Best Telescopes for Kids and Beginners 2026
Published: February 2026 | 16 min read
Choosing your first telescope can be overwhelming with so many options available. This comprehensive guide will help you find the perfect telescope for children and beginners - one that's easy to use, shows impressive views, and doesn't break the bank.
Before buying a telescope, try using binoculars (7x50 or 10x50 are ideal). They're cheaper, easier to use, and great for learning the night sky!
Types of Telescopes Explained
1. Refractor Telescopes
Uses lenses to gather and focus light. Classic design that most people picture when thinking of a telescope.
- Pros: Low maintenance, good for planets and Moon, sturdy
- Cons: Can be expensive for larger apertures, may show colour fringing
- Best for: Kids, beginners, lunar and planetary viewing
2. Reflector Telescopes (Newtonian)
Uses mirrors instead of lenses. Offers more aperture (light-gathering power) for the price.
- Pros: More aperture for the money, no colour fringing, great for deep-sky objects
- Cons: Requires occasional alignment (collimation), open tube can collect dust
- Best for: Beginners wanting to see galaxies and nebulae
3. Dobsonian Telescopes
A type of reflector on a simple, stable mount. Often called "light buckets" due to large apertures at low prices.
- Pros: Best value for aperture, very stable, easy to use
- Cons: Large and heavy, not portable
- Best for: Serious beginners, families with storage space
Our Top Recommendations for 2026
🏆 Best Overall: Sky-Watcher Heritage 130P
Price: ~£170-200
A tabletop Dobsonian that punches well above its weight. The 130mm aperture reveals Saturn's rings, Jupiter's moons, and countless deep-sky objects.
- Aperture: 130mm
- Focal length: 650mm
- Mount: Tabletop Dobsonian
- Portability: Excellent
🎯 Best for Young Children: Celestron FirstScope
Price: ~£50-60
A simple, affordable tabletop scope perfect for ages 6+. Shows the Moon in stunning detail and can reveal Saturn's rings.
- Aperture: 76mm
- Very easy to use
- Decorated with famous astronomers
- Great first scope before upgrading
🌙 Best for Planets: Sky-Watcher Evostar 90
Price: ~£200-250
A quality refractor that excels at planetary and lunar viewing. Sharp, high-contrast views with minimal chromatic aberration.
- Aperture: 90mm
- Focal length: 900mm
- Includes sturdy EQ mount
- Excellent optics for the price
🌌 Best Value Dobsonian: Sky-Watcher Skyliner 150P
Price: ~£280-320
If you have space for a larger scope, this 6-inch Dobsonian offers incredible views of galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters.
- Aperture: 150mm (6 inches)
- Shows detail in galaxies and nebulae
- Very stable Dobsonian mount
- A telescope you won't outgrow quickly
📱 Best GoTo Scope: Celestron NexStar 4SE
Price: ~£450-500
A computerised telescope that automatically finds objects for you. Perfect if you want technology to help locate celestial targets.
- Aperture: 102mm
- GoTo mount with 40,000+ object database
- Compact and portable
- WiFi enabled for smartphone control
What to Avoid
- Advertising magnification power (e.g., "525x power!") - this is marketing hype
- Plastic tripods that wobble
- Department store telescopes under £40
- Small aperture with very high focal length
- Kits with lots of useless accessories
Understanding Telescope Specifications
Aperture (Most Important!)
The diameter of the main lens or mirror. Bigger = more light = better views. A 150mm telescope gathers 4x more light than a 75mm telescope.
Focal Length
The distance from the lens/mirror to the focus point. Longer focal lengths generally mean higher magnification and narrower field of view.
Magnification
Calculated by dividing focal length by eyepiece focal length. Maximum useful magnification is roughly 2x the aperture in mm (so 200x for a 100mm telescope).
Essential Accessories
- Extra eyepieces - A low power (25-32mm) and high power (6-10mm) eyepiece
- Moon filter - Reduces glare from the bright Moon
- Red torch - Preserves night vision while reading charts
- Planisphere or star chart - Helps you find objects
- Collimation tool - For reflector telescopes
Where to Buy in the UK
Buy from specialist astronomy retailers for better quality and advice:
- First Light Optics - Excellent selection and customer service
- Rother Valley Optics - Great range of brands
- Widescreen Centre - London-based, good for hands-on viewing
- Harrison Telescopes - Good prices and selection
Try Before You Buy!
Stellar Inspire workshops let children use different telescopes to find what suits them. Our educators can provide personalised recommendations based on your needs and budget.
View WorkshopsFirst Targets for Your New Telescope
- The Moon - Incredible detail visible, craters and mountains
- Jupiter - Cloud bands and four Galilean moons
- Saturn - Rings visible in any telescope
- Orion Nebula (M42) - Beautiful glowing gas cloud
- Pleiades star cluster - Stunning group of blue stars
Conclusion
The best telescope is one that gets used. For most beginners, we recommend the Sky-Watcher Heritage 130P as an excellent all-rounder, or the Celestron FirstScope for young children. Remember: aperture matters most, buy from specialist retailers, and don't be swayed by magnification claims. Happy stargazing!
Stellar Inspire Team
Astronomy educators based in London