best handheld telescope for viewing planets

BEST HANDHELD TELESCOPE FOR VIEWING PLANETS HOW TO
BEST HANDHELD TELESCOPE FOR VIEWING PLANETS FULL

BEST HANDHELD TELESCOPE FOR VIEWING PLANETS FULL

Nebulae and galaxies can be very large - the Andromeda galaxy would be as wide as six full Moons if you could see it with the naked eye - so you’ll need a wider field of view to take them all in and see their shape rather than details. What's the best eyepiece for deep sky objects like nebulae? As magnification is linked to telescope focal length, you’ll get a different view in the same eyepiece if you move it to a larger or smaller scope, so the best planetary eyepiece is the one that works for you. There's slightly more to it than that, as you can see the shape of planets like Saturn, with its distinctive rings, with a lower-powered eyepiece such as a 35mm before switching to something with higher power, such as a 10mm, for a closer look. In theory, the more magnification your eyepiece provides, the larger the planets will be in your view of them. What's the best eyepiece for viewing planets? However, you’ll pay a lot more for the privilege. As a general rule, designs with fewer optical elements, such as the very popular Plossl, let more light through and give you slightly brighter views, especially of dim objects, but up-to-date optical formulae in other designs that include exotic kinds of glass and lens groupings will provide wider fields of view and sharper images. Some are classics that have been around for years, such as Orthoscopic, which have been updated with anti-reflective coatings to improve them over time, while there are more modern designs such as Lanthanum.

What kinds of eyepiece are there?Įyepiece designs refer to the number and arrangement of the lenses within the eyepiece. Simple adapters are available to use the smaller eyepieces in a larger star diagonal, but you’ll have trouble using them the other way around. This measurement must match that of the eyepiece holder on your telescope, otherwise it won’t fit.Ĭommon sizes include 1.25in or 2in, but you may come across others, and they just drop in rather than using a bayonet mount or anything with complicated electrical connections. Eyepieces are essentially little metal cylinders with lenses inside, and are measured across the diameter of the end that meets the telescope. Eyepieces come in different optical designs, such as Plossl or Nagler, and from telescope manufacturers such as Celestron and optics companies such as Zeiss or Nikon, but there's nothing stopping you from using a mixture of types with your telescope.

BEST HANDHELD TELESCOPE FOR VIEWING PLANETS HOW TO

How to choose the right telescope eyepiece Are telescope eyepieces universal? The 80A blue filter will pick out cloud and polar ice cap detail when observing Mars, while the Moon filter tones down the brightness of our nearest neighbor in the night sky, making observations of its rilles and maria more comfortable.

Celestron makes an enormous number of telescopes and accessories, and this kit brings together a nice range of eyepiece focal lengths (five in total) with a set of six filters you can use to bring out details on the Moon and planets and a Barlow lens that brings the number of different magnification available to ten.Īll the eyepieces and filters are of the 1.25in type, so make sure your telescope is capable of accepting them before you take the plunge. These are not the Celestron Omni eyepieces you’ll also find on this list, but a different set of Plossl designs from the same manufacturer.

Best handheld telescope for viewing planets