10 Best Dobsonian Telescopes 2025 in the United States

The Celestron StarSense Explorer 114mm Tabletop Dobsonian is designed with smartphone integration, making it perfect for beginners. Its standout feature is the StarSense app, which helps users locate stars, planets, and more by following arrows on their smartphone. The 114mm aperture allows for good light-gathering capability, making celestial objects clearer and more detailed. This is especially useful for viewing planets, brighter nebulae, and galaxies.

The optical design focuses on ease of use rather than high-powered magnification, which suits its intended audience well. The manual altazimuth mount is straightforward to set up and provides stable viewing with its Teflon bearings. Portability is reasonable given its compact dimensions and 12.6-pound weight; however, it might be a bit bulky for some users.

Accessories include a red-dot finderscope and two Kellner eyepieces (17mm and 10mm), which should cover a range of viewing needs. The inclusion of the StarSense technology and app adds significant value, making stargazing more accessible and educational. One downside is the reliance on your smartphone for full functionality, which might not appeal to everyone. This telescope is best suited for casual users and beginners looking for an easy-to-use, tech-enhanced stargazing experience.

The Celestron StarSense Explorer 150mm Tabletop Dobsonian is a user-friendly telescope that makes stargazing accessible even to beginners. With its 150mm aperture, the telescope is capable of capturing enough light to reveal details of various celestial objects, making it a good option for city and dark-sky observations. Its focal length and focal ratio are not specified, but the large aperture helps in observing brighter nebulae, star clusters, and even planets. The manual operation and tabletop mount provide stable yet straightforward use without the need for external power sources.

One key feature is the integration with the StarSense app, which uses your smartphone to guide you through the night sky, making it easier to locate stars, planets, and other objects. The app can suggest the best objects to view based on your location and time, adding to the user-friendly experience. However, the telescope is relatively heavy at 5.7 kilograms, which might make portability a bit challenging for some users. The accessories include two eyepieces (25mm and 10mm) and a red-dot finderscope, which enhance the viewing experience but may leave advanced users wanting more options.

The telescope's simple setup and use make it ideal for beginners and casual observers who want a hassle-free stargazing experience. While the lack of advanced accessories and the weight might be drawbacks for more serious astronomers, the package offers good value for those new to astronomy or looking for an easy-to-use telescope.

The Celestron StarSense Explorer 130mm Tabletop Dobsonian telescope is a great choice for those interested in stargazing without much prior experience. With an aperture of 130mm, it has a decent light-gathering capability, allowing for clear views of planets, brighter nebulae, and star clusters. The telescope’s standout feature is its integration with the StarSense app, which uses your smartphone to help you locate and identify objects in the night sky. This makes it incredibly user-friendly, particularly for beginners who may not be familiar with navigating the stars.

The mount type is a tabletop Dobsonian, which provides stability and ease of use, though it may not be suitable for those wanting a more portable or traditional tripod setup. Portability is somewhat limited due to its weight of around 8.71 kilograms (19.16 pounds) and its dimensions. However, it’s still manageable for moving to different observation spots. Accessories include a red-dot finderscope and two eyepieces (25mm and 10mm), which enhance the viewing experience by offering different magnifications.

In summary, this telescope is well-suited for beginners who want an easy-to-use, app-integrated telescope for casual stargazing and learning more about the night sky.