Top 5 Best Telescopes

Welcome to GetMojo, we do the research so you don’t have to! In this video, we’re offering our picks for the 5 best telescopes on the market in 2020.

There’s a whole universe around us, and telescopes allow us to explore it from the comfort of our own homes. But deciding which telescope to buy can be a bit overwhelming. So, to help you decide, we’ve sifted through numerous website and consumer reviews to present our 5 recommended products. Okay, first up.

If you want to invest in a solid telescope, but don’t necessarily want to have to fine tune directives into it, then the fully-automated SkyProdigy 130 is one of the best out there. It may be very pricey at around $1,500, but this is a telescope that takes pictures of the sky, analyses them, and then identifies the positions of star constellations and planets in a matter of minutes. It also comes with a wired keypad for convenient positional tweaking.

If you want to keep costs down, or you're looking for your first relatively-inexpensive telescope, then this $200 model offers a ridiculously good bang for your buck. It may not have an electronic GPS function, but its excellent image quality makes up for it. And it’s also extremely portable, thanks to its tabletop set-up and the fact that its mirrors can expand and collapse for added portability. Review website Wirecutter said that it “offers quality optics and design touches that far exceed its price.”

Another tabletop telescope, this Orion StarMax model is more compact and portable than most. Weighing just 6.5 pounds, the $200 StarMax is extremely lightweight and is ideal for those who like to take their telescope on the road. Although it can be mounted on a tabletop, the StarMax can also be mounted on a tripod, unlike the aforementioned OneSky model, giving extra flexibility when standing out in your yard or in a field. This StarMax model also comes with two 1.25 inch eyepieces, offering two different focal lengths.

Operating a telescope can get pretty complicated and expensive. So if one of your kids is a budding space enthusiast, then maybe this telescope kit, which also comes with a microscope, will pique their interest. Priced at just $50, the kit comes with 19 accessories, including add-ons for both the telescope and the microscope. The telescope also comes with a tripod for easy viewing, so your kids can start their space exploration journey.

Digital tech can be a tricky one when it comes to telescopes. But the Astro Fi 102 ensures simple navigation of controls, thanks to its smartphone and tablet connectivity. By simply downloading Celestron's free SkyPortal app, you have the ability to align your telescope with your favorite constellations and planets. It even comes with a tripod. Priced at around $400, it’s not the cheapest, but it offers great value for money for tech-savvy users who want to jump right in.

So which telescope should you choose? Well, difficulty of use varies massively with telescopes. So, if you think you may struggle with a manual model, perhaps try an automated one to make things easier.

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