Searching for telescopes at Walmart can be a good way to discover a bargain on your next bit of stargazing equipment. Fortunately, we're here to navigate the retailer's stock and highlight the best discounts, so you can pick what's best for you.
There is a seemingly endless supply of telescopes at Walmart, which you'll know if you have ever searched for one from the retailer. Fortunately, with the sheer volume of options they offer, you don't have to break the bank to view the stars. They stock some quality budget telescopes under $500 and Celestron telescope deals, which means Walmart is a retailer worth considering when looking for your next scope.
If there is a specific manufacturer you trust, or would like to try out, we have brand-specific guides to the best Sky-Watcher telescope deals, Meade telescope deals and Orion telescope deals, which you should take a look at.
The total solar eclipse is fast approaching, on April 8 and if you want sufficient solar gear or a specialist telescope, you should check out our best solar viewing kit guide. If you want to do more research into what astronomy equipment is out there, we've also got handy guides for the best telescopes, telescope deals, best binoculars and binoculars deals that you should scroll through. But, like those, we keep this page updated year-round, so when new deals become available, you'll find them here. So, for the best telescopes at Walmart and the deals to go with them, read on below.
Telescopes at Walmart in 2024
Telescopes at Walmart: Best deals April 2024
Buying advice
When it comes to buying a telescope you need to consider two main factors: Your budget and what you're wanting to view. There are three main types of telescopes out there, and figuring out what you want to view will help you decide what type of telescope you will need. There are refractors, reflectors and catadioptric telescopes.
For beginners, refractor telescopes are often a popular choice due to their easy to maintain and use style. They're often mounted to alt-azimuth mounts so they're straightforward to use and the mounts themselves are easy to manufacture so the price tends to be cost-effective too. They're best used for focussing on specific targets like moons and planets due to the fact that they're good for showing high-magnified and high-contrast images.
Reflector telescopes tend to have larger apertures and are better for low-magnification targets like nebulas and galaxies. You get two types of reflector telescope: Dobsonians and Newtonians, although there’s some crossover between these. In brief, though, Dobsonians are easier to maintain and often found attached to the alt-azimuth mount. Newtonians are more commonly affixed to equatorial mounts, which allow you to follow the rotation of the night sky more accurately, but they require more upkeep.
Finally, catadioptric telescopes fix issues found in both of the above types of scope – such as chromatic aberration and the coma effect – and they are typically equipped with a GoTo system. These systems are essentially mini computers that align your telescope to particular night sky objects. You get two types of catadioptrics, the Schmidt-Cassegrain and the Maksutov-Cassegrain. As a general rule, the Maksutov-Cassegrain is better for viewing planets, while the Schmidt-Cassegrain models are a little more versatile and feature bigger apertures, so they’re preferred by astrophotographers.
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