Originating in the late 1990s as Celestron’s action to Meade’s LX series, the NexStar SE line was created as a budget-friendly, easy to use GoTo telescope. The 6SE includes quality Schmidt-Cassegrain optics, a 6-inch aperture and a robust install, making a strong following amongst astronomers.

The Celestron NexStar 6SE is the middle kid of the NexStar SE Schmidt-Cassegrain series, placed in between the 5- and 8-inch designs, with a 4-inch Maksutov-Cassegrain likewise in the household. Its 6-inch aperture is huge enough to offer significant, sharp views of both deep-sky and planetary system items while not being too big or costly. Its mobility and little size make it a wonderful newbie telescope if you have a healthy budget plan, however the bigger 8SE still tops our list of the absolute best telescopes.