The Celestron Inspire 100AZ is now $80 off on Amazon

(Image credit: Jamie Carter)

The Celestron Inspire 100AZ refractor telescope is now $80 off on Amazon and is a top choice for those without much or any astronomy experience. We've included it in our best telescopes buying guide as the best budget option out there.

You can get the Celestron Inspire 100AZ refractor telescope right now for just $279.64 on Amazon.

This telescope offers an affordable entry point into both stargazing and astrophotography. It's easy to assemble, it comes with a good range of accessories to enhance your experience and it has a large aperture, so plenty of light passes through, allowing targets to appear brighter. In our Celestron Inspire 100AZ review, we found that you get good value for your money and we like it a lot. It isn't the final word in stargazing but, if you're a budding astronomer or you want to try your hand at astrophotography, this is definitely a telescope worth considering, especially at this price point.

You can check out all the specs below as we highlight what this telescope boasts and what that means for you. However, if you want to shop around a little bit before making a final decision, why not check out our guides for the best budget telescopes under $500 and telescope deals.

You get plenty of telescope for your money but, what does that look like? Well, the 100mm aperture lends itself well to lunar and planet observations. Its 660mm focal length and lightweight frame mean it's well-designed for beginners and home use to observe even beyond our solar system.

There are plenty of accessories on offer too but the stand-out is the lens cap which turns into a smartphone holder and allows photos of night sky targets to be taken. It also comes with a quality tripod, two eyepieces (10mm and 20mm) a finder scope, star pointer and red LED flashlight, which illuminates the accessory tray. It also comes with a free download of Starry Night software basic edition.

Key Specs: 100mm aperture, 660mm focal length, a tripod and Alt-azimuth mount is included, two eyepieces (10mm and 20mm), an accessory tray, a red LED flashlight, a smartphone holder, lightweight design, red dot finder, 90-degree erect image diagonal and a free download of Starry Night basic edition astronomy software.

Consensus: We like this telescope a lot, and this deal even more. If you're a beginner or you're looking to get into astrophotography, this is definitely a deal you should consider. We've not seen this telescope on offer as low as this for quite some time and we think it's the best budget option out there.

Buy if: You're a beginner or looking to take your first steps into astrophotography.

Don't buy if: You're looking to splash the cash or you want a seriously high-end telescope.

Alternative models: If this isn't quite right for you we would recommend either the Celestron AstroMaster 70AZ or the Celestron NexStar 4SE both of which we have reviewed and like for their beginner-friendly setup and ease of use.

Check out our roundups of the best discounts and deals on telescopes, binoculars, cameras, star projectors, drones, lego and much more.

STAFF WRITER, E-commerce — Alex joined Space.com in June 2021 as staff writer covering space news, games, tech, toys and deals. Based in London, U.K. Graduating in June 2020, Alex studied Sports Journalism in the North East of England at Sunderland University. During his studies and since his graduation, Alex has been featured in local newspapers and online publications covering a range of sports from university rugby to Premier League soccer. In addition to a background in sports and journalism, Alex has a life-long love of Star Wars which started with watching the prequel trilogy and collecting toy lightsabers, he also grew up spending most Saturday evenings watching Doctor Who.

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