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Buy the right telescope, not the biggest one

Saturn is at opposition on 4 October

Buy the right telescope, not the biggest one.

That circle is not catalogue art. It is what you will see — computed from your aperture, your eyepiece and your sky, with nothing added. Drag, then choose where to start.

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Aperture50 mm

The Orion Nebula: a smudge, barely · 10/14 targets tonight · from €70

In the sky tonight

The Orion Nebula: NASA, ESA, M. Robberto (heic0601a), CC BY 4.0

Where to start?

What should I buy?7 questions, 2 minutes, a ceilingFastestI have a budgetWhat does it actually buy?I want to see…Saturn, Andromeda, the cratersCompareTwo instruments, same sky, side by sideA model in mind?Reviews and duels, judged by the numbersUnderstand firstThe guides — dated, kept current

Or start from a profile

City balcony€300 · Bortle 8 · one tripA child's first telescope€200 · gardenDark-sky weekends€600 · car · galaxiesStarting astrophotography€900 · tracking · wide field

Read the guide

Which telescope should a beginner buy?The honest answer, by budget, sky and use — with what the eyepiece really shows.Which telescope for a child?By age and by budget, and what they will see on the first night.

Why believe us

  • The ranking cannot see the sellersA test in the code stops the advisor from reading who pays us.
  • Prices are dated, never inventedEvery price carries the day it was observed; without a date it is not shown.
  • What you will see, not a photoThe eyepiece is computed from the aperture and your sky, and it only ever takes away.

The advisor cannot see which retailer pays us. That is a test in the code, not a promise. It can — and often will — tell you to spend less. How this site is funded.