Stargazing has emerged as a lockdown hobby. Whether you’re searching for Saturn’s rings, a meteor shower, or just browsing the stars, having the best affordable telescope makes navigating the night sky a cinch.

Types of Affordable Telescopes

This list is comprised of two types of telescopes: reflector telescopes and refractor telescopes. These are more affordable than other types of telescopes, but still offer endless features.

• A reflecting telescope uses a single or a combination of curved mirrors that reflect light and form an image that you see from the scope. This type of telescope is a favorite to most astronomers due to its simplistic mechanisms and accurate results.
• A refractor telescope uses two lenses to focus on light. These lenses are ‘convex’ shaped, which makes the object you’re focusing on appear closer to you than it is in reality. These are most suitable for viewing planets.

The Infinity 70mm f/10 Alt-Azimuth Refractor Telescope from Meade was created for amateur stargazers and explorers. Coming as a full kit, this is all you need to see the moon, planets and meteor showers. Manually tilt the alt-azimuth mount and lock into place, or use the slow-motion controls when tracking particular objects. The two eye-pieces allow you to magnify at 27x and 78x, with a 2x Barlow lens which also doubles the magnification.

The Celestron ExploraScope 60AZ 60mm f/12 Alt-Az Refractor Telescope is ready to go from the box, combatting the common problem of light loss and blurry images by using fully-coated with anti-reflection coatings.

One reviewer wrote: “This super light weight, easy to use telescope is perfect for the casual night sky observer. It’s powerful enough to see Jupiter and some of its moons, as well as the rings of Saturn. The star finder scope is easy to align it comes with everything you need to get started.”

Connect the Cassini SS-C80 800mm x 80mm Astronomical Telescope to your smartphone with the adapter, allowing you to film and take photos of your findings. Your phone can also assist you in navigating your way to discovering celestial objects. Also coming with an altitude azimuth yoke mount, you have full control using the slow-motion adjustment rod.

Designed with a carbon fiber appearance and featuring a slow-motion mount, this telescope is the perfect welcome to astronomy. For this price, this telescope goes above and beyond with technology, you can connect your smartphone for photography, and use the red dot viewfinder so you can direct your scope accurately. The wide-field eyepiece allows a more visible and highest quality image of the stars or planets.

This entry-level telescope is an opening for fans of astronomy to take their practice further. Stargazing can be done just about anywhere, as this lightweight and simplistic telescope is easy to move about.