Best Telescope Under $2000 (2024); Reviews

Under the Auto-Tracking Mode, you may choose to move the telescope, either manually or electronically, to any position without deactivating the tracking mode. 

The AZ GoTo mode provides extensive computerized GoTo functions to assist you in finding and enjoying numerous celestial and deep space objects.

The 8-Inch Sky-Watcher Dobsonian SynScan is precision engineered telescope that will allow you to easily find and enjoy night sky treasures like Saturn, Jupiter, and other planets in the solar system, plug a huge array of deep-sky objects including galaxies, star clusters, nebulae, and more. 

This Dobsonian was carefully engineered to combine ease of use, extreme portability and consistent performance in an affordable package. 

No doubt, there are other truss tube designs, but the Sky-Watcher Collapsible Dobsonian does not need to be disassembled between uses. 

It transports as two compact pieces that can be assembled, collimated easily and ready to use in just seconds.

Pros:

• Collapsible tube design for extreme portability
• Easy to setup and use
• Wide 8’ aperture and wide field view
• Best for dso, planets, galaxies and more
• Perfect for all-level users

Cons:

• Expensive
• No collimation tool provided

The Celestron Advanced Series VX 8 inch EdgeHD telescope delivers amazingly flat field views of the night sky. The new Advanced VX Mount improves overall telescope performance making it a robust astro imaging platform. You will be amazed at how fast you obtain imaging results.

This package combines the groundbreaking Advanced VX mount with Celestron’s best optics, the EdgeHD optical system. This setup offers the astrophotographer maximum versatility – allowing up to 3 different f-stop configurations. 

Users can attach a camera to the rear of the telescope and shoot at f/10, or attach Celestron’s optional 8″ focal reducer (sold separately, coming soon) and shoot at f/7. 

Additionally, Celestron EdgeHD telescopes are Fastar/Hyperstar compatible, giving astrophotographers the option to shoot at ultra-fast f/2. No matter which configuration you choose, EdgeHD technology gives you pinpoint stars all the way to the edge of the CCD sensor.

Whether you want to observe the planets and the stars, or delve deeper and explore deep space objects like nebulae, galaxies, comets and asteroids, then you are going to want to get the best scope that you can for your budget.

There are a lot of things to look out for, particularly telescope specs, functionality and features.

Features To Consider When Choosing A Good Telescope

Aperture

Aperture is the diameter, usually measured in millimeters, of the objective (primary) lens or mirror of the telescope. Essentially, the larger the aperture, the brighter images will appear, and the deeper into space you will be able to see.

Focal Ratio

Focal Ratio is a term that will be familiar to photographers, but it is important to certain astronomers, as well. This term is defined as the ratio between the focal length of the scope and the aperture.

A 100mm aperture 1500mm focal length telescope will have a focal ratio of f/15.

Focal Length

Focal length is the measurement, again in millimeters, from the objective to the eyepiece. This length directly affects the magnification potential of the telescope when paired with an eyepiece. The distance can be a literal linear measurement from the primary lens to the eyepiece, as with a refractor; or a theoretical distance based on how the light is bounced from primary to secondary mirrors and then into the eyepieces.

Magnification

Magnification is the number of times in size an object appears, compared to viewing it with the naked eye. A magnification of 32x means what you are looking at will look thirty-two times larger than when viewed unmagnified.

The magnification is calculated by dividing the eyepiece focal length into the telescope focal length. So, a telescope that has a 1500mm focal length, using a 25mm eyepiece will produce a magnification of 60x, and a 10mm eyepiece produces 150x.

As you can see, the longer the telescope focal length and the shorter the eyepiece focal length, the higher the magnification achieved.

Types Of Mounts

The mount is a very important part of the telescope. Some types of telescopes are better suited for a particular type of mount. There are 4 main types.

Alt-Azimuth Mounts:

Alt-azimuth mounts are the simplest type of mount, and they are similar to a camera tripod. They allow you to move the telescope up and down and side to side. But it can be difficult to track the stars and make precise adjustments. For this reason they are mainly suited for smaller, low-power telescopes.

Equatorial Mounts:

Equatorial mounts allow a telescope to track the sky as Earth rotates. They do this with motor drives but do not necessarily require a computer system to track, although some equatorial mounts are computerized for finding objects.

Most equatorial mounts are German equatorial mounts, which use counterweights to balance the telescope. This type of mount is versatile and breaks down into smaller pieces, making even large telescopes portable.

Dobsonian Mounts:

The dobsonian is a variation of the alt-az mount, designed for reflectors. Instead of using tripod legs, it uses a heavy base that is often made of wood. This is a stable design that doesn’t cost a lot and allows for more precise movements.

Fork Mounts:

A fork mount is designed for shorter tube telescopes (usually the compound type). They are motorized and do not require a counterweight since the telescope is balanced at it’s center of mass. But they are often heavier than other types of mounts.

Types Of Telescopes

Refractor Telescope

The simplicity and reliability of the design makes it easy to use and requires little maintenance. These are excellent for observing objects within our solar system—planets and the Moon and, with the right accessories, they can be used for terrestrial viewing. Since the optical system is basically a straight line, there are no obstructions from secondary mirrors as there are in Newtonians or catadioptrics.

Reflector Telescope

Utilizing a large primary mirror, the Newtonian gives you greater value per inch of aperture, since making a mirror is less labor-intensive than making lenses. However, to get the light focused and into an eyepiece, it is bounced from the primary mirror to a secondary mirror, placed near the front of the OTA facing the primary mirror and set at a 45-degree angle to the primary mirror, which sends the image into the side-mounted eyepiece.

This secondary mirror causes a slight obstruction to the light entering the OTA, which results in light diffraction and loss. Additionally, in traditional reflectors, the OTA is open to the elements, so they tend to require a certain amount of maintenance to keep the mirror free from dust, dirt, and pollen.

A variation of a Newtonian is the Schmidt-Newtonian, which places a corrector plate at the front, thereby helping to reduce spherical aberration and sealing the system for easier maintenance.

Catadioptrics

These are defined by their long focal lengths with short optical tubes. Utilizing a folded optical path, light enters through a thin, aspheric correcting plate, reflects off a spherical primary mirror at the back of the tube, where it is again reflected from a smaller secondary mirror located directly behind the front corrector plate and to the back to the optical tube and through an opening in the rear of the instrument to form an image at the eyepiece.

Conclusion

Our first pick for the best computerized GoTo telescope under $2000 is the Celestron – NexStar 8SE Telescope. Celestron’s NexStar 8SE 203mm f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain GoTo Telescope is a powerful yet portable scope that can be used for observing everything from the Moon and planets to deep-sky objects like stars, galaxies, and nebulae, while maintaining the user-friendly interface of the telescope.

Our next pick for the best dobsonian telescope under $2000 is the SkyWatcher S11800 GoTo Collapsible Dobsonian. Sky-Watcher’s GoTo Dobsonian epitomizes Sky-Watcher’s dedication to innovative ideas, combining our exclusive collapsible optical tube design with the convenience of a computerized GoTo mount. The SynScan hand controller allows users to point the telescope at specific objects, or tour the night sky with the touch of a button.

Our next pick is the Sky Watcher EvoStar APO Doublet Refractor. The additional aperture of this telescope provides a dramatic increase in resolution and a heightened sense of seeing lunar and planetary surface phenomenon in seemingly 3D-like high-definition. Tight globular star clusters like M13 in Constellation Hercules appear like a beehive of crisp stellar pinpoints, star upon thousands of stars deep into the object’s core.