The Best Telescope for Beginners 🔭

If you're about to buy your first telescope - this video is for you.

I cover the most important aspects of a telescope, how much you should expect to spend, and provide four excellent examples to consider.

The following choices are obviously not the only ones to choose from, but they offer a variety of options and a good starting point, depending on what you want to get out of your telescope:

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[jmpattillo]

My first time staying up all night with a dobsonian was such a wonderful time. Finding the objects myself was 80% of the fun.

[CURTIS-WCER]

I've been watching you for years now. Your dedication to the craft and the hobby is so admirable. Your dad would be proud that you kept up with it. Bless you, Trevor.

[paulf]

1984 I purchased a Meade 2080 after saving money. The best scope and experience that I could have ever dreamed. I looked forward every month for the Astronomy Magazine to be at my local book store. Good times.

[MikeLikesChannel]

Used 8" Dob for visual fun. SeeStar S50 for intro astrophotography. Observe brighter objects while the SeeStar is imaging. Awesome duo.

[jcims]

I absolutely love love my Seestar S50 for its simplicity, portability and making deep space so incredibly accessible. It provides a wonderful entry point to the hobby and will help you figure out what you want next. I love it so much I just placed an order for the Seestar S30 even though I have an 11" Celestron sitting right beside it. Yes the Seestar doesn't always provide great results and can be frustrating, but if you think ANY option hobby is free of bad results and frustration, you're in for a long road haha.

[purrito]

This advice is dangerous, all these choices are so good that before you know it your bank account is empty! I own 3/4 of the setups discussed here, and honestly, wouldn't change a thing :)

[solarrookie]

I have an 8" SCT and am about to order a RedCat 51, wife permission pending. I can use my current mount, imaging camera, guide camera, ASIAir, and dew straps. Being able to mix pieces and parts can help reduce costs in the long run. No one telescope can do it all as you state. Just keep in mind some accessories can. Love your content, Trevor. Thank you for your channel.

[naf]

I absolutely love my AD8 paired with a Baader 8-24 zoom eyepiece and a telrad. The clarity and ease of use of the AD8 is so good.

[katcana]

pretty random video idea: You show ALL of your telescopes, talk about what they can do, their stats, and what they are made to see! (Ofc, that might be a long video.)

[raykrva]

I have a lot of trees and didn't want to spend the money and time for a big rig. It would be nice, but with two bad knees the S50 fits the bill for now. Light and easy to carry wherever I go. Plus I love the tech side as it all works pretty well. The framing mode in the latest update is outstanding from my experience. Now I'm getting into post processing learning curve.

[hustle]

My first ever telescope was a 10 inch dob. I had it for a year before finding an amazing deal on Facebook marketplace for a astrophotography kit. I do not regret buying the dob though! Great advice

[keithhanssen]

I’d advise a small refractor in the 400-500mm focal length range for a beginner scope. For visual, you can use a barlow or powerful eyepieces to get reach for planets and the moon, but you can also use it for astrophotography for a wide range of deep sky object. You won’t need to collimate it and it’s relatively lightweight.

[the_astrbits]

I've been getting the question of what to get from so many people. Thank you for making a succinct and informational video that I can share with all who ask me "What telescope should I get?". You sir, are a legend! Thank you for getting me addicted to this amazing hobby!

[MasonAnderson-jesq]

Ay I ain't watching this video in particular but I just wanted to hop on and tell you thank you for helping me understand and grow into this hobby. It's beautiful, the night sky, and the planets. I only have a Celestron nexstar 4 slt, but just seeing the planets is just another level of beautiful. Thank you. Even if u don't think u do, u made a difference to me. And it's just so much more bc I have epilepsy and it threatens my life every month or so. So I'm scared of dying. But I found another gem thanks to you. Thank you man, really

[pepeimc]

I love my small 130 pds, it’s relatively lightweight for its aperture and does fairly well almost everything. Cons: you need a mount & tripod

[astro-burak]

Great video! My favorite is the Dobsonian 🤩

[brianreynolds]

Well presented and thought out, Trevor. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I've been doing astronomy for over 25 years. Sometimes, the right presenter can make all the difference. Kudos! See you again sometime. Maybe CSSP again. Who knows?

[johndaley]

I'm an old guy with mobility issues. I bought the S50 about a year ago. So much fun. I did have plans on setting up a 9.5 edge with all the toys until I discovered smart telescopes and settled on the S50. After 200+ images captured so far this clearly for me the best choice.

[FrankSD]

You are a brave man to try to cover all the options a beginning astronomer has! Well done. I’ll refer new guys to this.

[gevelsolutions]

Just assembled my 10" dobsonian (celestron starsense) and can't wait to get going!