BEST TELESCOPES of 2023 | High Point Scientific

We are pleased to announce our list of the top telescopes for 2023! Covering the most interactive telescope, the best intermediate telescope, and more - see what our experts have to say about choosing a new telescope in 2023.

Most Interactive:

Most Innovative:

Most Versatile:

Best Tabletop:

Best Intermediate:

Best Overall:

Table of Contents

00:00 - 01:04 - Intro
01:05 - 02:38 - Most Interactive
02:39 - 04:10 - Most Innovative
04:11 - 05:25 - Most Versatile
05:26 - 07:29 - Best Table Top
07:30 - 09:05 - Best Intermediate
09:06 - 11:12 - Best Overall
11:13 - 11:50 - Outro

#highpointscientific #astronomy #astrophotography #telescopes

[EdwardVivier]

As a beginner I bought a Celestron Nexstar 130slt newtonian and found the tripod mount is very unstable for the weight of the telescope. Even at minimum tripod extension the focus takes about 5 seconds to stop shaking from the instability of the mount. The telescope feels like it wants to fall over in light winds. I put 2 patio blocks on the tray which helped some. There is no way to do "push-to" either. So my advice is consider a good tripod and separate OTA purchase. OEM tripods on all of the telescopes I investigated are flimsy at best. The goto on this scope is also frustrating. It takes usually 3 alignments to get it to work. On the other hand the OTA is very good. Just needs a "real" tripod which is another $400+. Alot of money for a beginner to investigate astronomy as a hobby.

[joeshmoe]

I did this excercize, and went with the skywatcher 200p f5 on eq5 mount with enhanced dual axis motor. For guidance, adapted a starsense cradle from a celestron 114lt which i got fot $106 delivered on amazon day. And put rings on a celestron az 102 refractor, for "grab and go" and wide field. In bortle 7 sky, the 102mm refractor is all i use. The 200p reflector is about as effective as the 102mm refractor in bortle 7. The 200p reflector is for dark site, or when splitting difficult double stars in bortle 7.
Dobsonians have hidden expenses, like needing more expensive wide angle eyepieces to manually track, limited astrophotography, the annoyance of constant nudging, awkward motion around zenith, minimum altitude limits on balcony...
I'd get a 16" or greater collapsable truss dob, if found a good deal second hand. Something portable, for a dark site.
If i lived at a dark site, i'd get the biggest dob i could find, at a bargain price. Or make one.

[Rick-orkq]

GOTO is a loose term; I have had two GOTOs and have struggled with both of them to get them aligned properly so they can GOTO. My Mead 127mm refractor never aligned properly, but however because of that I learned the night sky pretty well. The other one was a Celestron SE8 which was for me also a struggle to get to align. Every once in a while, I will get lucky, and it will give an " alignment Successful". So, for me the term, GOTO is a loose term. It is GOTO "if" you can get them to align properly.

[The.RandomTube]

This was such a high quality and calming video! Made me feel like this is exactly what I wanted, Thank you soo much!!

[mchacon]

Great video and very informative. Very pleased with my Apertura AD8 purchase. Looking at the performance kit now. 😉Thank you.

[kiiiburn]

@high point scientific - I'm in the New Hampshire mountains and the night views are great. I'm looking to spend $1500-$2000 on a telescope. I'm a beginner, I want something that I can easily set up and tear down (weight is not a factor), I want a phone app where the telescope will automatically go to the location I want based on a predefined list I can select from, ability to take high resolution images and save them for offline editing/printing. Do you think the Celestron NexStar 8SE with wifi module is the right choice? Thank you.

[Stephen-gpyi]

Bought my first scope a few weeks ago a stellalyra 8 inch dobsonian it’s fantastic for sure!

[lovetheoutdoors]

We love our son apertura ad8 we've had the best time of our life looking at the night skies. Moving it around isn't a problem when you have help. The carrying bag is definitely a plus when you want to go outside while your kids are sleeping lol

[shawnstatzer]

Great informative video. Thank you. Do you thing that the Orion SkyQuest XT10 would be better (more clarity and distance) than the Apertura AD8 Dobsonia 8"?

[JesterRoll]

Does the Celestron hook up to a PC--or do anyof them hook up to the PC so as I am viewing I can send the image I am seeing onto a live feed viewing on the PC?

[howardhudson]

I love my Nexstar 8SE as well as my CPC 1100.

[DJLyndon_SUMOr]

🎉 amazing and great simplicity presentation 👍🏾✨

[kaidscha_]

I want to buy the Celestron StarSense Explorer Dobsonian 10" is that a good choice?

[ricardoabh]

Great categories…
Maybe best city telescope?

[Navigatorbythestars]

I absolutely love the Apertura AD8 ! Amazing scope!!

[seanwizzy]

Do you guys only sell in the USA? I wasn't able to select any other country while setting up my account on yoyr site for delivery

[ryanbanasik]

i would like to see a video on best telescopes for 2025. Maybe by Christmas in 2025 i should be able to get a telescope or two.

[atuldivekar]

Does the Evolution mount stay steady with the 9.25 in tube, especially with the wind? Or is the cpc 9.25 better?

[Astrolavista]

The Virtuoso and Heritage table top Dob's wont reach focus with a planetary camera unless you're using the narrow bodied type cameras that fit all the way in like an eyepiece. My camera wasn't like this so I had to drop the truss rods half an inch to gain focus, the catch being doing so clips the light from the primary mirror. The helical focuser is a challenge though!

Very much agree that the GSO / Apertura / Stellalyra 8" Dobsonian is the best telescope you can start out with unless you specifically want to get into astrophotography from the get go. As an all rounder for observing it's going to be hard to beat. Very good video, thanks.

[OldboyWOW]

Why all those top sold Telescopes and reviews are for units that are like 10 years ago? Isn't there any new telescope with good lens from 2020+ year? How telescopes from 2010 are still top 10 for beginners and pro.