10 Best Telescopes 2025 in the United States

The Gskyer Telescope is an excellent choice for kids and beginners who are interested in exploring astronomy. With a 70mm aperture and 400mm focal length, it provides clear and bright images of the moon and stars. The fully coated optics ensure high transmission of light, enhancing image quality and protecting your eyes. The included 3x Barlow lens and two eyepieces offer versatile magnification options, making it easier to locate and observe celestial objects using the 5x24 finder scope. The Altazimuth mount allows smooth and simple movement, making it user-friendly for beginners.

The adjustable aluminum tripod and carry bag enhance its portability, allowing you to take it on your travels conveniently. The added smartphone adapter and wireless camera remote are great for capturing and sharing your celestial discoveries. While this telescope is highly rated and popular, its manual focus might require some practice to get right, and it’s designed mainly for casual star-gazing rather than advanced astronomical research.

Nonetheless, for its price point and ease of use, it's a solid entry-level telescope for those starting their journey into astronomy.

The Celestron Origin Intelligent Home Observatory is an advanced telescope designed for both stargazing and astrophotography. With a 6-inch aperture and a fast f/2.2 focal ratio, it offers bright and clear images with minimal exposure time, thanks to its patented RASA optical design. One of its standout features is the AI-powered astrophotography, which automatically processes and stacks images in real-time, making it user-friendly for beginners and convenient for experienced astronomers. The automated setup with StarSense technology further enhances its ease of use by quickly aligning and focusing the telescope with minimal user intervention.

It is compatible with iOS and Android devices, allowing seamless control through a dedicated app that provides an intuitive interface for navigating the sky. The GoTo mount ensures precise tracking of celestial objects, and its combined weight of 41.6 pounds makes it relatively portable for a home observatory setup. However, potential drawbacks include its relatively high weight, which might make it less suitable for frequent transport, and the reliance on a power source, which could limit its use in remote locations without easy access to electricity.

Additionally, while its AI and automated features are impressive, they may reduce the hands-on learning experience for those who prefer manual control. Despite these considerations, the Celestron Origin offers a compelling package for anyone interested in easily capturing high-quality images of the night sky with minimal effort.

The Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ is a user-friendly telescope ideal for beginners and casual stargazers. One of its standout features is the integration with the StarSense app, which utilizes your smartphone to guide you through the night sky, making it accessible for those with little to no prior telescope experience. The patented StarSense technology allows the telescope to determine its position by analyzing star patterns, ensuring you can quickly locate celestial objects.

With a 130mm Newtonian reflector, this telescope boasts a good aperture size that enhances light-gathering capacity, allowing for clear views of the Moon, planets like Jupiter and Saturn, as well as deep-sky objects such as the Orion Nebula. The included eyepieces (25mm and 10mm) further add to the viewing experience, enabling varying magnifications.

The manual altazimuth mount with smooth controls makes it easy to track objects once you've located them through the app, adding to the ease of use. However, the setup may still require some practice to master fully. Its portability is decent, but weighing 18 pounds, it's not the lightest option if you're planning to travel frequently with it. On the downside, some users might find the manual focus a bit limiting, especially if they are accustomed to more high-tech, automated systems. Additionally, while the app provides a wealth of information, it does require a smartphone, which may not appeal to everyone.

The Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ is an excellent choice for those who want to explore astronomy without the steep learning curve. Its strengths lie in its smartphone integration and quality optics, although it may not be the best fit for seasoned astronomers who prefer more advanced features.