Good telescopes for seeing planets - Each planet in our solar system has a name, but have you ever seen one close with your naked eyes? All eight planets, from tiny Mercury to far-off Neptune, may be seen via a telescope if you understand where and when to gaze, albeit the type of telescope you purchase will have a significant impact on the views you obtain. Here is all the information you require to choose good telescopes for seeing planets.
Sky-Watcher Mercury-707 - Good telescopes for seeing planets with
A conventional refractor is an excellent place to start if you wish to follow in the steps of Galileo as well as other early modern astronomy pioneers. For those on a tight budget, the Mercury-707 is a well-made and reasonably priced planet-spotter. It has a straightforward, durable optical construction, needs little to no care, and comes with accessories that are ideal for enhancing its performance. The Barlow lens can be used with each of the provided eyepieces to offer four different magnifications, up to and including 140x, the telescope's maximum usable power. The rings of Saturn, the enormous features of Mars and Jupiter, and the stunning colors of Uranus and Neptune may all be seen with this.
A real optical finder with a 6x magnification is also included, making it simple to precisely center your selected planet in the expansive field of view of the primary telescope. Surprisingly, this finder is twice as effective as Galileo's original telescope! The tripod and mount of the Mercury-707 are a major flaw. It can be challenging to maintain things in view when the Earth rotates due to its fairly frail legs and lack of slow-motion controls for its azimuthal axis. Additionally, a light breeze will cause vibrations that will obstruct the vision. However, under calm circumstances and with a steady hand, it is possible to enjoy yourself at a price that is difficult to dispute.
Pros
- Highly affordable
- Great Accessories
- Lightweight
Cons
- Unsubstantial mount and tripod
Celestron – Omni XLT 102
The Omni XLT 102 from Celestron is a special deal that comes with a beautiful telescope and mount set. The 4" F/10 achromat provides excellent views, and because of its focal length, it pairs well with many of the finest planetary eyepieces. Unfortunately, just one is included in the box, but you can get 36x, 72x, 100x, and 200x powers by using a 10mm and Barlow lens. The Omni XLT 102 will display some exquisite features of our neighboring worlds at its highest level.
The identical telescope is also available in 120mm and 150mm sizes from Celestron, but significantly, all three use the same CG-4 equatorial mount. The 102 is perfectly suited to it, whilst the larger ones exceed the weight capacity of the mount. As a result, it is durable to use and immediately dampens any vibrations. Being an equatorial mount, it takes some time getting used to it but if set up properly allows for simple, one-handed monitoring of the planets. Celestron has an unique dual-axis auto-tracking update kit that you may install whenever you want for individuals who want to operate their devices hands-free.
Pros
- Solid optics and mechanics
- Optical finder
- Sturdy equatorial mount
Cons
- Comes with only one eyepiece
Sky-Watcher Virtuoso
The Heritage-90 Virtuoso's small stature conceals its strength. It folds a massive 1.25m focal length into a tube that is only 28cm long using 2 mirrors and a meniscus lens, enabling it to achieve its maximum effective magnification with a relaxing 7mm eyepiece. Compared to a Newtonian reflector with the same aperture, the Maksutov-Cassegrain design is renowned for its "refractor-like" performance. The vivid hues of planetary bodies and atmospheres, that are stunning to see in the Heritage-90, will be preserved thanks to this. Although its basic red dot finder isn't perfect, positioning objects is simple thanks to the motorized Virtuoso mount's smooth slewing controls.
The mount may be upgraded at any time using Sky-Synscan Watcher's GoTo device, which allows it to find over 40,000 objects in the sky for you. It can also track the sky to counteract the Earth's rotation, keeping your object of focus in the field of vision. The planets are obviously included in that list! Check out the Heritage-90's bigger brother, the Skymax-127 Virtuoso GTI, if you want to quickly transition to the full GoTo system and are looking for a more potent telescope with a comparable small footprint.
Pros
- Ultra compact design
- Good battery life
- Built-in tracking
Cons
- Doesn’t come with optical finder
Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/Sky-Watcher-S11750-Sky-Watcher-Virtuoso/dp/B00CIVV34Q
When should you see the planets?
The outer planets are most visible when they are at their brightest. That will always be a month or 2 either side of the date of opposition, which occurs once per year or so (dependent on how swiftly the Earth orbits the Sun) when a planet passes in front of the Sun.