Telescopes

Discover the Best Astro Telescopes at Castle Cameras

You can find a broad range of astronomical telescopes, as well as binoculars and spotting scopes, from Castle Cameras, available both online and in-store at our Bournemouth and Salisbury locations. If you visit us in store, you can speak to one of our experts to find the best telescope for you, as well as getting hands-on with the latest models, allowing you to get the most out of your night sky observations.

What’s a good beginner telescope?

The best type of astro telescope for beginners will be telescopes that are easy to use and are on the less-expensive end of the price scale. They may not include all the features of an advanced model, but starting with a beginners telescope is a great way of trying the hobby and learning more about how to operate an astro telescope.

Our most popular beginner’s telescopes are from the Celestron Astromaster line, including the Celestron Astromaster 114EQ Reflector Telescope and the 130EQ-MD Reflector Telescope. And for children and families, the Celestron FirstScope is a great choice if you want to dip your toe in the water without committing to a full-sized telescope.

For the best small telescope, you should look towards tabletop astro telescopes such as the Celestron StarSense Explorer 150 Tabletop Dobsonian Telescope, and if you wanted to move to the next step as an amateur astronomer, then you might want to consider options like the Celestron NexStar 130SLT Reflector Telescope and the Celestron StarSense Explorer 8 Inch Dobsonian Telescope.

What is the best astronomical telescope?

All of the Celestron telescopes we offer could be considered an astro telescope, however to get the best views of deep space objects (which most people mean when they ask for an astro telescope) we would recommend a reflector telescope, with tracking capabilities to help you pinpoint those astronomical highlights.

Check out the Celestron NexStar 6SE Computerised Reflector Telescope as a starting point for your first serious deep space scope. This 6” reflector model has a large aperture for gathering lots of light and comes pre-loaded with a database of 40,000+ celestial objects.

To take your astro telescope game to the next level, look no further than the NexStar Evolution line and telescopes such as the Celestron NexStar Evolution 9.25in EdgeHD with StarSense. This really is the ultimate consumer-level reflector scope for deep space objects with a huge 9.25” aperture, so it will gather enough light to detect even the deepest objects.

It also connects to your smartphone to detect and identify star patterns and calculate your scope’s position in real-time.

What’s the difference between reflector and refractor telescopes?

A reflector telescope will generally be shorter and wider and you will look into it from the side, using mirrors to reflect the light through lenses to your eye. A refractor telescope meanwhile will be longer and narrower and you will look in the end, where the light has been refracted through various lenses to meet your eye.

Typically a reflector telescope will offer higher magnification but with a lower sharpness of image, while refractor telescopes such as the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 102 will offer better focus, but are not as good at gathering the light.

Refractor telescopes are seen as a better bet if you intend to travel with your astro telescope, and a reflector may be better to leave set up in a dark corner of the garden. If you hope to look into deep space, a reflector such as the Celestron NEXStar Evolution 9.25 inch SCT Computerised Reflector will be better, and if you want to look at things a little closer to home such as planets, whole galaxies or star clusters; a refractor is recommended.