Over the quarter century I've been writing this column, I've been flabbergasted by the advances in telescopes for backyard astronomers. There's even one I'm recommending this year that does amazing near-instant color celestial photography!
I want to do my best to help you buy a telescope for someone on your holiday list, even if that someone is yourself. Like any hobby, you can invest all kinds of money in telescopes and equipment. I know. Thank God I have an understanding wife, for the most part. Sometimes, I have to enter delicate negotiations before I make the order.
I'm often asked to recommend a scope that's "not all that expensive." That's always tough for me because I'm not sure what their definition of not too expensive is, so I have to ask them for a specific price range. Since this is the big gift-giving season, I want to help as many of you as possible without breaking the bank. One of my strongest recommendations is to avoid telescopes at retail stores and general shopping websites. Nothing against any of them, but there are a lot of junky scopes out there that I don't want you to get stuck with that often find a way onto their shelves and websites. In my opinion, the best brands of telescopes are Orion and Celestron, and the best places to order telescopes are Starizona in Tucson, Ariz., Highpoint Telescopes and Orion Telescopes. There are other good ones out there. But these are the ones I've done business with and trust, especially Starizona in Tucson. They have wonderful people there.
Before I get too specific, I want to emphasize that the main mission of your telescope is to gather as much light as you can. While magnification is important, light-gathering ability is much more critical. That's a telescope's main job: to allow you to see objects far too faint to be seen with the naked eye. Galileo said it best: telescopes "reveal the invisible." Magnification, or "power," is controlled by which eyepiece you use. Most telescopes come with two or three eyepieces. Usually, 100- to 200-power magnification is the most you'll ever need for most celestial targets. Higher magnification eyepieces can be useful on planets and the moon, but not totally necessary.
There are three basic types of telescopes: reflectors, refractors, and Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes. Each type has spin-offs.
Refractor telescopes gather light with the objective lens, where light enters the scope. The wider that lens is, the more light-gathering power you'll have. The minimum you'd want is a 60mm refractor, meaning it has a 60mm objective lens.
Reflector telescopes gather light with a concave parabolic mirror at the end of an open tube. The image collected by the mirror is sent to the eyepiece with a flat mirror that bounces the image outside the tube to the eyepiece. Reflectors are my favorite type of scope, and I dare say many amateur astronomers agree with me. You just get more bang for your buck. Mirror diameters range anywhere from 3 inches for young kids to over 30 inches for fanatics. Light-gathering power increases by the square of the mirror diameter.
Schmidt-Cassegrain scopes combine the optics of both the reflector and refractor scopes. They are definitely more expensive but compact and portable than most reflector telescopes. Another great advantage is that just about all Schmidt-Cassegrain scopes have motorized drive systems that keep up with the Earth's rotation, allowing you to track whatever you're looking at through your scope as it moves along in the sky, keeping your target in the field of vision. Many of them also have "go-to" systems that are a huge time saver for locating celestial objects, especially in areas with light pollution.
Here are my specific recommendations for this year.
The ZWO SeeStar S50: This amazing telescope camera system came out in 2023, and I can guarantee it will get anybody at any age excited about backyard astronomy. It's not a telescope you look through but instead a small telescope that takes absolutely stunning celestial photos of star clusters, nebulae, galaxies, the moon, the sun, and more, all in color! It's less than a cubic foot in size and weighs less than five pounds. Using simple software you control on your Smartphone or iPad, the Seestar S50 directs itself to the celestial target of your choice. There are hundreds to choose from. Then, it will begin wirelessly projecting the image of that target on your phone or pad in a process called live stacking. As the sub-exposures build in, the picture gets clearer and clearer. You have to see it to believe it! You can store and share your photos with all your friends. The most unbelievable thing is that it's only $500. Starizona.com
The Celestron Starsense Explorer DX 130AZ Smartphone App Enabled Newtonian Reflector Telescope: This is perfect for beginners. Its user-friendly interface and detailed tutorials make it like having your personal tour guide of the night sky. The app uses patented technology to determine where the telescope is pointed in real time, making locating objects easier. $479. Starizona.com
Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Scope: For teens through adults. It has a good size 8-inch diameter mirror but no navigation tools. $649. Telescope.com
Celestron StarSense Explorer 8'' Smartphone App-Enabled Dobsonian Telescope: This is a much larger version of the Celestron Starsense DX 130AZ scope with the same smartphone app for easy and precise navigation. $798.95. Starizona.com
Celestron NexStar 6SE: This Schmidt-Cassegrain type has a fully automated GoTo mount with a database of 40,000-plus celestial objects that automatically locates and tracks objects for you. Just type in the celestial target you want to see, and it will electronically steer the telescope right to it. Then, track it across the sky! I have this scope, and I just love it. $1,100. Starizona.com
The Celestron First Scope: Designed for kids about 8 to 10. It's not a pure Dobsonian scope but similar with a small mirror. $80. Celestron.com
Believe me, I could have listed many more, but these are my top picks. No matter what kind of telescope you get or give, read the instructions thoroughly. One more thing: Always use your telescope outside and let it sit outside for at least a half-hour to acclimate to the temperature. If you don't let the components of your scope cool off, you might get some really fuzzy images.