Most of our first experiences with a telescope involve viewing the lunar surface or one of the great gas giants Jupiter and Saturn. Seeing these objects in great detail with your own eyes can be deeply impactful. If you have ever considered purchasing your own telescope for viewing these objects in detail, our Gear Experts have put together a comprehensive list of attributes that a planetary telescope must have.
The best telescope for viewing planets is one that has:
- At least 8” of aperture
- A long focal length for increased magnification
- A Schmidt-Cassegrain which provides quality optics, ease of use, and little to no fuss design
- The ability to resolve small lunar craters, the division in Saturn’s ring system, and the individual color bands on Jupiter’s surface and, with filters, even the polar caps on Mars
The single telescope that best fits these requirements is the ever-popular Celestron NexStar 8SE. Built with XLT coatings providing high contrast and reduced stray light, the Celestron 8SE offers the first-time telescope user an unparalleled light-gathering experience. The NexStar 8SE is an 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope capable of jarring views of the lunar surface and the planets.
The 2032mm of focal length inherently gives you more magnification with any given eyepiece over other telescopes of the same size aperture. Larger telescopes such as Newtonians have a large secondary mirror which can reduce the contrast of your planetary views. The NexStar 8SE comes built with a smaller secondary obstruction allowing this design to reveal the highest possible details for an 8-inch system. As one of the most popular scopes on the market (for good reason), the 8SE not only provides high-quality lunar and planetary views but is large enough for detailed views of medium to bright deep sky objects
Celestron has done an incredible job creating accessories for the 8SE that make this scope upgradeable as you grow into the hobby. Celestron’s Wi-Fi dongle, GPS dongle, and the StarSense AutoAlign, give this scope a sense of autonomy that enhances the entire experience to an incredible degree.
Mario, who is a Verified Owner of the 8SE, expresses his excitement over this scope's upgradeability.
Astrophotography is an absolute possibility with this system as well. Mainly compatible with planetary cameras, imaging the planets with the NexStar 8SE is an excellent idea and one that will provide you with some awesome photos of our neighboring solar system objects.
If imaging deep sky objects interests you, the Celestron .63 focal reducer is also an option, It reduces your SCT from an f/10 focal ratio to an f/6.3 as it widens your field of view and increases the amount of signal your camera sensor receives for any given sub exposure length! Photographing the Orion Nebula, or Messier 15 is now possible using very short sub exposures of around 7-10 seconds.
Kyle, a content creator and writer for High Point has shared with us and the astronomy community a great way to process the planetary data you capture with your NexStar 8SE! Following this video will help to uncover faint detail on Jupiter’s surface.
The Celestron NexStar 8SE is the best telescope for planetary viewing and will surprise you with its ease of use and long list of awesome capabilities. Our team has put together a great video over the entire setup process of the 8SE so you can feel confident that you have assembled it correctly and are ready to view the night sky!
Learn More
Interested in learning more about which telescope is right for you? Not sure where to begin? Check out our Astronomy Hub to learn more!
