How much magnification do you need on a telescope to see planets?
To look at planets like Jupiter and Saturn, you will need a magnification of about 180; with that you should be able to see the planets and their moons. If you want to look at the planet alone with higher resolution, you will need a magnification of about 380.
The rings of Saturn should be visible in even the smallest telescope at 25x. A good 3-inch scope at 50x can show them as a separate structure detached on all sides from the ball of the planet.
You can see some spectacular views of Saturn through either a reflector or refractor telescope. And with a simple telescope magnified 40x, you'll already be able to see its rings!
Generally, a magnification of 30-50x the aperture (in inches) works well on nights of average-to-good seeing. For example, if you have a 4-inch telescope, try 120x to 200x. If you have an 8″ scope, try 240x to 400x. Again, experiment to get the best view each night.
At 1000x magnification you will be able to see 0.180mm, or 180 microns.
Observing Pluto is the ultimate challenge. It is smaller than Earth's moon and is approximately 3.3 billion miles away from us. You will need a large aperture telescope of at least eleven inches.
These shots will not be winning any photo contests, but, with a 70-300mm kit lens, you, too, can grab images of Jupiter and its four large moons, as well as Saturn and its spectacular rings.
Short focal length (5-10mm) eyepieces provide high power magnifications and are best for observing the planets and the moon on medium focal length telescopes.
High Power Objective Lens (40x)
The high-powered objective lens (also called “high dry” lens) is ideal for observing fine details within a specimen sample.
A low magnification of around 50x will show you the whole moon and give you the "big picture." But to see the moon at its best, try a high magnification, at least 150x. The moon can tolerate high magnification better than any object in the sky.
What magnification do you need to see Jupiter's moons?
The shadows of Jupiter's moons are visible with telescopes as small as 90mm aperture with magnifications of 100x to 150x.
The Best Equipment for Viewing Jupiter. Any small telescope with an aperture of 60mm to 90mm will be able to reveal Jupiter's four brightest moons, as well as the planet's cloud belts and zones. Even an 8x42 binocular or 9x50 finderscope will easily reveal the four Galilean moons.
With a limit of around 2000X magnification you can view bacteria, algae, protozoa and a variety of human/animal cells. Viruses, molecules and atoms are beyond the capabilities of today's compound microscopes and can be viewed only with an electron microscope.
The Best Equipment for Viewing Saturn. Any small telescope with an aperture of at least 50mm and modest power (25x) will be enough to reveal Saturn's rings and its brightest moon, Titan.
In order to see bacteria moving around, you need a magnification of at least 400x. The 1000x magnification lens on this Home 1000x LED Microscope allows you to see and observe bacteria and other cells in amazing detail!
With just a small or medium-sized telescope, skygazers can easily observe planets. You'll be surprised how much of our solar system you can see! And you don't need a dark sky to view all of our solar system's planets; even under city lights, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn can be easy to see with a telescope.
With a telescope, trying to resolve Neptune into a disk will be more difficult for observers to do than it will be with Uranus. You're going to need at least an 8-inch telescope with a magnification of no less than 200x, just to turn Neptune into a tiny blue dot of light.
For the best viewing conditions, a telescope of at least 300 mm (12-inch) in diameter is recommended, a long telescope focal length, a good quality camera and a planetary filter that passes red and near-infrared should be used.
As a rule of thumb, get stargazing binoculars with an aperture of 35 mm to 60 mm aperture and a magnification of 7x to 10x. A pair of 7×35's is about the minimum acceptable for astronomical observing; 7×50's are better… this will give you the same magnification but a wider field of view.
You should see the shape of Saturn at this power, and even distinguish the rings of Saturn. Once centered, switch to a high-powered eyepiece (10mm – 15mm) for a closer look. Now you should clearly see the rings, and maybe even the Cassini Division. Try using a 2X Barlow lens for an ultra-high-powered view.
What lens do you need to photograph planets?
A camera lens with at least 400mm is needed for this, which will also require steady tracking to follow. A photo of the planet Jupiter through my telescope.
A 10mm eyepiece would provide twice as much magnification as a 20mm eyepiece. It also means that the same eyepiece gives different magnifications on different scopes. A 10mm eyepiece would be low power on a short-focal-length scope but high power on a long-focal-length scope.
The 130EQ is F/5 so the 10mm lens should give a magnification of 130*5/10 = 65x. That should be enough to show Jupiter, at least, as a disk.
For example, a 10mm eyepiece will always provide a higher magnification than a 25mm eyepiece. This relationship is important to remember while choosing eyepieces: the lower the eyepiece focal length, the higher the relative magnification will be.
It's easy to understand. A 40x objective makes things appear 40 times larger than they actually are. Comparing objective magnification is relative—a 40x objective makes things twice as big as a 20x objective while a 60x objective makes them six times larger than a 10x objective.
Why do you need to start with 4x in magnification on a microscope? The 4x objective lens has the lowest power and, therefore the highest field of view. As a result, it is easier to locate the specimen on the slide than if you start with a higher power objective.
At 40x you can use the scope for several astro viewing aspects: Clusters, Open and Globular, double stars, some nebula - M42 being the obvious. Depending on how dark your skies are some planetary nebula. And as ever in this hobby there is the moon.
The Best Equipment for Viewing Saturn. Any small telescope with an aperture of at least 50mm and modest power (25x) will be enough to reveal Saturn's rings and its brightest moon, Titan.
It is said that any small telescope is capable of viewing Saturn's rings at 25X magnification. I suggest using a 15mm eyepiece through a Dobsonian telescope (here is the one I own and recommend) for the best chances of success.
| Telescope | Aperture | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Orion Observer | 70mm | 7-21mm Continuous Zoom Eyepiece |
| Celestron Astromaster 114EQ | 114mm | Orion 8920 6mm |
| Celestron Nexstar 6SE | 152mm | Orion 8883 Planetary Edge-On Eyepiece |
| Celestron 11″ Schmidt-Cassegrain | 279mm | Televue DeLite 7mm |
How much magnification does it take to see Jupiter's spot?
Generally a magnification of 30-50x the aperture of your telescope (in inches) works well on nights of average seeing. So if you have a 4-inch telescope, try 120x to 200x. If you have razor sharp optics and steady sky, you can get away with even more magnification. But you should experiment.
The Andromeda Galaxy looks great through smaller telescope of, say, 4 inches in diameter. The galaxy appears as a larger, elongated oval shape with a core that shows up as a slightly brighter area.
Yes, the flag is still on the moon, but you can't see it using a telescope. I found some statistics on the size of lunar equipment in a Press Kit for the Apollo 16 mission. The flag is 125 cm (4 feet) long, and you would need an optical wavelength telescope around 200 meters (~650 feet) in diameter to see it.
If you want to observe galaxies — and I mean really get something out of the time you put in at the eyepiece — you have to use a telescope with an aperture of 8 inches or more. Bode's Galaxy (M81) glows brightly enough to show up through binoculars, but the larger the telescope you can point at it, the better.
Saturn is pretty small; to see the rings, you need the sort of magnification that requires mounted rather than hand-held binoculars (20x +).
Focus particularly along the terminator line between light and dark, where features will cast long shadows that make them clearer. Choose binoculars with a magnification of 7 at a minimum. Though a magnification of 10 or 15 will provide more detail, you may need a tripod to steady them.
For a medium power eyepiece (approximately 150X) a 13mm or 14mm eyepiece would do. For a low power eyepiece (about 75X), which are great for finding and centering or observing very large and close objects like the Moon or Sun, an eyepiece between 25mm and 30mm would work well.
