10 Best Telescopes 2025 in the United States

The Gskyer Telescope is an excellent choice for kids and beginners who are interested in exploring astronomy. With a 70mm aperture and 400mm focal length, it provides clear and bright images of the moon and stars. The fully coated optics ensure high transmission of light, enhancing image quality and protecting your eyes. The included 3x Barlow lens and two eyepieces offer versatile magnification options, making it easier to locate and observe celestial objects using the 5x24 finder scope. The Altazimuth mount allows smooth and simple movement, making it user-friendly for beginners.

The adjustable aluminum tripod and carry bag enhance its portability, allowing you to take it on your travels conveniently. The added smartphone adapter and wireless camera remote are great for capturing and sharing your celestial discoveries. While this telescope is highly rated and popular, its manual focus might require some practice to get right, and it’s designed mainly for casual star-gazing rather than advanced astronomical research.

Nonetheless, for its price point and ease of use, it's a solid entry-level telescope for those starting their journey into astronomy.

The Celestron Origin Intelligent Home Observatory is an advanced telescope designed for both stargazing and astrophotography. With a 6-inch aperture and a fast f/2.2 focal ratio, it offers bright and clear images with minimal exposure time, thanks to its patented RASA optical design. One of its standout features is the AI-powered astrophotography, which automatically processes and stacks images in real-time, making it user-friendly for beginners and convenient for experienced astronomers. The automated setup with StarSense technology further enhances its ease of use by quickly aligning and focusing the telescope with minimal user intervention.

It is compatible with iOS and Android devices, allowing seamless control through a dedicated app that provides an intuitive interface for navigating the sky. The GoTo mount ensures precise tracking of celestial objects, and its combined weight of 41.6 pounds makes it relatively portable for a home observatory setup. However, potential drawbacks include its relatively high weight, which might make it less suitable for frequent transport, and the reliance on a power source, which could limit its use in remote locations without easy access to electricity.

Additionally, while its AI and automated features are impressive, they may reduce the hands-on learning experience for those who prefer manual control. Despite these considerations, the Celestron Origin offers a compelling package for anyone interested in easily capturing high-quality images of the night sky with minimal effort.

The HUGERSTAR Telescope is a solid option for beginners and adults interested in astronomy. Its 90mm aperture and 800mm focal length offer a good balance, allowing you to see bright and clear images of the moon and stars, thanks to the fully coated lenses which improve light transmission. The magnification range, from 32x up to 240x using the included 10mm and 25mm eyepieces plus the 3X Barlow lens, gives you flexibility to zoom in on various objects, though very high magnifications may require a steady hand and good atmospheric conditions to keep images sharp.

It uses an altazimuth mount, which is intuitive and easy to move up-down and left-right, making it user-friendly for beginners. The sturdy stainless steel tripod is adjustable, adding comfort during longer viewing sessions, and the included tray is a handy spot to keep eyepieces close by. Portability is decent for a 10.98-pound setup, especially with the carry bag, making it convenient for travel or storage.

A few thoughtful extras like a moon filter help reduce glare when observing the moon’s surface, and the phone adapter lets you capture and share images directly through your smartphone, which is a nice touch for casual astrophotographers. Assembly is straightforward without tools, and customer support is available if you need help. This telescope suits adult beginners who want an easy-to-use, moderately powerful refractor for lunar, planetary, and some deep-sky viewing. While it may not satisfy experienced astronomers seeking larger apertures or equatorial mounts for advanced tracking, it offers great value and features to get started with stargazing.