We've rounded up the best telescopes on Amazon and the early Black Friday deals that go with them.
If you've ever searched for telescopes on Amazon you'll know that the retailer has a seemingly endless supply. So, we've highlighted the pick of the early Black Friday telescope deals worth getting so you don't have to trawl through the expanse of options Amazon stocks. Fortunately, you can get some of the best telescopes and telescope deals on Amazon and it's home to some excellent budget telescopes under $500 and some of the best telescopes for beginners. That means you don't have to break the bank to own a quality telescope, and we've tried to include something suitable for everyone below, regardless of experience and budget.
This guide is updated throughout the year and we'll keep it updated during Black Friday, so when new deals for telescopes on Amazon become available, you'll find them here. We'll also remove any expired discounts and underneath the early Black Friday telescope deals in this guide, you'll find some buying advice, just in case you need a pointer on what exactly to look out for.
Generally speaking, if a deal seems too good to be true, it is and we recommend sticking to tried and trusted manufacturers as you can't always rely on the quality of lesser-known names. However, if you do want to check out a specific manufacturer's offers, we have guides to the best Celestron telescope deals, Sky-Watcher telescope deals, Meade telescope deals and Orion telescope deals. But, for the best telescopes on Amazon and the early Black Friday deals worth checking out, scroll down below.
Telescopes on Amazon: Today's best deals November 2024
Buying advice
When purchasing one of the telescopes on Amazon, or any telescope for that matter, you need to consider your budget and what you want to achieve from your stargazing experience. It can be worthwhile to wait for annual sales events like Amazon Prime Day or Black Friday, but you can still bag a bargain through the year. There are three main types of telescope and each has different advantages, so we've explained each one below - so you know what to look out for in your next scope. Alternatively, you can check out our best telescopes guide for more information.
Black Friday starts on Friday November 29 this year and we expect to see several big telescope deals.
Refractors
These telescopes are usually best for providing high-magnification views of targets like planets and the moon. They're also very easy to set up and maintain. Combine this with the fact that they usually retail for a lower price point and you can see why this is a popular option with beginners. They do tend to suffer from a visual problem called 'chromatic aberration', where bright objects in the sky appear to be surrounded by a halo. However, this shouldn't dampen the experience for any viewers.
Reflectors
With wider apertures, these types of telescopes are able to take in more light and therefore better suited for spotting fainter objects. They tend to be useful for views of low-magnification targets like galaxies and nebulas. Unfortunately, these types of telescopes can suffer from something called the 'coma' effect, where objects appear elongated instead of spherical/ circular. Again, though, this is a minor issue - and probably something you can get used to at this low price point.
Catadioptric
There are two main catadioptric designs: the Maksutov-Cassegrain and Schmidt-Cassegrain. Both types often come with a computerized GoTo system, which can work out your position and location - and align with night sky targets that you program into the device. They also usually fix the problems mentioned above (coma and chromatic aberration.) As such, they're also usually more expensive. Typically, you'll find that the Schmidt-Cassegrain designs have bigger apertures, and the Maksutov-Cassegrain sport smaller apertures, so the former is better for fainter deep sky targets and the latter will offer high magnification views.
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.
