Hey everyone,

I’m trying to decide between the Celestron AstroMaster 76AZ (reflector) and the AstroMaster 70AZ (refractor) as my first telescope, and I’d really appreciate some advice from people with experience.

My main goal is to observe:

Planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus)

The Moon (obviously)

And if possible, some brighter nebulae and galaxies (Orion Nebula, Andromeda, etc.)

From what I understand:

The 76AZ has a slightly larger aperture (76mm) → theoretically better light gathering

The 70AZ is a refractor → supposedly sharper contrast and less maintenance

The 76AZ is a reflector, so it might need collimation (not sure how big a deal that is at this level)

But what’s confusing me:

The 76mm is bigger, yet sometimes cheaper than the 70AZ

I’ve read mixed opinions about AstroMaster optics and mounts in general

Not sure which one actually gives clearer planetary detail vs brighter deep-sky views

So my questions:

-Which one gives better views of planets (sharpness, detail)?

-Which one is…