THE BEST IS THE ONE YOU USE THE MOST

Larger, more powerful instruments can be cumbersome to set up and usually require more maintenance, so by starting out with a relatively small telescope it’s possible to save money and avoid the frustration encountered by those who rush to the deep end. Today’s market offers plenty of excellent entry-level beginner telescopes. If your budget is at the lower end and you want to see fainter objects like nebulae and galaxies, consider a Newtonian reflector. They rely on mirrors to give good deep-sky viewing. A six-inch Newtonian is typically comparable in price to a three or four-inch refractor. However, if you’re able to spend a bit more, you could consider a five-inch compound telescope, such as a Maksutov-Cassegrain, which is robust, compact and gives good all-round views of a range of objects in the sky.