What Kind Of Telescope Should I Buy To See Planets
Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ: was $229.99, now $214.99 on Amazon (opens in new tab)Deals are few and far between for the best telescopes for viewing planets right now, but you can make a small $15 saving on the Celestron Starsense Explorer LT114AZ, a telescope that boasts huge magnification for getting up close and personal with the moon and other planets.
what kind of telescope should i buy to see planets
Now sitting at around the $350 price point, it is a reasonable price for a good quality beginner scope. It is a simple telescope designed for seeing the moon, planets and some deep sky objects and it doesn't feature any fancy go-to motors or app integration, but it does come with the basic edition of Celestron's Starry Night software (downloadable) to help you learn about the night sky.
In our Celestron NexStar 8SE review, we found it to deliver outstanding optics, and it was easy to see why it is one of the best-selling telescopes on the market. The 8-inch aperture drinks in heaps of light, showing you spectacular views of the planets and even deep-sky objects far into the universe.
The mount can also track the sky to counteract the rotation of the Earth, keeping your object of interest in the field of view, and it can be upgraded at any time via Sky-Watcher's Synscan GoTo handset, granting it the ability to find more than 40,000 objects in the sky for you automatically. Naturally, the planets are on that list. If you want to fast-track to the complete GoTo system and are interested in a more powerful telescope with a similarly compact design, you might want to check out the Heritage-90's big brother, the Skymax-127 Virtuoso GTI. (opens in new tab)
From our Celestron StarSense Explorer LT114AZ review, you'll see that the best thing to do with this telescope is to look at the moon and planets. It is designed to give a high magnification of bright objects.
The Skymax-180 PRO was purpose-built for Solar System exploration. Its high-resolution, long focal length optical system delivers performance akin to a much costlier large apochromatic refractor, providing flawless images of the planets rich in colorful details. With a 7.1-inch primary mirror, it also has enough light grasp to bring many of the Solar System's moons into view. The single 2-inch/ 28mm eyepiece won't make the most of this telescope's potential, so you'll need to invest a little extra, but even a comfortable 8mm or 10mm planetary eyepiece will be well tolerated by its formidable optics.For optimal accuracy, the Skymax-180 PRO is paired with an HEQ5 PRO equatorial mount, ideal for heavy payloads. This allows for a variety of photography uses, ranging from high-resolution planetary and lunar imaging to deep-sky imaging. If you plan to purchase another telescope in the future, it is beneficial to 'over-mount' the scope for optimal stability at higher magnifications. This combination of features is why it is beloved among visual observers and astrophotographers.
There are also other optical accessories to consider when shopping for a planet-hunting telescope. Eyepieces with greater magnifications can help get larger views of the tiny planets. Astronomers should also consider Barlow lenses to help attain high magnifications of between 120-250x (within the optical limit of the telescope). This will allow you to observe in the sweet spot on most nights when the seeing is average. Here are some of the best telescopes for seeing and capturing planets.
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The NexStar 8SE by Celestron is renowned and has earned the title 'The World's most beloved telescope.' It is the number one bestseller on B&H Photo (opens in new tab). Featuring StarBright XLT optical coating, this telescope provides unparalleled clarity and contrast for viewing planets and the moon. Jupiter, its moons, Saturn, and its rings are breathtakingly vivid with no chromatic aberration or color fringing. Its 203.2 mm aperture lens allows for excellent views of deep-sky objects.
Once the telescope is aligned, you can use the solid-in-the-hand, hand-held controller to direct it to any item in its massive database. This includes planets, galaxies, double stars, star clusters, and nebulae. A fantastic option for beginners and indecisive people is the 'sky tour,' which automatically directs the telescope to different interesting cosmic objects.
Named after the Latin word for 'evening,' Vespera does not have an eyepiece like traditional telescopes but instead captures and shares images of the night sky with up to five connected smartphones or tablets through a mobile app called Singularity (opens in new tab).The Vespera is effectively a camera for taking stunning pictures of deep sky objects, even in light-polluted cities. It is not intended for observing the moon and planets, but it can be used to capture remarkable images of star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. Here is all the information you need to know about how the Vespera works.
This telescope offers an impressive 152mm objective lens, allowing for plenty of light to pass through and making night sky targets more visible. The multi-coated optics further enhance the viewing experience, ensuring a clear image of those targets. With a focal length of 1200mm, you can observe the finer details of celestial bodies, such as craters on the moon and features of other planets.
This powerful telescope offers up to 133x magnification, allowing you to observe celestial objects in incredible detail. With the included eyepieces, this level of magnification is perfect for viewing the moon and planets. You won't miss out on any of the finer details.
If your biggest question is, 'which type of telescope type should I buy?' let us help. Reflector vs refractor vs catadioptric telescopes: There are some key differences between how they work and how each type of telescope is helpful for different observations. Telescopes look visually similar from when the telescope was invented but there have been many improvements to both design and function over the years.
It all comes down to what subjects you want to view. Shorter focal lengths, saf about 20 inches (500 mm), will provide a field of view for you to take in large areas of the Milky Way and showpieces such as the Pleiades (Messier 45) and Orion Nebula (Messier 42). Meanwhile, high-power objects like the moon, planets or double stars need a telescope with a longer focal length of about 80 inches (2000 mm).
If you can't decide, there are plenty of compromises between aperture and focal length, but you must be willing to make a few trade-offs regarding the weight of your instrument, the field of view and its 'power.' Read on for what you can expect from the three major kinds of telescope: the refractor, reflector and catadioptric.
This catadioptric is very robust and is the ideal family telescope. Packed into its short optical tube is a system that allows you to target higher magnification objects such as the planets, moon and double stars. You'll be able to pick up a Maksutov for a very good price and, if you struggle to find objects and your way around the night sky, then both this type of catadioptric telescope and the Schmidt-Cassegrain can be found in abundance and equipped with a GoTo system.
The catadioptric telescope is also suitable if you want to try astrophotography, but combine this with their marked improvement on your standard telescope and you should expect a substantial rise in cost compared to standard reflect and refractors.
Our expert staff and knowledgeable freelance contributors thoroughly test each telescope. This ensures honest reviewing based on the telescope's price, category, and intended use. For example, a 10-inch Dobsonian should not be compared to a 2.76-inch refractor, even though they may be the best in their own class.
You see, when deciding what telescope to buy to see the planets, you need a model particularly dedicated to the task. A telescope which has the special features making it ideally suited to observing the planets.
If you are looking for quality planetary telescopes to enjoy viewing the planets, the moon, and other sky objects as a family hobby, the Orion 09007 SpaceProbe 130ST Equatorial Reflector Telescope is a great choice.
We enjoyed the sturdy EQ-2 equatorial telescope mount and adjustable tripod that allowed our smaller children to see great views of Saturn and Jupiter. Using the smooth manual slow-motion controls, we tracked the planets as they moved across the sky.
To get started, we used the Sky Level 1 planetarium software that has over 10,000 objects and gave us enhanced images of the type of planets. The high-quality Celestron is one of the best planetary telescopes.
With a focal length of 1500mm, an aperture of 127mm, and two eyepieces (25mm and 9mm), this telescope specifically excels at viewing planets, but is also capable of viewing a variety of deep-sky objects as well!
Even with a decent pair of 25x binoculars, you can make out the rings of Saturn, albeit only slightly. With a telescope, though, you can easily observe planets and other deep space objects in much better detail!
The Dobsonian design is a pure reflector and there are no issues with color fringing. As a good telescope for viewing planets, low cost Dobsonian telescopes will give great views of the planets in our Solar System, as well as star clusters, nebula, and deep sky objects.
Only a handful of planets are visible to the naked eye. But even then, they look like nothing more than colorful stars in the night sky. To truly appreciate them, you need the best telescope designed to see planets! High-powered telescopes can help you appreciate the finer details of what a planet has to offer. 041b061a72