Recommended Best Products Individually Reviewed
1. Best Cheap Telescope – Orion SkyScanner 100mm
- Inexpensive
- Attaches to a photo tripod
- Extremely convenient to set up and transport
If your wallet is a little tight, the Orion Skyscanner 100 is the cheapest and best astronomical telescope one can buy in the UK. This telescope is well worth its low price. The Skyscanner is perfect for kids, college students, and other newbies who are interested in looking deep into the cosmos.
The SkyScanner has the same features as a larger Dobsonian telescope, with only a few minor compromises to meet its price tag. While small, it’s easy to carry around, fits on a photo tripod or a small bench, and can show you quite a bit, especially if you manage to get out into the countryside away from light pollution.
The eyepieces provided with the SkyScanner are 20mm (20x magnification) and 10mm (40x) eyepieces of relatively good quality. You may want to purchase a shorter focal length eyepiece, such as a 6mm, for high-power views of the moon and planets, but there’s otherwise not much to upgrade.
The whole telescope comes in at just shy of 3 kg, meaning it’s easy to carry around with one hand and not too much of a strain on even a light-duty folding table.
The Z100’s primary mirror cannot be aligned (collimated). As a result, sharp images are hard to come by. We would certainly recommend spending a little more on a telescope with a collimatable primary mirror, as it can make a world of difference in image sharpness.
It’s not perfect, but the SkyScanner 100mm is a remarkable little telescope that would’ve blown away Galileo or Newton and would have cost a fortune back during the Space Race. Whether you’re new to the field and unsure if you’ll be an enthusiast, or your budget won’t allow for anything more, you won’t regret buying this awesome telescope.
2. Best £200 Telescope – Sky-Watcher Heritage 130P
- 130mm aperture provides fairly good views of brighter objects
- Collapsible tube
The Sky-Watcher Heritage 130P’s 130mm of aperture gives it much sharper and brighter views than the smaller 100mm and 114mm telescopes often marketed towards beginners, but without any additional bulk – it weighs just over 6 kg and will fit in a large backpack, passenger seat, or on a shelf when not in use.
With 130mm of aperture, you can start to see details in the brighter galaxies under dark skies, and watch shadow transits of Jupiter’s moons. You’ll also be able to begin resolving the brighter globular clusters into individual stars and see details on Mars when it is close to Earth.
The 130P comes with two eyepieces, 25mm and 10mm Plossls providing 26x and 65x. As with most telescopes, you will probably want to expand your eyepiece collection particularly for higher magnifications on steady nights for viewing the Moon, planets, and close double stars. The Sky-Watcher 130P blows its competitors away with or without the preferred eyepiece.
3. Best Portable Telescope – Sky-Watcher Heritage 150P
- 150mm aperture allows for serious viewing of deep-sky objects
- Collapsible tube
- Wide field of view for its size
The Sky-Watcher Heritage 150P borrows a lot from the smaller 130P, having essentially the same features but with 20mm more aperture. That extra 20mm may not seem like much, but it makes a significant difference when it comes to viewing galaxies and globular star clusters.
As with the 130P, you get a collapsible tube, a pair of 25mm and 10mm eyepieces (30x and 75x respectively with the Heritage 150P), a red dot finder, and a simple tabletop Dobsonian mount. You will need to find a fairly steady surface to place this telescope on, however, as it weighs in at about 11 kg. Building a custom stand might not be a bad idea.
4. Best 6″ Dob Telescope – Sky-Watcher Skyliner 150P
- Full-sized Dobsonian mount means no need for a table, stand, or tripod
- Easy to collimate and set up
- 150mm aperture offers great views of all targets
The Skyliner 150P boasts 150mm of aperture, a full-sized Dobsonian mount that requires no additional support, and is a bit easier to collimate (align the mirrors) and set up than shorter tabletop telescopes.
While spec-wise quite similar to the Heritage 150P, the Sky-Watcher Skyliner 150P does boast a few advantages over its smaller cousin. In addition to not requiring a stand or table of any kind, the Skyliner 150P features a 2” focuser which will allow you to upgrade to wide-angle 2” eyepieces in the future, and its longer focal ratio of f/8 means it’s significantly easier to align the mirrors (also known as collimation). It takes up a fair amount of floor space, but less than most tripod-mounted telescopes, and easily fits in the back of most mid size or larger cars.
The Skyliner 150P comes with two Plossl eyepieces – 25mm and 10mm focal lengths providing 48x and 120x respectively – and a 6×30 finder scope. This finder scope will allow you to see stars dimmer than what you can see with your eyes, though it’s a bit confusing to use compared to a simple red dot sight – partly because the image viewed through it is upside down.
5. Best Cheap 8″ Dob Telescope – Sky-Watcher Skyliner-200P
- Large aperture but still easy to use
- Not much difference in storage space, setup or handling compared to a 6” Dobsonian
- Full sized Dobsonian mount means no need for a table, stand, crate, etc.
An 8” telescope will show even more than a 6”. The entire Messier catalogue is relatively easy from a suburban or dark site. Pluto may be spotted from reasonably dark skies, and many deep-sky objects begin to show fair amounts of detail. The moons of Uranus are possible sights on nights of steady air.
The 8” Traditional is no bulkier than the aforementioned 6” Dobsonian. The only difference is the weight. For older users or children, an 8” may be too difficult to set up without assistance. And best of all, there’s really no difference in the amount of space it takes up compared to a 6-inch Dobsonian. An 8” Dobsonian is an ideal compromise between capability and portability, and won’t break the bank either.
The 8” Traditional(Skywatcher Skyliner 200P) includes a 25mm and 10mm eyepiece, providing 48x and 120x respectively, and a 6×50 finderscope. This finderscope is a little uncomfortable to look through, but usable.
The average person can handle an 8” Dobsonian and the gains over a 6” are certainly worth the price. An 8” telescope will last you a lifetime.
6. Best 8″ Dob Telescope – Bresser Messier 8”
- A more well-designed 8” Dobsonian
- Relatively compact design will still fit in most vehicles
- Like all Dobsonians, easy to set up and use
The Bresser Messier 8” doesn’t have significantly different views than lesser-priced 8” Dobsonians, but its unique design features lend it much better to future upgrades. It’s about 2 kg heavier than other offerings, but the large cutouts in the base make it easier to carry. Its Crayford focuser is higher quality than the cheaper one provided with the Orion or Sky-Watcher telescopes, and its adjustable tube rings and large bearings make balancing a breeze with even the heaviest eyepieces or finderscope. The tube rings also allow you to rotate the tube and place the eyepiece at whatever angle you want.
7. Best 10″ Dob Telescope – Sky-Watcher Skyliner 250P
- Large aperture brings even more photons and thus brighter and better views
- Relatively easy to use
- Not much bulkier than an 8”
The Skyliner 250P is a pretty standard 10” Dobsonian with the same offerings as all of Sky-Watcher’s other Dobs – a single-speed Crayford focuser, a 50mm finder scope, and 25mm and 10mm eyepieces (48x and 120x respectively).
While it’s not much taller than an 8” Dobsonian, the mount is a little fatter and thus transporting it by car might be a little more difficult. It’s also a bit more challenging to collimate. But if you’re willing to accept these compromises, you’ll be rewarded with even brighter images than an 8” telescope and views that simply blow away a smaller instrument.
8. Best 12″ Dob Telescope – Sky-Watcher Skyliner 300P FlexTube
- Collapsible tube makes for a fairly portable instrument
- Monster aperture will show fabulous deep-sky views and breathtaking planetary images
- Operation is no different from a smaller telescope
The Skyliner 300P isn’t for everyone. It’s a big telescope that requires a large vehicle to transport, and you’ll need to be in fairly good shape to easily lift and carry the 17kg base and 21kg tube around. However, the views through a telescope this size are amazing, especially if you’re fortunate enough to get it away from city lights. With 4 times the light gathering ability of a 6” telescope and 2 times the light gathering of an 8”, you’ll be able to view thousands of interesting targets under good conditions.
The 9×50 right-angle finder makes aiming the 300P FlexTube a breeze, though you might want to add a Telrad or red dot sight to the mix. The 300P’s collapsible tube makes storing and transporting it a fair bit easier than it would be with a solid-tubed telescope this size, though you’ll really need to make or buy a cloth shroud to go over the middle to prevent stray light, bugs, moisture, and curious hands from getting into the tube during operation.
9. Best £1000 Computerised Telescope – Celestron NexStar 6SE
- Collapsible tube makes for a fairly portable instrument
- Monster aperture will show fabulous deep-sky views and breathtaking planetary images
- Operation is no different from a smaller telescope
The NexStar 6SE’s computerised mount greatly simplifies finding faint deep-sky objects. Keep in mind, however, that its aperture of only 6 inches won’t be able to show you many of the objects listed in its database and for the price you’re putting more into the mount than the telescope itself.
The 6SE comes with a single eyepiece, a 25mm Plossl providing 60x. You’ll almost certainly need additional eyepieces to get the most out of this scope.
Being a Schmidt-Cassegrain catadioptric design, the 6SE’s focal length is quite long at 1500mm, giving it a lesser field of view than a typical 6” reflector like the lower-cost Dobsonians we’ve mentioned here. However, the computerised mount somewhat compensates for this.
Frequently Asked Questions
Almost all of the major telescope brands make great products – and unfortunately, they all market irredeemable garbage at low price points using their good reputations to fool newcomers. Brand loyalty or image should never be a factor in choosing a telescope or accessories.
FirstLightOptics, 365Astronomy, AstroShop are all trustworthy retailers of telescopes with excellent customer service.
A decent telescope can cost as little as £100, but we recommend spending at least £200 for something good with no compromises. You get what you pay for.
Any telescope can at least show you the Andromeda Galaxy, but the quality of your views and the number of galaxies depends on your telescope’s aperture, your light pollution and sky conditions, and your skill as an observer.
The most complicated things you’ll generally need to do to your telescope are collimate it (at least check every time you take it out) and clean the optics every few months or years. Collimation requires nothing more than a star and/or a collimation tool and is explained in our guide, while cleaning is generally little more than a rinse with distilled water (for mirrors) or cleaning with optical tissue and coating-safe lens cleaner or lens wipes (for lenses).
Dobsonian telescopes have smooth and simple motions – up and down, left and right with no complicated equatorial coordinates or locks or levers. Their simple construction means they’re also relatively lightweight, cheap, and easy to assemble, meaning you can put your money and focus on the telescope tube itself. The Dobsonian’s Newtonian reflector optical design also provides you the most aperture for your buck allowing you to see more of the Universe – and without the pesky chromatic aberration of a refractor.
Usually, when astronomers refer to amateur-sized telescopes, they lump them into several classes.
“Small” used to refer to telescopes of 6 inches of aperture or less, but the trend of larger and larger telescopes means that most astronomers today term “Small” to be 8 inches of aperture or less.
“Medium” usually refers to telescopes between 8 and 13.1 inches of aperture. Larger amateur telescopes (almost all of which are Dobsonians) pretty much require truss tubes to be managed by one person and fit in an automobile.
“Large” is a confusing term because there is no set definition as to where it ends. Some people would call a 30” Dob a “large telescope”. However, we would term it to be anything between 14” and 22” of aperture. A 22” is about the largest one-person scope you can buy.
“Very large” usually refers to telescopes above 22” of aperture. Telescopes above 22” (with the exception of some very exotic groundbreaking ATM builds) are simply not manageable by one person and seldom fit in a regular car or truck. They also typically cost over £10,000 so few tend to own them. The largest amateur-owned telescopes you typically see are 36” to 42” in aperture, but there are some 50-inch, 60-inch, and even two 72-inch amateur telescopes that either exist or are in development.
Conclusion
These are just a few things to keep in mind as you shop for getting the best telescope for beginners in the United Kingdom. Whether you’re an avid astronomer at the local observatory or just a college student looking for something to poke out of your dorm room window, now you are prepared enough to make a smart decision about what telescope you want next.
Good luck getting the top telescope there is for your budget.