Best for

The best smart telescope for the city

From a city, bright nebulae, clusters and compact objects work best. Of the smart telescopes we track, the eQuinox 2 frames the most of those well, followed by the Odyssey.

The ranking

1. 

   #1 · Unistellar

   eQuinox 2

   • Frames 51 of 74 city-friendly objects well
   • Official price $2,899

   Details and where to buySimulate a photo

2. 

   #2 · Unistellar

   Odyssey

   • Frames 49 of 74 city-friendly objects well
   • Official price $2,599

   Details and where to buySimulate a photo

3. 

   #3 · ZWO

   Seestar S50

   • Frames 45 of 74 city-friendly objects well
   • Official price $549

   Details and where to buySimulate a photo

4. 

   #4 · Unistellar

   eVscope 2

   • Frames 51 of 74 city-friendly objects well
   • Official price $4,999

   Details and where to buySimulate a photo

5. 

   #5 · Unistellar

   Odyssey Pro

   • Frames 49 of 74 city-friendly objects well
   • Official price $4,599

   Details and where to buySimulate a photo

Show all (14)

How this list is ranked

We take every object in our list that copes with a city sky (from its type and surface brightness) and count how many fit each telescope's native frame well. Price breaks near-ties.

Good to know

• Pick targets high in the sky, away from the glow on the horizon.
• A dual-band filter helps a lot on emission nebulae; galaxies need darker skies or more time.
• Plan longer sessions: from a city you need several times the exposure of a dark site for the same result.

Not sure? Take the 4-question finder →

Calculated from the specifications in our catalogue and the fit of each telescope's native field of view on our object list. We do not test hardware ourselves and never rank by commission.

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