7 Best Telescope in India for Beginners – A Buyers Guide in 2019

So you are all set to start your journey with space? A good telescope will be of a lot useful in doing that.

Fortunately, there are a lot of those available in the market but that’s confusing as well. So here comes the hardest part, especially for beginners observers – Which telescope to buy? So here I am writing the answer for you. The 7 best telescopes in India.

In the guide, I have brought you 7 fully researched & proven best telescopes in India.

[Desclaimer: If you make a purchase using one of the links below, I will earn a small fee, without any extra cost to you]

[Quick Suggestion – Grab a stargazing binoculars first if you’re purely new to the skies.]

Heres a comparison table for a quick glimpse

Picture	Design	Price	Aperture (mm)	Max Mag.	Quality	Best for
Land & Sky Telescope	Refractor	Check Price	50	90x	3.5/5	Terrestrial The Moon
Powerseeker Telescope	Refractor	Check Price	40	63x	4/5	Terrestrial The Moon
Celestron Telescope	Refractor	Check Price	50	118x	4.5/5	Terrestrial The Moon Mars
Speciality Firstscope Telescope	REFLECTOR	Check Price	76	180x	4.7/5	Terrestrial The Moon Planets
Powerseeker EQ Telescope	Refractor	Check Price	70	165x	4.6/5	Terrestrial The Moon Planets
Specialty Travelscope	Refractor	Check Price	70	165x	3.9/5	Terrestrial The Moon Planets
Astromaster TelescopeAz	REFLECTOR	Check Price	130	307x	4.6/5	Terrestrial The Moon Planets Stars Nearby Galaxies

I want to assure you, all of these 7 reviews are genuine & unbiased. And every one of this model is personally handpicked.

Here they are; the 7 best telescopes in India

TIP: For ease of navigation, I have divided the whole list into four budget sections; 5,000, 10,000, 15,000 & 20,000 with low to high-end models.

>> Best telescopes under 5000 rupees

7.L&S 90x Zoom Astronomical Telescope

Specifications:
Type: Refractor
Aperture: 50 mm (1.97 in)
Mount Type: Altazimuth
Max Magnification: 90x
Focal Length: 360 mm (24 in)
Tripod: Aluminium
Value for Money: 95%

L&S is an Amazon’s choice astronomical telescope under 5000 rupees. In fact, you can buy it for less than 2,000 bucks. This telescope made it to this list of best telescopes India because, in my opinion, it offers the unique price to features ratio.

Some of the most talked about features of L&S includes the 50mm amateur refractive lens. It bags about 360mm of focal length that boasts about 90x of magnification power. Another eye-catchy feature includes erected eyepieces to help stabilize land-viewing.

The resolving ability of the scope, however, is just average.

L&S is a casual telescope and perhaps a monocular. So if you’re just starting out and want to look around then it’s surely a good expense. You can enjoy things like the moon, birds and other earthly stuff. It will be difficult to see space bodies like planets and galaxies. Not impossible to get a blurred glimpse of Mars & Jupiter, but only if you know how and where to spot it. L&S is a starter level telescope suitable for nerds that like outdoor things.

Things I liked

L&S’s lightweight, easy to use telescope good for beginners. The 50mm telescope is an impressive cheap option. I liked its two eyepieces offerings which can be used for a variety of things like sky, birds, mountains, buildings and more. It’s a doable telescope with a lot of fun opportunities awaiting.

Things I didn’t like

The aperture/lens quality is standard and thus not so much of use for distant space observation (but can’t object at this price point). It’s not for experienced peeps. You will have a hard time spotting planets and other distant things. The tripod is not so great.

Pros

- Cheap Price

- Durable metal body

- Suitable for beginners & kids

- Lightweight makes carrying it easy

Useful for both sky & land

Cons

- Refractor type- not for deep sky

- Standard quality mount

Not best for intermediates or experienced observers

More details here

Final verdict

L&S telescope is an Amazon choice product so you don’t have to worry about the quality here. The price is competitively good. So its best suited for those fellows who are just starting out, have a small budget or with mixed casual interest. And if you are interested in the deeper sky then you need to scale-up your budget. Otherwise, it’s a good starter kit and the perfect item for your kid – he will love it.

6.Celestron 40mm Refractor Telescope

Specifications:

Type: Refractor
Aperture: 40 mm (1.75 in)
Mount Type: Altazimuth
Max Magnification: 64x
Focal Length:500 mm (24 in)
Tripod: Aluminium
Value for Money: 95%

Let’s start with this starts telescopes first. Celestron 40mm refractor is one of the most economical telescopes that you can find in India. This model features a 40mm introductory lens aperture with up to 64x of useful magnification. You get two eyepieces each of 20mm (with 25x Mag.) and 8mm (with 64x Mag.) for that. This gives you enough room for proper viewing of distant as well as nearby objects.

And BTW it’s a multipurpose device that can be used for both; sky and terrestrial viewing. That means you can see space objects like the moon, some planets as well as earthly objects including mountains & birds etc. One of the best this I like about this telescope is, it’s quite inexpensive. You probably don’t expect brands like Celestron to be this affordable. The last time I saw, it was priced as much as 3,400 rupees. Yeah off-course it’s not a groundbreaking telescope though, not a deep sky thing, but it’s definitely a good starter for those kids and teens interested in space.

Here’s what a verified user said, “It’s good for land and moon. Very clear image. Also, see bright stars. Nice but not see planets clearly. But good”

Things I liked:

The Celestron 40mm telescope is perfect for beginner kids & teens as its simple to use. Its cheaper in price considering the fact that it’s Celestron. So it’s a good gift. The telescope is useful for the sky as well as terrestrial viewing. And because its lightweight and not so bulky, that makes it a lot compact.

Things I didn’t like

It is a refractor telescope and thus not so good for deep sky objects like star clusters, galaxies etc. This telescope is thus not for professional or serious stargazers. And I hope you understand its obvious.

Pros

- Very low price

- Easy to use – no tool setup

- Suitable for beginners, kids, teens

Useful for both; Sky & land

Cons

- Tripod is not very strong

- Small aperture

- Not good for an intermediate observer

Not for deep sky

More details here

Final verdicts

There’s no such a thing like perfect on the face of the earth. This 40mm model by Celestron is meant for new guys, for kids & teens to have some fun time. It’s not for those experienced people.

5.PowerSeeker 50AZ Telescope – Best Seller

Specifications:
Type: Refractor
Aperture: 50 mm (1.97 in)
Mount Type: Altazimuth
Max Magnification: 118x
Focal Length: 600 mm
Tripod: Aluminium
Value for Money: 93%

So my first telescope was a local 60mm one. And recently I was lucky enough to take it 1-on-1 with my friend’s power seeker 50az. To my surprise, he’s 50mm little did beat mine. As I could see the craters of the moon better through his scope.
I soon learned from my experience that quality matters more than quantity. The telescope I owned had larger but low-grade optics made by a local manufacturer.

His scope was of great quality, made by Celestron.

This model features a multi-coated refractive lens of 50mm. It has 600mm of focal length that allocates 118x of maximum useful magnification. You get 2x Barlow lenses to doubles the magnification of your eyepiece. One of the best things about this telescope is in its weight which is the only 2.5kg, making it ideal when you want to take it to another location.

Not over-praising but the performance of this telescope is also impressive. You can definitely see detailed craters of the moon with it. See some pics by users here. Deep sky things are not that great (probably aperture size still matters) with this model, however. Some planets are observable (including Mars, Jupiter etc) but the details won’t be that great. And because it’s a refractor, you can use it for bird watching, nature viewing too.

So it’s a good budget beginners telescope.

Things I like

The Power seekers 50mm, in my opinion, is a value for money telescope. They’re offering high-quality optics essential for skywatching. 2x Barlow lenses that double the magnification of your eyepiece is a steal deal. It is a “no-setup required” instrument which is great for beginner users to avoid a headache. The multi-purpose telescope can be used for both sky and land.

Things I didn’t like

First of all, it is not for deeper sky objects. You won’t get a lot of details of distant planets! And Altazimuth mount is weak and shakes the system sometimes. It’s a big issue when you’re doing cosmic observations. [Here’re the tips to fix telescope shaking issue].

Pros

- High-quality telescope

- Suitable for beginners

- Reasonable price

- Easy, no tool-setup required

Can see craters of the moon, some planets & nature

Cons

- Altazimuth mount shakes thus not so good

- Observing is hard when you see the distant objects

- Not for deep sky

Not for intermediates

More details here

Final Verdict

Powerseeker 50az is a legitimate deal. Buy it if you are a beginner and want a dual-purpose scope to see the moon’s craters, some blur planets, nebulas and nature/bird watching etc. But if you are interested in galaxies and nebulas then you need a budget of more than 15000. It’s near to impossible to find deep space telescope under 5000.

>> Best telescopes under 10000 rupees

4.Celestron FirstScope 76mm Telescope

Specifications:
Type: Reflector
Aperture: 76 mm (3 inches)
Mount Type: Dobsonian
Max Magnification: 180x
Focal Length: 300 mm (24 in)
Value for Money: 99%

Please do stop me if I am being biased but Celestron’s Firstscope is one of my favorite telescope in this list. The simple basic reason for that is because it has the highest value for money ratio. So, technically speaking, it’s a reflector type telescope with 76mm of aperture (which is amazing at this price point). And it has a smooth tabletop Dobsonian mount which is usually found in premium ones. It supports large 180x of maximum useful magnification (you may need to buy addition eyepiece for that).

Reflector telescopes are perfect for deep sky hunters. And this scope has it all, making it ideal for the beginner space enthusiast within a strict budget.

Firstscope’s compact and lightweight design makes it easy to carry it to those dark locations so you can stargaze better. As far as performance is concerned, the moon looks astonishing through it. Planets like Venus, Mars, Jupiter & Orion’s nebulas are also detectable. But here’s a thing, you might be able to identify those planets (eg. glimpse of Jupiter’s ring) but the details won’t be great. You shouldn’t even expect that at this price either. And just so you know, there’s a lot of factors that affect planet hunting, like time of the year and the location you’re at. Spotting them takes an equal dose of practice and patience.