Prime Day telescope deal: Save 25% on the best budget model

Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ telescope with a silver optical tube and black tripod on a purpley starry background with the space.com logo in the top left.
(Image credit: Future/Amazon)

The Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ is 25% off for Prime Day and is now the lowest price it's been all year. This model sits at the top of our best budget telescopes under $500 guide, so if you want an astronomy experience without breaking the bank, this is a deal worth considering.

Save 25% ($120) on the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ telescope when you get it from Amazon.

In our Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ review, we found that it's the stand-out budget telescope for a reason. It offers a sizable aperture and good-quality optics for crisp and bright views, the app you can use it with is easy to use and the set-up is portable. It also comes with a range of extras to enhance your astronomy experience so given that it was already a good price, this deal makes it even better value. This telescope can be used with or without the app and is excellent for viewing nebulas and galaxies as well as planets and star clusters.

If you're looking for a deal on your next night sky viewing kit, but this deal isn't for you, we recommend checking out our telescope deals, binoculars deals and Amazon Prime Day deals pages for more stargazing discounts.

Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ
Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ: was $479.49 now $359.99 at Amazon US

Save 25% ($120) on the best budget telescope on the market. It features a 130mm aperture, 650mm focal length, 307x highest useful magnification, an easy-to-use app that it can be used with and it comes with a preassembled mount and tripod, two eyepieces (10 and 20mm), accessory tray, finderscope and phone dock. Astrophotography is also possible with this telescope.

Featured in: best budget telescopes under $500, best telescopes for beginners.


  • We're constantly checking the best prices on our Amazon Prime Day space deals page for big discounts on the best telescopes, binoculars, star projectors, cameras, drones, Lego, streaming and more.

Saving 25% this Prime Day means you get a saving of $120 on the before price. That's great value on a telescope that offers a lot. The 130mm aperture means a range of night sky objects are visible, whether you want to view deep space and see galaxies and nebulas or you're more interested in star clusters and nearby planets, like Mars. The app will generate a list of visible targets, so you don't need a great deal of astronomy experience to operate this telescope and if you want to take your first steps into astrophotography, you can with this scope too. But, you don't need the app to use this model, so if you prefer to do things manually, this is still a top choice to make.

Prime Day in October is known as Big Deal Days and just like the Summer's Amazon Prime Day, we're seeing several worthwhile deals across the board. If you're debating Prime Day vs Black Friday, the question that should take priority above all else is, can you afford to risk missing out on the prices currently available? Given that this telescope is $120 and the lowest price this year so far, it makes sense to grab this deal, if you're in the market for it.

Key features: 130mm aperture, 650mm focal length, easy-to-use app, preassembled tripod and mount, 10mm and 20mm eyepieces, finderscope, two-year warranty.

Price history: Before today's deal, this telescope would retail for around the $400 mark. We've seen it slightly less than that this year but we've also seen it considerably higher. This price is good value.

Price comparison: Amazon: $359.99 | Walmart: $429.95 | Best Buy: N/A

Reviews consensus: The best budget telescope on the market. It comes fully equipped, is a great price and is suitable for beginners who either want the help of technology for a fulfilling and easier experience or those who are content just using a finderscope and seeing what they can find.

Space: ★★★★

Featured in guides: Budget telescopes under $500, best telescopes for beginners.

✅ Buy it if: You don't have much prior astronomy experience or you're hoping to not break the bank on your next telescope.

❌ Don't buy it if: You want a high-end model, something that competes with the very best telescopes on the market.

Check out our other guides to the best telescopes, binoculars, cameras, star projectors, drones, lego and much more.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Alexander Cox
E-commerce Staff Writer

STAFF WRITER, E-commerce — Alex joined Space.com in June 2021 as staff writer covering space news, games, tech, toys and deals. Based in London, U.K. Graduating in June 2020, Alex studied Sports Journalism in the North East of England at Sunderland University. During his studies and since his graduation, Alex has been featured in local newspapers and online publications covering a range of sports from university rugby to Premier League soccer. In addition to a background in sports and journalism, Alex has a life-long love of Star Wars which started with watching the prequel trilogy and collecting toy lightsabers, he also grew up spending most Saturday evenings watching Doctor Who. 

Contact Alexander: E-Mail Twitter