To use a telescope to see planets, start by setting up your telescope on a stable surface with a clear view of the night sky. Make sure your telescope is properly aligned and focused before you begin.
Next, identify the planet you want to observe by consulting a star chart or astronomy app. Planets are typically brighter than stars, so they should be easier to spot.
Use the telescope’s slow motion controls to track the planet as it moves across the sky. Adjust the focus of the telescope to get a clear view of the planet’s features.
Experiment with different eyepieces to achieve the desired magnification. Remember that planets appear small and may not show much detail, especially if they are far away.
Be patient and take your time to observe the planet through the telescope. It may take some practice to get a good view, but with time and experience, you will be able to see different planets in our solar system.
Best Telescopes for Adults of March 2025
1
Rating is 5 out of 5
Dianfan Telescope,90mm Aperture 800mm Telescopes for Adults Astronomy,Portable Professional Refractor Telescope for Beginners & Kids,with Stainless Tripod & Phone Adapter,Carry Bag
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90mm Large Aperture: Dianfan telescopes for astronomy has a 800mm (f/8.8) focal length and 90mm aperture.Its 90 large aperture provides excellent light-gathering power, delivering sharp and bright images of celestial objects–even in low light conditions.Perfect telescope for astronomers to explore stars and moon.
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High Magnification:The telescope is quipped with two high-quality eyepieces(10mm /25 mm) and a 3X Barlow lens for 32X -240X magnification.It features multi-fully high transmission coated all-optical lens to protect your eyes. Great telescope for adults, kids and beginners to use.
2
Rating is 4.9 out of 5
Celticbird Telescope for Adults High Powered, 80x600mm Travel Telescopes for Adults Astronomy, Beginners,Kids with AZ Mount, Backpack, Moon Filter, Phone Adapter
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【Excellent Optics】Astronomical telescope features 80mm aperture 600mm(f/6.7) focal length-The big aperture can capture more light; high transmission multi-fully coated optical lens can improve light transmittance, reduce the reflection of light. It will bring you more bright and clear images.
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【Portable & Stable】Our refractor telescope has a backbag, an adjustable aluminum tripod and an upgraded phone adapter. All accessories can be packed into the bag, which is convenient for you to carry and storage for traveling. The tripod is stable and the height can adjust from 17.7" to 52", which is suitable for adults and kids. With the phone adapter, you can take amazing photos through your phone.
3
Rating is 4.8 out of 5
MEEZAA Telescope, Astronomy Telescope for Adults High Powered, 90mm Aperture 800mm Professional Refractor Telescopes for Kids & Beginners, Multi-Coated High Transmission with Phone Adapter Carry Bag
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【Professional Astronomical Refractor Telescope】If you are interested in astronomy or like to explore the night sky, the MEEZAA astronomical telescope is for you.MEEZAA is committed to introducing affordable telescopes that combine quality, performance, and better user experience for kids, adults, and beginners. Great telescopes for adults astronomy & kids 8-12 & astronomy beginners. Perfect for stargazing, moongazing, city night views, bird watching, outdoor scenery, and more.
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【90mm Fully Multi-coated High Transmission Coatings】This astronomy telescope is 800mm(f/8.88) focal length and 90mm aperture. 90mm objective lens collects more light than 60mm, 70mm, and 80mm telescope, so the image appears brighter in the eyepiece, making the image sharp and clear. Fully coated optical glass lenses with high-light transmission coating create amazing images and protect your eyes. The perfect telescope for adults astronomy & kids & beginners exploring the stars and the moon.
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【32x-240x High-Powered Magnification】The telescope for adults astronomy kids and beginners comes with two interchangeable eyepieces (10mm and 25mm) and a 3x Barlow lens. The 3x Barlow lens triples the magnification power of each eyepiece. The magnification is 32x-240x. The finder scope makes locating objects easy. And zenith mirror ensures you get an erect image. A perfect telescope for astronomy beginners to observe up-close celestial objects at night and terrestrial objects during the day.
4
Rating is 4.7 out of 5
Telescope 90mm Aperture 900mm - High Precision Adjustment Vertisteel AZ Mount Base, Magnification 45-450x, Wireless Remote, Phone Adapter - Ideal for Astronomy Enthusiasts and Beginners (Black)
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Powerful Optical Performance: This telescope features a 90mm aperture and 900mm focal length refracting design, providing exceptional optical performance that allows you to easily observe deep space objects in the universe..
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Sturdy and Durable Mount: The sub-black Vertisteel Altazimuth Mount provides stable support. The Free-Stop non-polar shaft - Follow-up and stop design, allowing the lens to move smoothly with high precision and maintain accurate positioning.
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Suitable for Beginners and Professionals: This telescope is suitable for both beginners and professionals. Its user-friendly design and excellent optical performance make it an ideal choice for learning and researching astronomy.
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Lightweight and Portable: With a compact design, this telescope is easy to carry and set up, allowing you to observe deep space objects at multiple different locations. This makes it an ideal choice for travel and outdoor activities.
5
Rating is 4.6 out of 5
Telescope 150EQ Astronomical Reflector Telescopes for Adults, Professional Manual Equatorial Telescope for Kids & Beginners.Comes with 2X Barlow Lens Phone Adapter,Stainless Tripod and Moon Filter
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【150mm Large Aperture】Dianfan 150EQ reflector telescope is 150mm aperture and 650mm focal length.Its large aperture provides excellent light-gathering power, ensuring exceptional image quality.This telescope is great for adults and children, astronomical beginners and experienced astronomers.
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【New Equatorial Mount】New German Equatorial with dial and slow motion cables.We have pre-assembled it, no need to be assembled by the customer.Precise positioning and fast tracking of celestial bodies make your observation more stable.
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【Stable Tripod】Its stainless steels tripod provides support and stability.Sturdy and durable construction with a stable mount ensures reliable performance.Easy to set up and use, making it perfect for both novice and experienced stargazers.
6
Rating is 4.5 out of 5
Telescope 90mm Aperture 800mm Telescope for Adults with High Powered, Refractor Telescopes for Kids & Beginners, Multi-Coated High Transmission AZ Mount Portable Telescope Includes Carry Bag
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[90mm Aperture & Powerful Optical Lenses] Our telescope with 90mm aperture and multi-coated optical lenses. The large aperture collects more light and the special optical lenses reduce light refraction, greatly enhancing image brightness and clarity. So this refractor telescope has excellent optical performance when observing deep space objects such as Saturn and Jupiter. Ideal choice for learning and researching astronomy, perfect telescopes for adults astronomy enthusiasts.
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[High-Powered Magnification] The telescope for adults has 800mm focal length combination with the 2 eyepieces and 3X Barlow lens we provide, the magnification range can reach from 32X to 240X. Even moon craters are visible with this telescope for adults high powered. Its high performance provides detailed views of planets, a perfect astronomy gift for kids and beginners to explore space.
7
Rating is 4.4 out of 5
Gskyer Telescope, 70mm Aperture 400mm AZ Mount Astronomical Refracting Telescope for Kids Beginners - Travel Telescope with Carry Bag, Phone Adapter and Wireless Remote
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Quality Optics: 400mm(f/5.7) focal length and 70mm aperture, fully coated optics glass lens with high transmission coatings creates stunning images and protect your eyes. Perfect full positive telescope for astronomers to explore stars and moon.
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Magnification: Come with two replaceable eyepieces and one 3x Barlow lens.3x Barlow lens trebles the magnifying power of each eyepiece. 5x24 finder scope with mounting bracket and cross-hair lines inside make locating objects easily.
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Wireless Remote: Free includes one smart phone adapter and one Wireless camera remote to explore the nature of the world easily through the screen and take amazing celestial images.
8
Rating is 4.3 out of 5
Telescope,100mm Aperture 900mm FL w/Star-Finding System for iOS/Android, Metal AZ w/high-Precision Adjustment, Telescope for Adults high Powered, Ideal for Astronomy Enthusiasts/Beginners/Kids,White
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The telescop is equipped with a patented adjustable smartphone holder for automatic star-finding system. Simply follow our instruct to install stargazing app, enter the name of the celestial body you want to observe, and follow the app's arrow to adjust the space telescope's latitude & longitude. This will align the smart telescope with your desired target. Instantly identify aligned celestial bodies and displays its detailed information.
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Objective lens of telescope for viewing planets : 2 ED(Extra-low Dispersion) glass elements, chromatic aberration corrected for accurate color reproduction. FMC broadband coating ensures clear, distortion-free imaging. Use this star gazing telescope to observe lunar craters, ringed mountains, Saturn's rings and gaps, Jupiter's Great Red Spot and cloud bands, and major topographic features on Mars with clarity. it's also fit for beginner telescope with dew caps.
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100mm aperture gathers more light for brighter imaging. 900mm focal length provides higher magnification & clear images, the astronomical telescope is specifically designed for perfect observation of planets. Upgraded eyepiece offers ultra-wide field of view & captures more details. Versatile erecting prism diagonals mirrors for terrestrial & astronomical observations. Clear view of text 3km away, low-light object visibility at night. Also ideal for bird watching & more activities.
9
Rating is 4.2 out of 5
Celestron - NexStar 130SLT Computerized Telescope - Compact and Portable - Newtonian Reflector Optical Design - SkyAlign Technology - Computerized Hand Control - 130mm Aperture
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Compact and portable: This telescope for adults and kids to be used together is ideal for weekend camping trips or excursions to dark sky sites; Its compact form factor makes it easy to transport and assemble just about anywhere
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Flash upgradeable hand control software and motor control units for downloading product updates over the Internet
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SkyAlign allows you to align on any three bright celestial objects, making for a fast and easy alignment process
10
Rating is 4.1 out of 5
MEEZAA Telescope, 150EQ Reflector Telescope for Adults Astronomy Beginners, Manual Equatorial Professional Telescopes Astronomy with 2X Barlow Lens, Phone Adapter, Adjustable Tripod and Moon Filter
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【150mm Large Aperture Powerful Reflector Telescope 】The reflector telescope is a 650mm focal length and 150mm aperture to capture more light pictures, high resolution, good light collecting ability, imaging brighter, and more suitable for the observation of deep space celestial objective. Compared with refracting telescopes, reflecting telescopes have stronger light-gathering ability and no chromatic aberration. The 150EQ reflector telescope is ideal for adult astronomy beginners.
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【High-Quality Optics & Powerful Magnification】Objective lens features fully-coated glass optics, which can improve the optical system performance of astronomical telescopes, and help you observe brighter, more detailed planets. It is equipped with two replaceable excellent-quality eyepieces (25mm,10mm) for 26X and 65X magnification. 2X Barlow lens to double the power of each eyepiece. Magnificate moon up to 52X or 130X. With a red dot, the finderscope makes locating objects easy.
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【Stable Tripod and Phone Adapter】The telescope comes with a high-quality large diameter adjustable stainless steel tripod. The tripod's stable structure stable enables you to Locate celestial objects smoothly and accurately. With the phone adapter, you can install a mobile phone on the telescope to watch, and take photos and videos. Simply touch your phone's screen, then you can record special astronomical moments, and share your excitement with family and friends in real-time.
What is the best mount for a telescope when viewing planets
The best mount for viewing planets with a telescope is a sturdy equatorial mount. This type of mount allows for precise tracking of celestial objects as they move across the sky, making it easier to keep planets in view for an extended period of time. Additionally, equatorial mounts are designed to compensate for the Earth's rotation, ensuring that the telescope remains aligned with the target object. The most common type of equatorial mount is the German Equatorial mount, which is highly recommended for planetary observation.
How to calibrate the tracking system of a telescope for planet viewing
Calibrating the tracking system of a telescope for planet viewing is an important step to ensure that the telescope remains accurately aligned with the target planet as it moves across the night sky. Here are the steps to calibrate the tracking system of a telescope:
- Align the telescope: Begin by aligning your telescope with a known bright star or landmark on a clear night. Use the telescope's finder scope or red dot finder to center the star or object in the field of view.
- Turn on the tracking system: Enable the tracking system on your telescope if it has one. This will allow the telescope to automatically move and track the target planet as it appears to move across the sky.
- Adjust the tracking rate: Some telescopes have adjustable tracking rates to compensate for the different speeds at which planets move across the sky. Adjust the tracking rate to match the speed of the target planet for more accurate tracking.
- Test the tracking system: Choose a bright planet, such as Jupiter or Saturn, as your target for viewing. Use a high magnification eyepiece to zoom in on the planet and observe its movement through the telescope. If the planet starts to drift out of the field of view, adjust the tracking system to keep it centered.
- Fine-tune the tracking system: Use the telescope's manual controls or hand controller to make small adjustments to the tracking system as needed to keep the planet centered in the field of view. Practice tracking the planet as it moves across the sky to improve your accuracy.
- Periodically recalibrate: Check the alignment of the telescope and tracking system periodically, especially if you change the location of your telescope or observe different targets in the night sky. Recalibrate the tracking system as needed to ensure accurate tracking.
By following these steps, you can calibrate the tracking system of your telescope for planet viewing and enjoy clear, detailed views of the planets as they move across the night sky.
What is the best setup for using a smartphone camera with a telescope to capture planet images
To capture planet images using a smartphone camera with a telescope, you will need the following setup:
- Telescope: Choose a telescope with a minimum aperture of 4 inches (100mm) for better image quality and magnification.
- Smartphone mount: Use a smartphone mount or bracket that can securely attach your phone to the eyepiece of the telescope.
- Eyepiece: Use a high-quality eyepiece with a magnification of at least 30x for better detail and clarity in the images.
- Camera app: Download a camera app with manual settings (such as ISO, exposure, focus, etc.) to have more control over the image quality.
- Tripod: Use a stable tripod to keep the telescope steady and reduce camera shake during the image capture process.
- External shutter release: Consider using an external shutter release or timer to prevent any vibrations caused by touching the phone while capturing the images.
- Image editing software: After capturing the images, use image editing software to adjust the contrast, brightness, and color to enhance the final image quality.
By following these steps, you can achieve high-quality planet images using your smartphone camera and telescope setup.
