The Celestron AstroMaster 102AZ is a great budget telescope, suitable for beginners and enthusiastic amateurs. It's also great if you don't have time to mess around setting up; we think it's the best grab and go telescope. It's now $70 off at Amazon, making it just $279.69.
Editor's note Oct 9: We've double-checked and this deal is still live as of 06:24 EDT.
Celestron is a leading maker of telescopes and binoculars and their scopes feature heavily in our best telescopes guide. The Celestron AstroMaster 102AZ may not be a top-end telescope but it's got all the features you need if you're a newcomer to stargazing.
This Celestron AstroMaster 102AZ on sale at Amazon for $99.99.
In our review of the Celestron AstroMaster 102AZ, we were impressed by its powerful primary lens, and how versatile it was, suitable for both skywatching and wildlife viewing. We felt it was a fraction too pricy, but this Prime Day deal does away with that issue.
- 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.
If you're looking for a beginner's telescope for stargazing and wildlife watching, the Celestron AstroMaster 102AZ is a great model to start with.
It comes with 2 eyepieces, a StarPointer red dot finderscope and an adjustable tripod. Plus, it's portable enough and easy enough to set up that you can be ready in minutes. It has two 1.25-inch eyepieces, 20mm and 10mm, which provide 33x and 66x magnification.
And, while we'd have preferred the tripod to be a little bigger, the telescope's optical performance is hard to fault, for a model in this range. It gives sharp, bright images, whether you're watching stars or stags.
When we reviewed the Celestron Astromaster 102AZ, we felt its price point was a little high, but at $70 off, it's hard to go wrong with this beginner's scope.
Key features: Aperture: 4 in (102mm). Focal length: 26-in / 660mm. Focal ratio: f/6.5. Eyepiece focal length: 10mm / 20mm. Magnification: 33x / 66x. Total kit weight: 12.9 lbs (inc tripod and mount), 5 lb telescope only.
Price history: This Prime-only deal is the lowest the Celestron AstroMaster 102AZ has been in a year and a half. But with Prime Day ending tomorrow, you'll have to be fast.
Price comparison: Amazon: $279.69 | Walmart: $329.99 |
Reviews consensus: We were impressed by the Celestron AstroMaster 102AZ's ease of use, which is great for budding sky-watchers. It's also flexible enough to accommodate stargazing and wildlife observation, though we felt its tripod was a little short.
Featured in guides: Best Beginner Telescopes, Best Telescopes
✅ Buy it if: You want a beginner's telescope that's flexible enough to let you watch the stars and whatever wildlife you encounter.
❌ Don't buy it if: You're looking to upgrade from a basic telescope, or if you're after just stargazing or just wildlife watching. There are better telescopes dedicated to each, so take a look at our best telescopes guide.
Check out our other guides to the best telescopes, binoculars, cameras, star projectors, drones, lego and much more.
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