Top 10 Best Telescopes 2021 - Reviews & Buyer's Guide

Best Telescope for looking at the Moon in 2024

Celestial bodies such as planets and stars can be seen in higher detail and with better clarity with the aid of telescopes. Telescopes can also be used terrestrially to view far away things. Such as on the Safari to view wild animals, birds, and the like. They are very common among those who are interested in viewing celestial bodies; you know stargazers and astronomers.

Telescopes are tubes that come with a mixture of lenses and mirrors. All these help to magnify images of objects to up to 200 times their sizes. These telescopes also come with special features that help them ensure that just enough light gets into the telescope to help you clearly see the image.

10 Best telescope for looking at the Moon In 2024

Telescopes come in different types and sizes and of course all different price points. We’ll be sharing with you some of the best telescopes for use by beginners and amateurs.

1
Celestron NexStar 130SLT
9.4
2
Gskyer Telescope
9.4
3
SOLOMARK 130EQ
High quality
BUY NOW Amazon.com
8.9
4
Celestron NexStar 8SE
8.6
6
Orion 09007 Telescope
8.4
7
Skywatcher Telescope
8.2
8
SOLOMARK Telescope
8.1
9
MaxUSee 70mm Telescope
7.8
10
Zhumell Z100
BUY NOW Amazon.com
7.7

Celestron NexStar 130SLT

Celestron NexStar 130SLT

Specification:

  • Dimension: 42.01×23.66 x12.99 in
  • Weight: 23.9 pounds
  • Lens/Aperture: 203.2 mm
  • Focal Length: 2032 mm
  • Focal Ratio: f/10
  • Magnification: 81x
  • Limiting Magnitude: 14
  • Type: Reflector

What We like:

  • Efficient and professional
  • Superb vision to capture moments
  • Easy to install and use
  • High quality results

The Celestron Nexstar 130SLT is a great telescope for a beginner to astronomy or a stargazer. This is a computerized telescope that features a 5 inches aperture, amongst other technical details.

For new hobbyists looking for ways to view the night sky or the solar system, this telescope will help you just do that.

The first thing is that it is quite affordable; it does better than just a basic telescope. Everything you need is included in the package, from tripod to software, eyepieces, and more, they all come included in the box.

The telescope is coming in with an Aluminum tube, this piece of equipment is sturdy; it is also very easy to set up. In fact, setting up from beginning to end is very intuitive.

For those encountering a computerized telescope for the first time, there’s nothing to worry about. All the instructions needed come with the software, they have also included in the instructions manual that this telescope comes with.

We don’t like the fact that this telescope comes top-heavy and it kind of shakes while the motors are running. The batteries also run out fast. However, the Celestron telescope gives good views and also comes easy to use.

Celestron NexStar 130SLT is what you need today, this new telescope comes with awesome features and allow you to check out almost 40000 stars, enjoy watching the moon’s surface today, last but not least, it is the best telescope for beginners so never miss a chance to buy this awesome product.

Gskyer Telescope

Gskyer Telescope

Specification:

  • Dimension: 24.8×4.92×8.46 in
  • Weight: 6.49 pounds
  • Lens/Aperture: 70mm
  • Focal Length: 400mm
  • Focal Ratio: f/5.7
  • Magnification: 25mm
  • Eyepiece: 10mm
  • Optical Design: Refractor

What We like:

  • High quality lenses to transmit images
  • Wireless remote system
  • Sturdy and adjustable tripod
  • Brighter images
  • High quality components

Looking to enjoy the wonders of the night sky and not dig a hole in your wallet, the GSkyer might just be that. It comes with high-quality optics, (400mm (f/5.7) focal length, and 70mm aperture. The optics glass lenses are also fully coated, using high transmission coatings.

This helps in two ways, first, it protects the eyes, and it also helps to give beautiful images. From afar telescopes might seem a handful for beginners, however, this is not the case with the Gskyer telescope.

It comes very easy to operate; a beginner will have no problems operating it. Getting it into focus is very easy. For good magnification, this appliance comes with three lenses with different magnification power, (120X, 60X, and 24X).

These lenses are replaceable, Inclusive with all your purchases is good customer care and also a 12-month warranty. The downside is the Barlow 3x adapter; doesn’t seem to be of good quality.

It is one of the best travel scope 2022 that is equipped with awesome features and allows you to magnify more, look closer to the planets and stars especially the moon experience becomes quite loving.

Solomark Telescope

Solomark Telescope

Specification:

  • Aperture: 130mm
  • Focal Length: 650mm
  • Eyepiece: K20mm, K10mm
  • Optical Design: Refractor

What We like:

  • Easy to operate and observe bright planets
  • It has adjustable aluminum tripod
  • Easy to connect with smartphones
  • Telescope comes with backpack
  • Fully coated optics glass used in this telescope

Ever wished that you could take pictures of the wondrous beauties your eye sees in the telescope. The Solomark Polaris telescope makes it very easy.

It comes with a phone holder which you can use in taking pictures of the images you see, it also comes with a port where you can connect an adapter for a camera, where you can then take pictures also.

This telescope is very well made, it’s durable and would actually stand the test of time. However, setting it up can be a handful, especially for beginners, and this is because the instructions are not very clear and easy to follow.

Beginners would find this a bit challenging to set up. Some beginners might not successfully set it up. The Polaris from Solomark would give lucid images of the heavenly, including planets, our moons, and more.

For beginners, it is the best choice that has a 130mm aperture with a 650mm focal length. The equatorial mount is stable, and it features slow-motion controls for tracking objects in the sky, really easily. Accessories include a moon filter, 2 eyepieces (10mm and 20mm), and 1.5 x Barlow lens and of course phone adapter.

Solomark is new into the industry but has every possible feature you are looking for, check out the moon surface with 13 Percent Transmission Moon Filter that will make your galaxy experience more exciting.

Celestron NexStar 8SE

Celestron NexStar 8SE

Specification:

  • Dimension: 42.01×23.66×12.99 in
  • Weight: 23.9 pounds
  • Lens/Aperture: 203.2 mm
  • Focal Length: 2032 mm
  • Focal Ratio: f/10
  • Magnification: 81x
  • Limiting Magnitude: 14
  • Type: Reflector

What We like:

  • Computerized Telescope for Beginners
  • Starry night software
  • 8-Inch aperture
  • Fast Setup with SkyAlign
  • Schmidt-Cassegrain design

For most people who are conversant with Nexstar SE, the 8SE is like the most famous of them. And it’s not difficult to see why it gives the best bang for the buck as far as pricing and quality are concerned.

This brand has been around for over 20 years, and one thing they’ve always produced is good quality telescopes. It features the 8-inch Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope, which comes with an aperture of 203.2 mm, with a 2032 mm focal length. We can call this telescope an all-rounder, the lens is good, the mount is also good and it is easy to use by beginners.

What’s more, one can easily add other eyepieces to this, such as filters and star diagonals, red dot finders, moon filters, and more. It can serve the go-to equipment in an observatory or as an addition. With easy to understand manuals and explanatory software, users will find this easy to use.

If you also want to take pictures of the heavenly bodies, then this telescope will be a good choice for you. One downside though is the great demands this telescope makes on batteries. If you’re going to run this on batteries alone, then you’re looking at an expensive endeavor.

Explore Scientific FirstLight 114mm

Explore Scientific Telescope

Specification:

  • Dimension: 35.04×14.57×8.27 in
  • Weight: 12.5 Pounds
  • Lens/Aperture: 114mm
  • Focal Length: 500mm
  • Focal Ratio: f/4.5
  • Magnification: 25mm
  • Type: Newtonian Reflector

What We like:

  • This telescope includes 25mm Eyepiece
  • Mounted Telescope for Adults Stargazing
  • Superb quality design
  • It includes several astronomical features
  • Telescope comes with EQ3 Mount

Firstlight Explore Scientific telescope is a very versatile piece of equipment for astronomy. It gives pro images but comes at the price of an amateur telescope. Irrespective of your needs, this telescope can adapt to your needs. Whether you just want to view the moon, or you’d like to take pictures and the video of the sun.

The Firstlight explore scientific telescope has got you covered. A package of this equipment comes with the most important things you need to start viewing the heavens. So we’re looking at a sturdy mount, a red dot viewfinder, a telescope.

Now the telescope is a combination of several things, Maksutov-Cassegrains with 100m to 120mm range, achromatic refractors with an aperture range of 70mm to 152mm, and last but not the least Newtonian reflectors with 114mm to 203mm range.

The long and short of this is that the images provided here are lucid and very detailed. The whole contraption is also easy to put together, one may not even need the instruction manuals for that, and it’s intuitive.

Orion 09007 Telescope

Orion 09007 Telescope

Specification:

  • Dimension: 24x24x51 in
  • Weight: 24.2 Pounds
  • Lens/Aperture: 100-150mm
  • Focal Length: 650mm
  • Focal Ratio: f/5
  • Magnification:26x, 65x
  • Low Magnitude: 19x
  • High Magnitude: 260x
  • Type: Reflector

What We like:

  • 130 millimeters lens
  • 24 inches optical tube
  • Best for the family to explore stars
  • 10mm Sirius Plossl Eyepiece
  • Starry Night SE Software

The Orion SpaceProbe 130ST Newtonian Reflector Telescope is a very well made telescope, constructed not only for beginners but also for intermediate stargazers in mind. It’s not the cheapest rig especially for one who’s beginning, but for those who can afford it, the results are mind-blowing. It comes with a 130mm aperture (that’s about 5.1inches), apertures don’t get much larger than this for beginner astronomy.

It’s designed with a short optical tube design, this gives wide-angle viewing which is excellent to view large objects in the night sky. So if you’re looking for something that would give a great view of the moon or other planets, then this Orion telescope is the right tool.

The mount, an EQ-2 equatorial telescope mount, is very sturdy. The tripod comes with slow-motion tracking. It also features 10mm and 25 mm eyepieces, Starry Night SE Software, and a 6×30 finder scope. A beginner might not find this very easy to set up though, and it could be frustrating if there’s no help available or if the person is not very patient.

Skywatcher Telescope

Skywatcher Telescope

Specification:

  • Dimension: 44x20x14 in
  • Weight: 124 pounds
  • Lens/Aperture: 120mm
  • Focal Length: 900mm
  • Magnification: 369x
  • Type: Refractor

What We like:

  • Pro ed 120mm lens
  • Best refractor right now
  • It has a right-angle 8x50mm viewfinder
  • Quality product
  • Lightweight and affordable

The Skywatcher series all have something in common, great products that give crisp images. For those starting or those already far into astronomy, this is one telescope that you’d keep coming back to again and again. The optics are incredible, now that’s another theme you’d find amongst users of this scope.

The tripod though does leave a lot to be desired though. It comes with an aperture of 120mm, and a doublet refractor which makes it lighter than it’s triplet colleague. So if you’re looking for something compact that you can just grab and go, well here it is.

This telescope grows with you, as you get better and more experienced, your results just get better, because this telescope is good like that. This means that you won’t need to replace this telescope as you get deeper into the hobby.

A case of this telescope comes with all you need for good viewing. We are talking, 5mm and 25mm eyepieces, Finderscope, 2” dielectric Diagonal. 1.25” adapter, mounting rings and a v-styled Dovetail, 8×50 Right angle correct image (RACI), and foam-lined aluminum hard case.

Solomark Telescope

Solomark 70mm Telescope

Specification:

  • Dimension: 17.1×11.3×5.6 in
  • Weight: 5.02 pounds
  • Lens/Aperture: 70mm
  • Focal Length: 400mm
  • Focal Ratio: f/5.7
  • Magnification: 44x, 20x
  • Eyepieces: K9mm, K20mm
  • Finder Scope: 5×24
  • Type: Refractor

What We like:

  • Best for birds, scenery, and wildlife in mid-day
  • You can observe bright stars and the moon at night
  • High-quality optics
  • Lightweight telescope
  • Easy to carry and travel

This 70mm Aperture with 400mm AZ Mount Astronomical refractor telescope is very versatile. You can use it for viewing wildlife in the day, and then in the night, heavenly objects.

It possesses high-quality optics, with 400mm(f/5.7) focal length, fully coated optics glass lens with high transmission coatings, you get two things: your eyes are protected and then you have high-quality images.

This refractor telescope comes with a lightweight aluminum tripod, with an altazimuth mount and then a backpack that’s able to hold all these together.

Not forgetting the other accessories such as the two eyepieces, one with 20 x magnifications and the other with 44x magnification, 5×4 finderscope and also a Smartphone adapter. This is all you need to both take pictures and also enjoy your view of celestial objects.

It is not heavy, it’s easy to set up, and a beginner will find it easy to use. When it comes to lightweight telescopes, Solomark 70mm Telescope is the best choice, travelling becomes easy with this refractor to observe nature in the day and the moon at night.

MaxUSee Telescope

MaxUSee Telescope

Specification:

  • Dimension: 45.5×22.10×10.90 in
  • Weight: 4.41 lbs
  • Lens/Aperture: 70mm
  • Focal Length: 400mm
  • Focal Ratio: f/5.7
  • Magnification: 16x to 200x
  • Eyepieces: H6mm, H12.5mm, H20mm, K25mm
  • Type: Refractor

What We like:

  • Tripod & Finder Scope
  • It comes with 4 Magnification eyepieces
  • Awesome lens to make images more clear
  • It locates objects fast
  • You can store videos and images

This is an Amazon’s Choice product for “telescope for kids age 10”. The fact is that both children and adults will enjoy using this telescope. It is both a terrestrial telescope and also a celestial telescope. It can be used to view wildlife, birds, and the likes and also to view celestial bodies.

It has different ranges of magnification and can go all the way from 16X to 200X. For beginners, or parents looking to introduce their children into astronomy and stargazing, this is one place you can start from.

It’s cheap, therefore it’s not going to drill a hole into your pocket. It comes with a 70mm large-aperture objective lens, which gives sharp images. With a 5×24 viewfinder, locating objects becomes easier. H6mm, H12.5mm, H20mm, and K25mm are the four eyepieces which it comes with.

The Maxusee telescope is quite versatile, for either magnified or clear views, it can provide. It is easy to use and setup is so simple that a kid can install it without any issue. This is an around good telescope for the beginner astronomer.

Zhumell Z100

Zhumell Z100

Specification:

  • Dimension: 14.5x11x11.75 in
  • Weight: 5.25 Pounds
  • Lens/Aperture: 100mm
  • Focal Length: 400mm
  • Focal Ratio: 4
  • Magnification: 24x, 40x
  • Limiting Magnitude: 12.7
  • Type: Reflector

What We like:

  • Awesome for students and teachers
  • Change magnification with 10mm and 17mm eyepieces
  • Small telescope
  • Perfect to observe the moon at night
  • Easy to use Red Dot Finderscope

This telescope is affordable and also very portable (this is a tabletop version), this Zhumell z100 is a good place for an adult to get into astronomy. It doesn’t cost you very much, and then it gives you a good enough image for you to actually want more. It comes with the 100 mm parabolic primary mirror; this mirror of this size is usually rare with telescopes of this size.

What you get are more focused images. All the optical surfaces come coated with high reflexivity coatings, for better image processing. This setup is easy to use, is very durable, and is very compact.

It outperforms many other tabletop telescopes. What you get here is the quality which Zhumell offers with its more expensive offerings, just that this comes in a smaller size.You can bring a big change in your exploration if you really want to enjoy watching the moon’s surface,  Zhumell Z100 is the only best choice for you.

FAQs:

What type of telescope is best for viewing the moon?

There are several telescopes that helps you to view the surface of moon, I personally recommend Celestron Telescopes that are usually smart enough to look clearly the moon. Telescopes are usually nice to view moon and other closest planets.

What size telescope is best for viewing the moon?

You can use 70mm for this but going further, I mean higher than 70mm can be a smart choice for you to view the moon clearly, if you want more clear images buy a little bit expensive one such as Celestron NexStar 8SE.

Do I need any additional equipment to view the moon with my telescope?

No necessary equipment is required, if you have a folding stand that is enough for you, you can simply install the telescope and enjoy seeing the moon’s surface.

What is the best time of day to view the moon?

The moon is visible in the sky for roughly half of every 24-hour period, so the best time to view it depends on your location and the phase of the moon. Generally, the best time to observe the moon is when it is in a waxing or waning crescent phase, as this allows you to see the most detail on the lunar surface.

Can I view the moon with a telescope from a city or suburban location?

Yes, it is possible to view the moon from a city or suburban location, but light pollution may make it more difficult to see faint details on the lunar surface. If you live in a heavily light-polluted area, it may be beneficial to travel to a darker location to get the best views of the moon.

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