Best 5 Backyard Telescopes For Home Use In 2022 Reviews
Are you interested in purchasing a telescope that will perfectly fit into your backyard?
In this post you can find reviews of the best five backyard telescopes for home use. Read about their design, technical specifications, beneficial features, and find out how much they cost.
Features You Should Be Looking For In A Backyard Telescope
Multipurpose Use
When purchasing a backyard telescope you should look for the one that allows you to observe both celestial and terrestrial objects. That way you will be able to see all the amazing features of the Moon during the night and look for different bird species during the day.
High-Transmission Coating
Another feature you want your backyard telescope to have is the high-transmission coating. If you choose a telescope with that feature you can be sure that it will provide you with a perfectly clear and bright view with high contrast.
Adjustable Tripod
To ensure that you can enjoy a completely comfortable observing experience you should look for a backyard telescope that comes with an adjustable tripod. It will provide the telescope with much more stability and it will allow you to adjust its height according to your needs.
Portable Design
Portable design is a great feature that most of the backyard telescopes offer. That means that you can easily transport your telescope anywhere you go. Also, it is very important because it means that you can quickly remove the telescope if it starts to rain and shelter it inside your home.
Best 5 Backyard Telescopes For Home Use
Best Large Home Telescope
Orion 10020 SkyQuest XT12i IntelliScope Dobsonian Telescope
Dobsonian Mount
This large home telescope comes on a Dobsonian mount. That means that you can easily move it up and down and left to right motions. It is specifically designed to provide you with the simplicity of finding the desired celestial object.
12-Inch Aperture
Another great thing about this large home telescope is that it features a 12-inch aperture that has enough power to gather a large amount of light that celestial objects transmit. Thanks to that feature you will be able to catch a close-up view of the Moon and different planets in our Solar System.
Sharp View
This large home telescope is a large reflector that will also provide you with a perfect view of even the faint deep-sky objects. That means that you will be able to observe different galaxies, nebulas, and open star clusters that surround us.
Computerized Object Locator
The best thing about this large home telescope is that it comes with a computerized object locator. The only thing you need to do is punch in the object you want to observe and the locator will direct you towards it with little arrows that show you in which direction you have to move the telescope.
Caution Tips
Note that you should never look directly at or anywhere near the sun through the telescope or its finder scope without a proper professionally made solar filter that covers the entire front side of the telescope. Otherwise, you could end up with some serious eye damages.
Beneficial Features:
- two-inch Crayford focuser
- correct-image finder scope
- Starry Night software
Best Home Telescope For Beginners
Aomekie Kids Telescope for Adults Astronomy Beginners
Erect View
Most of the telescopes on the market provide you with an inverted image of the object you are observing. That can be very confusing especially for those who are just starting to use a telescope. That is why this home telescope comes with a 45-degree erect-image diagonal that provides you with an erect view.
Moon Filter
The best thing about this home telescope for beginners is that it comes with a metal Moon filter. Thanks to that feature you will be able to observe and see even the faintest details of the Moons surface even on the full Moon days when the Moon is too bright.
Smartphone Adapter
Another great thing about this home telescope for beginners is that it comes with a smartphone adapter which is specially designed to keep your smartphone steady in its place. Because of that, you will be able to capture all the beautiful views that this telescope provides with your smartphone camera.
Rotatable Design
This home telescope for beginners features a rotatable design that allows you to adjust the telescope to ensure you get the perfect view of the object you want to observe. You can rotate it 90 degrees up and down or and make a full 360-degree circle in the left or the right motion.
Adjustable Tripod
You can be sure that this home telescope for beginners will provide you with the most comfortable observing experience. It offers a fully adjustable tripod that can be set up between 15 and 51 inches depending on your height. You can forget all about bending in awkward positions to capture the perfect view.
Beneficial Features:
- erecting diagonal lens
- smartphone adapter
- aluminum tripod
- Star Target planisphere
Best Backyard Telescope Observatory System
Sky-Watcher 120mm Telescope
Celestial And Terrestrial Observation
The best thing about this backyard telescope observatory system is that you can use it to observe both celestial and terrestrial objects. That means that you can enjoy a beautiful view of the Moon during the night and use it to observe different bird species by day.
45° Erect Image Prism
Seeing an inverted image of the object you are observing can be very confusing. That is why this backyard telescope observatory system comes with a 45-degree erect image prism that provides you with the right side up view of the observed object.
Multi-Coated Optics
Another great thing about this backyard telescope observatory system is that it features multi-coated optics that will provide you with higher light transmittance. It will also protect your eyesight from any damages that can happen due to long exposure to bright light.
Portable Design
You can take this backyard telescope observatory system anywhere you go. It features a completely portable design and its very simple to set up and to break apart. Make sure you cover the optics during the transportation process to ensure they don’t get accidentally damaged.
Alt-Azimuth Tripod
This backyard telescope observatory system comes on an alt-azimuth tripod that offers additional stability to the telescope. Because of that feature, you can slowly adjust the telescope both on vertical and horizontal axes until you get the most perfect view of the object you want to observe.
Beneficial Features:
- high-quality optics
- different eyepieces
- lightweight sturdy tripod
- completely portable
Best Computerized Backyard Telescope
Celestron – NexStar 6SE Telescope
6-Inch Aperture
This computerized backyard telescope features a six-inch aperture that has enough light-gathering ability to provide you with clear and bright images of observed objects. That means that you will be able to see all the different objects in our Solar System.
Red Dot Finderscope
You won’t have any trouble locating the object you want to observe with this computerized backyard telescope. Simply look through the finderscope and adjust the telescope until the little red dot in the finderscope merges with the desired object and you are good to go.
SkyAlign Technology
The best thing about this computerized backyard telescope is that it comes with a built-in SkyAlign Technology. Everything you need to do is center any three celestial objects in the eyepiece and the telescope will automatically align to the night sky.
Computerized Hand Controller
This computerized backyard telescope offers a computerized hand controller that comes with a backlit LCD and a large celestial object database. It also features a red-backlit keypad to ensure that you can use it during the night too without having to add another light source that may affect the quality of your view.
GoTo Tracking System
Another great thing about this computerized backyard telescope is that it comes with a GoTo tracking system. You only need to choose one object from the database and the telescope will automatically locate it and keep a precise track on it.
Beneficial Features:
- six-inch aperture
- large celestial object database
- computerized design
- automated tracking system
- portable design
Best Most Expensive Home Telescope
Meade Instruments Advanced Coma-Free Telescope
Coma-Free Optical Design
This most expensive home telescope features a coma-free optical design. Thanks to that feature you never have to worry about any aberrations damaging your view. You can be sure that you will get a clear image of the object you are observing.
Ultra-High Transmission Coating
Another great thing about this most expensive home telescope is that it comes with an ultra-high transmission coating. Because of that feature, this telescope will provide you with a much clearer image with higher contrast and even better image resolution.
Hand Contol
The best thing about this most expensive home telescope is that it offers a hand controller with a backlit LCD and an audio speaker that will provide you with a large number of interesting facts about the night sky. It is a great educational feature that can be beneficial both for beginners and professional astronomers.
Heavy-Duty Tripod
This most expensive home telescope offers a heavy-duty tripod that provides the telescope with additional stability while observing the night sky. Even though this is a full-length tripod it won’t compromise the portability of the telescope. You can take it anywhere you go and enjoy its amazing features.
C-cell Batteries
To ensure that the mount and all the electronics in this most expensive home telescope work properly you will need to use eight C-cell batteries which will provide you with around sixty hours of observing. Note that the batteries do not come included. You need to buy them separately.
Beneficial Features:
- coma-free optics
- ultra-high transmission coating
- standard field tripod
- AudioStar handbox
Conclusion: The Best Two Backyard Telescopes On This List Are…
In my opinion, the best two backyard telescopes on this list are Orion 10020 SkyQuest XT12i IntelliScope Dobsonian Telescope and Aomekie Kids Telescope for Adults Astronomy Beginners. The first one comes on a Dobsonian mount and it features a computerized object locator. The second one comes with a metal Moon filter and it provides you with an erect view of the observed object.
To learn more about how different automatic telescopes work and what are the benefits of having a star scope monocular read this article about the best telescopes on the market.