Celestron Inspire 100AZ now $80 off in early Prime Day deal

We're still one day away from Prime Day, but this early Prime Day telescope deal saves you $80 on this fantastic beginner telescope, ideal for viewing planets and the moon up close. It features a handy built-in smartphone adapter and its lightweight frame makes it easy to transport to those stunning dark sky locations — we think the Celestron Inspire 100AZ is certainly one of the best telescopes for beginners and is perfect for anyone looking for their first telescope without wanting to break the bank.

You can get the Celestron Inspire 100AZ right now for $279.64 at Amazon.

Our expert reviewer Jamie Carter tested this beginner telescope out for our sister site Space.com and in his full Celestron Inspire 100AZ review he gave it a solid 4/5 stars. He praised its sharp views and user-friendly operation, even though the optics aren't perfect (nor would we expect them to be for a beginner scope). Its relatively short focal length of 660mm and 100mm aperture is designed to be used at home by beginners who want to see close-up views of the moon and planets from their backyard, and for that, we think it fits the bill. We were able to see Saturn and Jupiter as well as the Andromeda galaxy and other star clusters, and we were treated to some excellent close-ups of the moon's craters.

We think it's good value for money even at full price, but now that it's down to $279.64, we'd definitely recommend taking advantage of this Prime Day telescope deal before the price goes back up.

Celestron Inspire 100AZ: was $395.95, now $297.64 from Amazon

Save $80 on this excellent refractor telescope in this early Prime Day deal at Amazon. Alongside the Celestron Inspire 100AZ itself, you'll get a mount with tripod and folding accessory tray connected, red LED flashlight, 90-degree erect image diagonal, 20mm & 10mm Kellner eyepieces, StarPointer Pro finderscope and a free download of SkyPortal.

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• Read our Amazon Prime Day science deals page for big discounts on the best health and fitness kit and science gear as we enter the summer sales event.

Anyone new to stargazing will be pleased to see that this telescope comes with everything you need to get started, including a mount with tripod and folding accessory tray connected, red LED flashlight, 90-degree erect image diagonal, 20mm & 10mm Kellner eyepieces, StarPointer Pro finderscope and a free download of SkyPortal. We found it really easy to set up and use, and the neat smartphone holder built into the dust cap adds a trick up its sleeve that many other beginner telescopes don't have.

We did notice some chromatic aberration (purple fringing) around objects with high contrast, but while it was noticeable, we didn't think it was dominating and certainly didn't detract from the view — certainly not if you're not used to super high-quality optics from the more expensive telescopes.

Key features: Refractor telescope with 3.94-inch/100 mm aperture, 25.98-inch/660 mm focal length and a focal ratio of f/6.5. It features an Alt-azimuth mount and two eyepieces (10mm and 20mm) with a total kit weight of 20 lbs./9.07 kg.