Best Portable Telescopes

Portable telescopes come in many different shapes and sizes, and whether you're a beginner or an expert, there's something out there for you. Rather than simply listing our smallest scopes, we've asked our experts to recommend telescopes that are both portable and best in class. Our rankings take into account size, ease of use, and performance, and are broken down by proficiency level. That way, you can use our portable telescope buying guide to find what's right for you.

When trying to find the best telescope for beginners, ease of use is probably the most important factor, along with portability. Here are our portable telescope picks for amateur stargazers.

The Best Portable Telescopes Include:

  • Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 102 AZ -
  • Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130 AZ -
  • Celestron NexStar 4SE -
  • Celestron NexStar 5SE -
  • Celestron NexStar 6SE -
  • Celestron NexStar 8SE -
  • Apertura AD8 Dobsonian Telescope -

Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 102 AZ -

Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 102 AZ

Our first telescope on the list is the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 102 AZ. This telescope uses the aid of your smartphone to help guide your way in the sky with Celestron’s StarSense Explorer smartphone dock and app. Celestron’s StarSense Explorer is the first app designed to use the power of plate solving to figure out a smartphone's current pointing position, and when coupled with the specially designed smartphone dock on a Celestron StarSense Explorer telescope, you have a manual telescope system that has the ability to capture an image of the night sky, process that image, extract the star pattern data and determine the center coordinates, all by itself, without requiring telescope alignment from the user.

The DX 102 AZ telescope is a 4” refractor telescope with a focal length of 660mm (f/6.5), meaning that it uses a lens to create an image instead of a mirror. This tech-savvy yet lightweight refractor can be quickly set up in your backyard in just minutes. Also included are 25mm and 10mm eyepieces, a 1.25'' 90 degree diagonal, and a red dot finder.

For more information on refractor telescopes, check out our Beginners Guide to Refractor Telescopes. The telescope’s tripod weighs 9.2 lbs while the optical tube assembly (OTA) weighs about 5 lbs, yielding an overall weight of about 14 lbs. This makes this telescope an ideal choice as a “grab-and-go” telescope for visual astronomers. Should you wish to consider additional accessories, we recommend purchasing the optional essential bundle package.

 

Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130 AZ -

Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130 AZ

The next telescope on our list is the reflector variant of Celestron’s StarSense Explorer DX line of telescopes. This telescope is a 5” reflector telescope with a focal length of 650mm, making this telescope a “fast” telescope at a focal ratio of f/5. This user-friendly and lightweight manual Newtonian can yield breathtaking views of the Andromeda Galaxy, the Orion Nebula, various open star clusters like the Pleiades, the moons of Saturn and Jupiter, and significantly more!

The telescope itself weighs 8.8 lbs and the tripod weighs 9.2 lbs, yielding an overall weight of 18 lbs. This is a little heavier than the DX 102 AZ, but still a good option for a portable telescope that you can quickly deploy to your backyard or your favorite observing site.

 

Celestron NexStar 4SE -

Celestron NexStar 4SE

The Celestron NexStar 4SE is an amazing option for portable astronomy. The 4" Maksutov optical design of the Nexstar 4SE gives greater sharpness and contrast than traditional reflecting telescopes thanks to its smaller secondary mirror. The optical tube assembly can be removed and placed on any standard photo tripod without additional adapters, making it even more versatile and portable! The telescope optical tube assembly weighs 11 lbs and the tripod itself weighs 10 lbs, making this telescope’s overall weight 22 lbs.

The single-arm fork mount is fully computerized and includes a go-to hand controller with a very large database of over 40,000 stars. You can use the auxiliary and camera control ports to connect optional accessories such as Celestron’s SkySync GPS accessory, SkyPortal WiFi, and more. Using the simple star alignment, you'll easily be able to identify and track any object you choose! Additionally, this telescope can be connected to your computer and can be controlled using a program like Celestron PWI instead of the hand controller.

 

Celestron NexStar 5SE -

Celestron NexStar 5SE

The Celestron NexStar 5SE is the first “Schmidt-Cassegrain” on our list of the best portable telescopes. This telescope features a 5” aperture – slightly larger than that of the 4SE – but with a slightly shorter focal length of 1250mm. This makes the telescope a comparatively “fast” telescope with a focal ratio of f/10, a good option for both planetary and deep-sky observing. With the included 25mm E-lux eyepiece, you’ll be able to achieve 50x more magnification than the human eye.

While this telescope is a little heavier than the 4SE, weighing in at a total of 27.6 lbs, this telescope still can easily be set up at any location and uses the same alignment procedure and computerized tracking as the NexStar 4SE.

The single-arm fork mount is fully computerized and includes a go-to hand controller with a very large database of over 40,000 stars. You can use the auxiliary and camera control ports to connect optional accessories such as Celestron’s SkySync GPS accessory, SkyPortal WiFi, and more. Like the 4SE, this telescope can also be connected to your computer using a program like Celestron PWI or Stellarium.

 

Celestron NexStar 6SE -

Celestron NexStar 6SE

If you have a bit more to spend, you may also wish to consider the Celestron NexStar 6SE. The Celestron NexStar 6SE features all of the same computerized features as the NexStar 5SE, but features even more light gathering capability (and significantly more light gathering capability vs the 4SE). The limiting visible magnitude for this telescope is +13.4, making this telescope capable of observing most of the Messier catalog of galaxies.

Fully assembled, this telescope weighs 37.8 lbs – certainly heavier than the 5SE, but can still be quickly deployed to your backyard and be aligned within five minutes with the NexStar hand controller and alignment procedure. This telescope has a focal length of 1500mm with a focal ratio of f/10. The included 25mm E-Lux eyepiece yields a magnification of 60x, well suited for galaxies and lunar observing.

 

Celestron NexStar 8SE -

Celestron NexStar 8SE

This telescope is by far the largest of the computerized telescopes that are on our list of best portable telescopes. With a fantastic aperture of 8”, you’ll be able to see the most with this telescope compared to the other telescopes in the NexStar series. The telescope comes with a focal length of 2032mm (f/10). With the included 25mm E-Lux eyepiece this will yield a magnification of 81x, great for both deep sky objects and planetary observing as well. If you’re interested in exploring some astrophotography, you might consider adding an equatorial wedge to your setup.

Like the other telescopes in the NexStar SE series, the 8SE can be aligned within 5 minutes using the simple alignment procedure and can be controlled through your computer should you wish. This telescope is by far the heaviest on this list so far - fully assembled, the telescope weighs 43 lbs. Check out our video on how to set up the Celestron NexStar 8SE!

 

Apertura AD8 Dobsonian Telescope -

Apertura AD8 Dobsonian Telescope

The last telescope on this list happens to be the author’s favorite – an 8” Dobsonian telescope. Unlike all the other telescopes on this list, this one is completely manual. There’s no smartphone or computer involved. Simply set the telescope up in your backyard, and point up! This telescope is a Dobsonian design, or a Newtonian telescope on a simple altazimuth “rocker box” first conceived of by the amateur astronomer John Dobson. With this telescope, you’ll see unbelievable clarity in the rings of Saturn (including the Cassini division), the Great Red Spot on Jupiter, the Ring Nebula, and every single Messier object you can think of.

That being said, this telescope ranks “last” on this list for portability as it weighs over 50 lbs fully assembled. However, this telescope can be transported in segments, with the optical tube assembly weighing 24.5 lbs and the base 27.7 lbs. The telescope comes with a focal length of 1200mm, a little more than half of that of the Celestron NexStar 8SE. This means the telescope is significantly better suited for observing larger deep-sky objects while still having a long enough focal length to yield breathtaking views of the solar system. Included is a 2-inch superview 30mm eyepiece for wide-field astronomy, and a 1.25” 9mm eyepiece for observing the planets. Additionally, a laser collimator to help align the primary and secondary mirror properly and a cooling fan are also included.

 

Find a Portable Telescope at High Point Scientific 

Still can't decide which new or used telescope you'd like to take on your astronomy adventures after reading our portable telescope buying guide? Connect with one of our non-commissioned product advisors at 800-266-9590 or send us an email with your questions – we're here to help! We have plenty of telescopes for sale to suit your needs and budget.Â