A guide for the stars.

Meade’s ETX 125 finally fixes the plastic motors and flimsy tripod of the cheaper ETX line, but the upgrades drive the price beyond what most observers should pay for a compact planetary scope.

Legacy impressions of the Meade Polaris 130 EQ reflector from 2020, highlighting its parabolic optics, deep-sky strengths, and the trade-offs of the lightweight equatorial mount and bundled accessories.

The Seestar S30 is an ultra-portable smart telescope with a 30 mm apochromatic triplet objective, automated alignment, live stacking, and solar capability, designed for beginners and astrophotographers who want results without complexity.

The Celestron AstroMaster 114EQ uses a cost-cutting Bird-Jones optical design that results in poor image quality, difficult collimation, and frustrating usability.