Best telescope to watch planets - Most newcomers want to see the planets up close first, but for the greatest views, you'll need a "slow" telescope. Keep reading to learn how to choose the best telescope to watch planets.
Each planet in the solar system has a name, but have you ever seen one up close? All eight planets, from tiny Mercury to far-off Neptune, may be seen via a telescope if you understand where, how and when to look, albeit the telescope you choose will have a significant impact on the views you obtain. Here is all the information you require to choose the finest telescope selection for viewing planets.
How big of a telescope is required to see planets?
Celestron claims that Schmidt-Cassegrain and Maksutov-Cassegrain telescopes are effective planet finders. Most planets may be seen via practically any small telescope, even a 50 mm/2-inch refractor as well as a 25 mm eyepiece - Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are certainly visible. However, if you're using a telescope with a larger aperture, a long focal length, and a "slow" focal ratio, you'll get the greatest views of planets and the Moon.
Aperture refers to the mirror or lens size; telescopes with an aperture of 102 mm (4 inches) or 125 mm (5 inches) are ideal for viewing Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn and also the Moon. You'll need to have an 8-inch telescope for Neptune and Uranus.
Sky-Watcher SkyMax 180 Pro - Best telescope to watch planets
The SkyMax 180 Pro is the biggest model in the Sky-Watcher line, yet while having a 7-inch mirror that appears little, it outperforms the competition.
A front corrector lens and mirrors are used in Maksutov-Cassegrain telescopes to create a small, incredibly portable optical tube. This kind of optical configuration qualifies it as a compound or catadioptric telescope.
Early variants came with two 1.25-inch eyepieces, a straight-through finder, and were painted white and gold.
Sky-Watcher has upgraded the optics' glass, updated the finder to a 950 right-angled version, and only provides one lens for the SkyMax 180 Pro, a 28 mm long eye relief version with twist-up eyecup.
A star diagonal as well as a mounting bar in the Vixen style complete the set.
Sky-Watcher has been using Schott optical glass in the higher-end Pro line telescopes since 2008, and the SkyMax 180 Pro is no exception.
Of comparison to some telescopes of a comparable size, the secondary mirror in this telescope is incorporated to the front of the corrector plate and results in a lower secondary obstruction.
2,700mm of focal length can be compressed into a 500mm-long tube (although there's a back tube addition of 60mm). It is actually rather small, with only a tube width of 216mm.
It is also rather lighter for its size at 7.8kg.
Vital statistics
- 180 mm of aperture (7.1 inches)
- 2,700mm focal length (f/15)
- Weight of 7.8 kg
- Focuser Rear knob-movable primary mirror
- Additional items include a 9×50 finderscope, a 2-inch fit star diagonal, a 2 inch to 1.25 inch adaptor, a 2-inch eyepiece with a 28mm eye relief, and a Vixen-style mounting bar
Explore Scientific ED127
Refactors like the Explore Scientific ED127 apochromat are excellent all-purpose telescopes that may be used for astrophotography as well as visual viewing. However, not all refractors are created equal, and the caliber and layout of the primary objective lens play a crucial role in whether they are successful or not.
When light goes through a lens, it is refracted (bent) to create a focused image of an object in the distance.
Single lenses exhibit aberrations, which cause distinct light wavelengths to focus at marginally different locations. For example, blue light concentrates marginally closer to the lens compared to red light.
In order to reduce aberrations, a doublet focuses both red and blue light through two lenses. Red, green, and blue are brought to the same focus in a triplet to get rid of color fringing.
A lens created to bring these 3 wavelengths into focus is known as an apochromat, or apo, lens.
The air-spaced triplet of the ED127 is perfectly suited for enhancing dim deep-sky objects and extracting fine features from the Moon and planets.
Keeping it light
Refractors may get heavy and expensive as they get bigger, but even with the huge 5-inch objective featured here, the carbon fiber tube helps reduce weight.
The end product is an equipment that is very controllable and ought to function fairly well on medium-priced mounts. Its light weight makes it a telescope that is simple to transport.
The scope has a 952mm focal length, giving it an f/7.5 focal ratio. The ED127 is quite good for both deep-sky and Solar System objects in terms of applicability.
This one is definitely worth taking into consideration if you're searching for a beginner instrument but aren't yet sure whatever you want to look at.
Focal points
The 10:1 dual focuser is acceptable for visual use when focusing, but less effective for taking photographs.
With very modest star shape deviations in the corners of the extreme frame, imaging testing at prime focus demonstrated good consistency along a non-full frame DSLR sensor.
When you combine the ED127 with a high frame rate camera, it proves its value as a superb medium-resolution planetary imaging device and produces some exquisitely detailed images of the Moon.
Vital statistics
- 127mm aperture (5inches)
- 952 mm focal length, f/7.5
- 2-inch eyepiece, 25mm
- 8x50 right-angled illuminated finderscope
- 8.1 kg without the diagonal or eyepiece