Moore's law tells us that the price of technology should go down over time, so why is stargazing gear getting more expensive?

Intel co-founder Gordon Moore observed that processing power doubles every two years whilst almost halving in cost. That should translate to older technology dropping in price and year on year seeing the cheapest prices in the sales, right? The reality is far from simple in the world of skywatching.

For stargazers who have dipped their toes into the world of binoculars and telescopes, prices stack up quickly and even one purchase can wipe out thousands of dollars. Now, there are levels to stargazing equipment, budget models like a Celestron Travel Scope 70 telescope and a pair of Celelestron Cometron 7x50 binoculars will run you between $50-$100 but don't expect the best optical performance. At the complete other end of the scale are premium options like smart telescopes and some image-stabilized binoculars which can run from just under $1,000 all the way to $5,000. There are obviously plenty of in-between models but whichever option you pick, you are still seeing a big chunk of money go out of the bank account when purchasing.

Shopping the sales: Prime Day and Black Friday

Smart telescopes are here to stay and have revolutionized amateur stargazing. (Image credit: Jase Parnell-Brookes)

Sales events like Prime Day and Black Friday are the usual contenders for getting a good chunk of money off a big purchase. Prices fluctuate throughout the year but I would be inclined to say that the best prices on big purchases have been around Black Friday. Take this Unistellar Odyssey smart telescope, which is 15% off for their Father's Day 2026 sale, it had its last cheapest price on Black Friday 2025.

Does that mean you should wait until then for a guaranteed lowest price? It depends. If you are not in a hurry to get it and are happy to wait, then I would advise you to wait and see if you can get it cheaper. Although waiting for too long just means more time not using the instruments and observing the night sky. You could also fall into the trap of waiting too long and missing out on the best deal available at that time.

Changes to the skywatching industry

GoTo technology on the Celestron Nexstar SE series uses a physical remote and was groundbreaking at the time. (Image credit: Jason Parnell-Brookes)

Take the Celestron Nexstar 8SE; it's currently $200 off, but this is a frequent reduction for this product. Its last cheapest Amazon price was in October 2025 with $300 off but that is a far sight from its cheapest ever Amazon price of $882. If you had kept waiting after seeing this saving, thinking it might get cheaper, you would have missed out on getting it at over $800 off its current full retail price. Bear in mind, this was in Dec. 2019 and a lot has happened since then. Demand for skywatching optics exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic, with people staying at home more and looking for outdoor hobbies. Pair this with rising US-China trade tariffs and general inflation and you have conditions for a huge price increase on these kinds of products. There was also a huge $32 million class action settlement reached in 2025, resulting from a legal battle involving major telescope manufacturers and brands following allegations of price fixing and artificially inflated costs.

Development and deployment of new technology can lead to high prices for the newest and most advanced models but it also makes obsolete or older technology much cheaper. The latest wave of fully smart telescopes are incredibly expensive because they represent the latest skywatching technology; they can automatically find objects (nothing new there) but they can also autofocus and image them straight from a smartphone, so you can get warm and toasty inside with a warm beverage if you so desire.

Their release has also driven down the prices of models with older GoTo technology and Wi-Fi-controlled mounts. For an easy comparison: the Celestron NexStar 8SE (2006) represents the first wave with GoTo technology and computerization, the NexStar Evolution 8 (2014) represents the second wave with Wi-Fi integration and the Celestron Origin Intelligent Obsevatory II (2026) represents the third wave, with full smart capabilities.

Binoculars: The new Frontier

Canon's latest version of their 18x50 IS binoculars, with super-spectra coatings and eco-glass optics. (Image credit: Jase Parnell-Brookes)

Binocular manufacturers are also working with new technologies but more often than not, the best improvements are made in the quality of optics, resulting in cleaner and brighter images. Image-stabilized (IS) models have been getting releases since the 90s, with the consumer wave of electronic stabilization being kicked off by Canon with the release of their 12x36 IS model in 1997. This and their other IS models have been receiving minor upgrades to their functionality and optics, like the latest version of the Canon 18x50 IS binoculars, which feature super-spectra coatings, higher precision manufacturing and eco-glass optics.

In the years since, we have seen other companies hone this technology, make housing smaller, improve optical elements and develop smoother stabilization mechanisms. The 2025 release of Fujifilm's Fujinon Techno-Stabi 1640 image-stabilized binoculars represent brand beating stabilization and high optical quality, which makes them one of the best pairs of binoculars I have ever used. For the 2026 summer sales events, they are currently at their lowest ever price at Walmart.

It's easier to observe more detail when observing stars with image-stabilized binoculars. (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)

The handheld optics world is entering a new wave of advancements with the advent of smart binoculars that can identify stars and animals directly through the eyepieces. The upcoming Unistellar Envision smart binoculars use an augmented reality (AR) overlay to identify night sky objects, locate trails and identify landscape features. Their pre-order price was $999, with their release retail price expected to be $1499, so sometimes it can benefit you to invest early with innovative technologies.

Our editor-in-chief Tariq Malik said the Unistellar Envision binoculars felt like something out of Star Trek.Tariq Malik / FutureThe red augmented reality (AR) overlay can identify stars and geographical features.Tariq Malik / Future

The Final Say

Is it worth buying now and risking the price dropping more in later years or waiting for a lower price, only to find that it never comes? Unless you have serious insider knowledge, it depends on what your personal circumstances and budget are right now. If you are going on holiday to a dark sky spot soon and have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for amazing stargazing or an event like a solar or lunar eclipse, you might be happier to sacrifice more money for that experience. If you are just casually interested in getting something but aren't super intent on needing it right now, then waiting could be better.

You can't wait to buy solar optics if the eclipse is tomorrow. (Image credit: Paul Souders via Getty Images)

If you have a huge budget and need stargazing optics quickly, you may not be bothered by a potential price leeway and would benefit from just getting the instrument at a good price but not its best one. If you are a beginner with a low budget who is just getting into skywatching, it can definitely pay off to wait for the best ever price, at least at a yearly low, so that you can save money which might go towards a more advanced piece of equipment in the future.