Best Altazimuth Telescopes of 2026
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Altazimuth telescopes are a type of telescope that is designed to be easy to use and maneuver. They have two axes of motion, one that moves horizontally and one that moves vertically, allowing the user to easily track objects in the sky. These telescopes are ideal for beginners or those who want a telescope that is easy to set up and use. They are also great for viewing objects closer to the horizon, such as planets or the moon. Altazimuth telescopes come in a variety of sizes and styles, making them a versatile option for any stargazer.
At a Glance: Our Top Picks
Top 10 Altazimuth Telescopes
Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ Telescope
The Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ Telescope is a smartphone app-enabled telescope that comes with a 114mm Newtonian reflector optical tube, 25mm, and 10mm Kellner eyepieces, a 2x Barlow lens, and a red dot finderscope. It features a manual altazimuth mount with slow motion control rod, full height tripod, and an accessory tray. The patent-pending StarSense sky recognition technology uses your smartphone to analyze star patterns overhead and calculate its position in real-time. The manual altazimuth mount with smooth dual-axis slow-motion controls makes it easy to follow on-screen arrows to your desired target, and when the bullseye turns green, it's ready to view in the telescope's eyepiece.
Gskyer Telescope 70mm Aperture 400mm AZ Mount
The Gskyer Telescope 70mm Aperture 400mm AZ Mount is a great entry-level telescope for beginners and kids. It comes with two replaceable eyepieces, a 3x Barlow lens, a 5x24 finder scope, a wireless remote, and an adjustable aluminum alloy tripod. It has a 70mm aperture and 400mm focal length, which is enough to explore stars and moon. Customers have praised its solid mount and easy setup, but have noted that it can be difficult to use and that the position locking is not ideal.
Celestron 70mm Travel Scope
The Celestron 70mm Travel Scope is an ideal telescope for beginners, offering fully-coated glass optics, a large 70mm aperture objective lens, and two high-quality eyepieces for low- and high-power views. The telescope comes with a full-height tripod, a custom backpack for easy portability, and a bonus software package for astronomy enthusiasts. The Travel Scope's superior optics and unbeatable warranty make it a top choice for amateur stargazers.
HEXEUM Telescope 70500
The HEXEUM Telescope 70500 is a great choice for amateur astronomers and kids alike. It features a 70mm aperture and 500mm focal length, providing stunning views and protecting your eyes. It comes with two excellent-quality eyepieces (25mm and 10mm) and a 3x Barlow lens, trebling the magnifying power of each eyepiece. It also includes a phone adapter and an adjustable aluminum tripod, as well as a wireless remote control and carrying bag for easy portability. With its lifetime maintenance and great customer reviews, this telescope is a great gift for beginner astronomers.
EACONN 80mm Refractor Telescope
EACONN 80mm Refractor Telescope is a perfect choice for astronomy beginners and kids. With its true 80mm aperture and fully coated green optics glass lens, this telescope captures more light and delivers bright and clear images. The rough adjustment and positioning gimbal with scale make it easy to adjust the altitude and azimuth, allowing you to point the telescope wherever you want. It comes with all the necessary accessories, including two eyepieces with different magnifications, a finder scope with a crosshair, and a customized mobile phone adapter. The telescope is easy to assemble and carry, with a bag and an adjustable tripod included. Whether you want to observe the moon, view planets, or indulge in bird watching and landscape viewing, this telescope is a great gift that will bring you and your family endless fun times.
Celticbird 80mm 600mm AZ Refractor Telescope
The Celticbird 80mm Telescope offers bright and clear views thanks to its large 80mm aperture and high-quality coated lenses that let in more light and reduce glare. It comes with a sturdy, adjustable aluminum tripod that can be set between 17.7" and 52", making it comfortable for both kids and adults. You’ll find it easy to carry and store since all parts fit neatly into the included backpack. Plus, the upgraded phone adapter lets you capture amazing photos of your celestial discoveries. With two eyepieces for different magnifications and a moon filter to enhance contrast, this telescope is perfect for exploring the moon and planets like Saturn and Jupiter.
EACONN 80mm Aperture 600mm Refractor Telescope
The EACONN 80mm Refractor offers an 80mm aperture with fully coated optics that let you see brighter and clearer images by capturing more light and reducing glare. It features an easy-to-use rough adjustment and a positioning gimbal with a scale, allowing you to smoothly move and aim the telescope exactly where you want. This model comes with two eyepieces providing 30x to 66x magnification and a 5x24 finder scope to help you quickly locate objects in the sky. Plus, a mobile phone adapter lets you attach your phone for easy photo capture. It’s simple to assemble and portable, making it great for beginners and travel.
Koolpte 70mm Refracting Telescope
Koolpte Refracting Telescope is a superior quality telescope that offers bright, clear, and high-contrast images. With its 70mm large aperture and 400mm focal length, it provides excellent light collecting ability and is perfect for exploring the night sky. The telescope comes with 3 eyepieces and a 3X Barlow lens, offering magnification options from 20X to 200X, making it suitable for both kids and adults interested in astronomy. Its portable design, including a phone adapter and adjustable aluminum tripod, allows you to easily capture photos and videos of celestial objects. The wireless remote and 5x24 finder scope make it convenient to locate and explore objects in the sky.
ToyerBee 70mm Aperture Refractor Telescope
The ToyerBee 70mm Aperture Refractor Telescope is a great choice for astronomy beginners, with a 70mm aperture and 300mm focal length for more light and clearer images. It comes with 3X Barlow len and two eyepieces, H20mm and H6mm, for a magnification of 15X to 150X. It also includes a smartphone adapter and wireless camera remote, making it easy to explore the world through the screen. It's a great telescope for 8-12 kids and a great astronomy gift.
Dianfan 90mm Refractor Telescope
The Dianfan Telescope offers exceptional viewing experiences for both beginners and seasoned astronomers. Its 800mm focal length and 90mm objective lens deliver bright and clear images of celestial bodies, enhancing your stargazing adventures. With a powerful magnification range of 32X to 240X, you can easily observe planets and the moon in detail. The telescope is designed for easy assembly, allowing you to set it up quickly and focus effortlessly on your targets. Its portable design makes it convenient for travel, so you can take your astronomy exploration on the go.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is a Altazimuth reflector telescope?
This is a quality telescope, with a 3" (76mm) glass primary mirror which collects light for detailed views of the night sky. The rack-and-pinion focuser accepts standard 1.25" eyepieces. Two Kellner eyepieces, a low-power 25mm (28x) and a high-power 10mm (70x) with anti-reflection coating are included.
2. Which is better alt-azimuth or equatorial?
Alt-az mounts are considered superior for visual astronomy because they provide such comfortable viewing positions at the eyepiece. Many experienced visual astronomers recommend alt-az mounts for this reason. All in all, equatorial mounts are designed with the astrophotographer in mind.
3. What is difference between AZ and EQ telescope?
As the Earth rotates around its axis, the stars appear to move across the sky. If you are observing them using an Alt-Az mount, they will quickly drift out of view. A telescope on an EQ mount can be aimed at a celestial object and easily track the daily motion, keeping it in your eyepiece.
4. What does AZ mean in telescopes?
Alt Az (short for altitude-azimuth) is the simplest of all telescope mountings. It's designed to allow the telescope to point up and down and left and right. Alt/Az mounts come in various forms ranging from something which looks similar to a camera tripod through to fully automated GoTo systems using a forked mounting.
During our altazimuth telescope research, we found 16 altazimuth telescope products and shortlisted 10 quality products. We collected and analyzed 211,391 customer reviews through our big data system to write the altazimuth telescopes list. We found that most customers choose altazimuth telescopes with an average price of $74.78.
The altazimuth telescopes are available for purchase. We have researched hundreds of brands and picked the top brands of altazimuth telescopes, including Celestron, Gskyer, HEXEUM, EACONN, CELTICBIRD. The seller of top 1 product has received honest feedback from 384 consumers with an average rating of 4.7.
Alan Eaton is a seasoned writer whose expertise is in anything related to electronics, such as headphones, monitoring equipment, computer, and so on, built over a 15-year career in the technology industry. Working in the trade during his youth, he accumulated a great deal of knowledge about machinery.