We LOVE the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ for beginners.
Refractor telescopes have a long, slender tube with a lens at the front that “refracts” or bends the light from the sky to bring it into focus. This is the oldest style of telescope and has many advantages. They are simple to use and understand, need less maintenance, and typically give very sharp views. Unfortunately, it’s difficult and expensive to manufacture large diameter versions of these scopes, so they are commonly fairly small in aperture. The take­away is that this telescope will really wow you on bright objects, such as the planets and moon, but will not have enough light­ gathering to see the really faint objects in the deep­ sky (but you will still be able to see some​ deep­ sky objects!). We LOVE the Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ for beginners. With it’s 4” (102mm) aperture, patented StarSense technology, and nice sturdy mount, we think you will be a very happy planet hunter.