Solar safe telescope deal: $30 saving ahead of the total solar eclipse

This month's total solar eclipse is approaching, and with another opportunity not coming to the US for nearly 10 years, you may be wondering how best to make the most of the occasion.

Thankfully, the Celestron EclipSmart Travel Solar Scope 50 is an excellent beginner's telescope that's ideal for just this situation thanks to a built-in white light filter to ensure you and your loved ones can enjoy the moment safe in the knowledge you're not going to damage your eyes.

The telescope is discounted down from $129.99 to just $99.99 at Best Buy, a $30 drop from the MSRP — a price that was already on the affordable end of the scale.

It's easy to set up and comes with a handy carrying backpack, so if you've not yet settled on a spot to watch the eclipse you can make your mind up at the very last minute.

Celestron Eclipsmart Travel Solar Scope 50 Refractor Telescope: <a href="#" data-link-merchant="bestbuy.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">was $129.99, now $99.99 at Best Buy  

This easy-to-use telescope offers a built-in white light filter that's ideal for the upcoming total eclipse. It's portable enough for those who aren't sure where they'll be watching from yet and offers up to 18x magnification once you do find that perfect spot.

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This telescope complies with the ISO 12312-2(E) standards that the International Standards Organization set which ensures it's completely safe for solar viewing straight out of the box.

This refractor solar telescope has fully coated glass optics and a permanently attached solar telescope filter to ensure you cannot view the sun and damage your eyesight. It also features an integrated solar safe finderscope to quickly center the sun in the eyepiece without the need to look at the sun with the naked eye and it ships with a carry bag and alt-azimuth mount atop a tripod.

It's worth noting, as covered in the Celestron EclipSmart Travel Solar Scope 50 telescope review from our sister site, Space.com, that the tripod here isn't the sturdiest you'll find. That's partially down to the price of the telescope, which is otherwise remarkably well put together, but might mean it's more useful as a portable solar telescope.