CelestronAstroMaster 70AZ Telescope – Refractor Telescope – Fully-Coated Glass Optics – Adjustable-Height Tripod – Bonus Astronomy Software Package

Did a lot of research on the best telescope to buy, low maintenance with excellent images. Refractor vs Reflective was the question Refractor won hands down when you put everything together to get a well-rounded scope on a budget.Also bought a filter so as to take pictures of the moon, 2X Barlow lens and a 3X. Settled with the 2X as that is perfect. I also added a zoom lens where I can go from 7-24mm.My daughter loves this thing and we're always sky watching together.The image below was taken using my iPhone 15 Pro after I adjusted the exposure perfectly. It was amazing taking this detailed picture with such a simple setup.We have also seen Jupiter and 4 of its biggest moon, Mars, Venus and Saturn. Something happens to your spirit and mind when you see them for the first time with your own eyes. It's almost like they're whispering something to you like Hey! we were here the whole time. WOW! We forget we live in space and rotate around a star (Sun).What we do is pay attention to when objects are closest to the earth to get the most out of this telescope.Worth every penny. Now I want to buy the $1400 8SE from the same company since I want something that gathers more light, yet still small and easily portable. Dobsonian Reflector equivalent is a no go.

This is genuinely so good if you’re on a budget. it is super super clear. the first night i used it, it was cloudy but some stars decided to pop out for me. granted this isnt like a $20,000 telescope so it does just look like a dot, at least with the lenses provided but its super super cool. it was pretty simple to put together except for the finderscope. that one i had to figure out on my own. you have to remove the base of the finderscope from the finderscope itselff. and then slide them together. but other than that its super easy. you have to line it up too dont forget that. that part was a bit annoying but im used to it now. its relatively stable. its got a decent weight to the base. overall a great product at a cheaper price. I would go with this one if you’re looking for one!

When you buy your first telescope, like the same 70mm one marketed under several different names, this one is a huge upgrade on the quality of components at little increase in price (I got mine used like new from Amazon for $110 after tax), then you look it up and realize the refractor crew, or more experienced telescoping community, totally dumps on this one, however I really like it. The red dot is a big upgrade from one of those very entry level finder scopes that's impossible to focus. The mount is much more stable although it's a little short in my opinion, I got a 6mm eyepiece but I'm not sure it was worth it... Well see once the upgraded diagonal comes in. I can easily see the bands on Jupiter, rings of Saturn, and Orion nebula. I have seen the crab, bodes, and cigar nebulas although they ask only appear as a smudge, which is to be expected. Haven't tried Andromeda yet due to my location and season. So I'm my opinion it's a 5 star for the 110$ I got it for, but full price I would not likely purchase it. To be fair I wouldn't know what to get new at the 180 price point, but you would think they could throw in one of those cheap cell phone mounts or that better powerseeker tripod.

I love this telescope. It's my first scope but I've borrowed ones in the past and knew this one would be good to learn with because it is not overly complicated and is VERY easy to set-up. I had it put together in less than 10 minutes. The longest time was getting the disc battery into the back of the red light finder (battery is included) and thinking I had a problem when it was just that I had not screwed the battery cover all the way down. The scope is also light for easy transportation by anyone.I bought this in combination with the $20 PowerSeeker accessory kit which was a perfect match. The telescope comes with 20mm and 10mm lenses in storage containers similar to clear film canisters. The powerseeker kit comes with 15mm & 9mm lenses, red & blue filters & a moon filter in a hard black case. The filters screw onto the end of the lense that goes into the scope - easily with no issues in diameter. If you reorganize the filters to fit all of them in one spot in the case you can put all the lenses from the scope and kit in the case. It was a great deal considering the moon filter alone costs ~$15 if you buy it by itself and now I have more lenses and easy storage.I had the scope out for the first time last night after I set it up. I easily found Jupiter, sighted it in with the red dot finder (move your head until the two red dots make a single point and put that point on the object you want to look at), and then looked at it with the 20mm, adjusting the focus knob only a little. I switched over to the 9mm and saw to my amazement Jupiter's orangish colored cloud bands as well as all 4 moons quite clearly. The moon wasn't up so no comments on that but for a first night out this was pretty impressive.The only negative is that although the scope swings easily from side to side if you loosen the azimuth angle stop, it does not move as easily as I'd like up and down to track stars and planets as the earth spins. This may just be a break-in issue and was not that big of a deal. I had no issues with the stand (I was actually impressed with how well it was made for a telescope this cheap) but I had it at it's lowest point as I like to sit on the ground on a blanket and spread my stuff around me.