Explore FirstLight


Jessica Santascoy uses her Explore FirstLight AR102 with a safe solar filter to observe the rare 2019 Transit of Mercury across the face of the Sun during her astronomy outreach event in New York:
"The telescope 🔭 and lenses made for clear, easy viewing of Mercury. I looked at the Transit through a couple of other scopes and they weren’t nearly as crisp and clear as they were through my Explore Scientific USA #telescope. ❤️my ES scope." - Jessica Santascoy

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Explore FirstLight: Affordable First Telescopes

The Explore FirstLight series is designed to give new astronomers a quality first telescope at an affordable price. Each FirstLight package combines a capable optical tube with a matched mount, eyepieces and accessories, so you have everything you need to start exploring the Moon, planets and brighter deep-sky objects on your first night out.

The FirstLight lineup includes refractor telescopes for crisp, low-maintenance views, Newtonian reflectors that deliver more aperture for the money, Maksutov-Cassegrain telescopes for detailed lunar and planetary observing, and Dobsonian telescopes for bright deep-sky views. Mount options range from simple alt-azimuth mounts that are intuitive to use, to EQ3 equatorial mounts that track the sky's motion, to Go-To tracker combos that open the door to astrophotography.

FirstLight telescopes make excellent gifts and are popular with families, students, STEM programs and anyone returning to astronomy. As your interests grow, you can upgrade with Explore Scientific waterproof eyepieces, filters and finders. When choosing a FirstLight telescope, consider portability, whether you want manual or computerized pointing, and your primary targets. Whatever you choose, FirstLight makes it easy to start exploring the universe.