IN THE SHOPS
The best telescopes for viewing Solar System planets
“It’s a simple telescope designed for seeing the Moon, planets and bright deep-sky objects”
Best for beginners
Celestron Inspire 100AZ
Cost: £259 / $359.95
From: Celestron
Beginners who want to explore the world of astronomy should consider starting with a traditional refractor telescope like the Inspire 100AZ, which is especially adept at viewing planets. It’s a simple telescope designed for seeing the Moon, planets and bright deep-sky objects, and it doesn’t feature any fancy Go-To motors or app integration, but it does come with the basic edition of Celestron’s Starry Night software to help you learn about the night sky. We were able to see the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31) and some bright star clusters, but the aperture doesn’t let in as much light for anything beyond that. However, it resolves Solar System targets well.