluminium alloy with good corrosion resistance.
6. National Geographic Telescope
- Great for adult beginners and children.
- 350mm focal length and 76mm aperture refractor telescope.
This telescope arrives completely assembled, and you can watch the stars or look at the sun within seconds of opening the pack. We love this National Geographic telescope as you can not only see the stars at night but also observe the sun during the day. In addition, it comes with a sun filter and smartphone adapter.
Observing the sun using a telescope would typically be very dangerous, but this telescope has a unique filter that contains a special foil. The foil protects the eye from all kinds of solar radiation during observations, including infrared, ultraviolet and visible light, all of which are dampened to a safe level. The safety integrity of this filter system has been checked independently by a quality assurance company.
7. Aomekie Telescope
- Most affordable.
- Great for adult beginners and children.
- 400mm focal length and 40mm aperture refractor telescope.
The Aomekie telescope is a fantastic, affordable telescope for under £100, which is perfect for testing children’s love and interest before investing in a more expensive product. It is adjustable by 150 ° in the vertical and 360 ° in the horizontal direction, which is excellent for teaching children about the sky and landscape observation. It also has a 5 X magnification search scope which is very useful for locating a particular star or planet.
8. 12×56 HD Monocular Telescope
- Perfect for camping, hiking, boating, travel, bird watching and other outdoor activities.
- Great for adult beginners and children.
- 28mm focal length and 56mm objective lens diameter.
This telescope is an excellent option if you are into outdoor activities. It can immerse underwater as it is nitrogen-filled and sealed to prevent fogging, clouding and moisture damage. Meaning you don’t need to worry about rainy weather. It has a universal phone adapter and a sturdy tripod, which fits most smartphones. In addition, this telescope features 21mm large ocular lenses to help you get a more comfortable and larger view. Reviews state that this is an excellent option for on-the-go use.
These are some of the best telescopes for under £100 you can try. Let us know in the comments if you have tried any of these telescopes or share your images with us on social media.
