Does this telescope really have a magnification of 250x? Can you see Saturn's rings with it?
1075283
Hi Ryan, Yes you can see the rings of Saturn with this device, but be prepared to be very patient and spend a lot of time. It took me four months to find the rings, and I am a trained aviation navigator, with 25 years of finding and focusing on the stars to calculate the position of an aircraft over the surface of the earth. For me t was worth the effort, reminiscent of my career. But if your desire is to "dial in" the rings of Saturn, you probably need a more powerful device. Sincerely, Don
1075284
I am very disappointed in it. No. Do not buy this one. It is a pain in the butt and difficult to see anything.
1075285
Hi Ryan, Yes you can see the rings of Saturn with this device, but be prepared to be very patient and spend a lot of time. It took me four months to find the rings, and I am a trained aviation navigator, with 25 years of finding and focusing on the stars to calculate the position of an aircraft over the surface of the earth. For me t was worth the effort, reminiscent of my career. But if your desire is to "dial in" the rings of Saturn, you probably need a more powerful device.Sincerely,Don
212528
This telescope does come with 2 lenses. My first night with this telescope I could see Saturn and make out the rings. Nothing spectacular but considering its in the ballpark of a billion miles away I was impressed and bought more lenses for there.
1323126
Hi Ryan,As you know that this is a fast dobsonian, you have to use quality eyepieces to get the most out of it.With my Celestron eyepieces I got reasonable level of contrast of Saturn including Casini division, few saturnian moon with little cloudy bands of the planet in 300x .My cloudy nights friends who are using Pentax XW or TV Delos have got lot of viewing pleasure and some of friends who are using Orthoscopic eyepieces also satisfied well with this telescope.I think that you cannot go wrong with this telescope. Clear Skies...Best regardsDr. R.A.N.S Rajapakshe.
212526
No. The 15mm and 6mm lenses that come with it are sufficient. I was able to see Jupiter and a few of it's moons with the 6mm. You just have to focus it correct.
2210046
Bill, yours is a dud. Mine is rather accurate and isn't plagued by your technical issues. I can find galaxies that aren't visible to the naked eye with it quickly. That said, I actually don't own a Celestron telescope currently but instead those from other manufacturers. However, that isn't because I've experienced serious quality issues with Celestron scopes in the past.
1873328
You can see Jupiter and if you're in the right place, Mars and Venus. You will need to purchase the lens expansion pack to get good detail on either, but the expansion should also let you get some pretty good views of Saturn and its rings.
837341
Yes, you should definitely be able to see Saturn's rings. I have been able to do so without any issue. Jupiter's Great Red Spot, as well!And it's floor mount.
1031364
The center of the field is pretty sharp and astigmatism-free, though there is some distortion/coma toward the edges (these are not high-end optics). I'm pretty happy with them for extended objects and clusters. I had no problem seeing Jupiter's moons, and if you have a stable tripod you should be able to discern the presence of Saturn's rings.
1069764
Yes! with the eyepieces that came with the package I would say the moon easily filled the entire eyepiece. Even more magnification was possible, I'd say so that you could only see 2/3rd of the moon at one time (and more magnification is possible)
605356
The user guide says that the "field of view is fairly small. It is approximately equivalent to the field of view through the telescope when looking through a typical (i.e. not wide-field) 5mm focal length eyepiece." So maybe 200x ?
2119555
Absolutely. This is a fine telescope for any astronomical use. The only drawback is it's size. It's a bit of work to get it somewhere and set it up, but I love mine. For detailed planetary study, a large refractor is better, but for deep sky, this is MUCH better than the refractor, so a good all around scope.
1932885
Yes. I am a novice, and I love it. I would suggest that whenever possible, use A/C power instead of the battery option. Batteries have limited power and it seems to move slower. Batteries are good though when you don't have access to A/C power. The moon is awesome to look at. The detail of the craters are truly impressive and you can see the rings of Saturn. The other night we were able to see the Andromeda galaxy. I really like this telescope. I would also suggest that you buy the accessory case with teh filters and additional lenses. It gives you more viewing options.
1106735
The magnification depends on the eyepiece used. This is a low end telescope, so image quality deteriorates at higher magnification (shorter focal length eyepiece) The maker claims 300X magnification using the supplied 3x Barlow; I find that claim laughable. Keep in mind that, as with any Astronomical Telescope, the image will be inverted (upside down, left to right reversed) unless you use an erecting diagonal.
2206771
Yes, this would be a very good telescope for watching the Bay. When you use the 20 MM eyepiece that comes with the telescope it inverts the image so you see what you are looking right side up. The 20 MM eyepiece gives you 50X and if you use the 3X barlow with the telescope, you get 150X. The 4MM eyepiece gives 250X, but this eyepiece is only good for astronomy, because if you use this eyepiece to look at the Bay, what you will be seeing will be up side down.
992666
Yes! You can see the rings of Saturn. Page 19 of the included Sky Gazer's Activity journal gives you advice for how to do this; it also shows an image of how Saturn and its rings will look through this MoonScope.
252925
1.25; if you have better magnification eyepieces the scope does work well with them. The two that are sent with the scope are fine but with a little higher magnification, it still works well. The 20mm and 10mm are great for lunar observation especially near the limb. I can make out Jupiter's moons with the 10mm and I had a 8mm and could easily make out Saturn's rings without too much distortion. I even think this little scope could pick out the Cassini division if Saturn was more inclined.
1895080
Hello Douglas,as a matter of fact, you can! The larger bands on Jupiter are in fact easy to spot; the 26mm eyepiece will show them very clearly. The same goes for the pole caps on Mars, but those are very hard to spot with the 26mm. The 9.7mm eyepiece would be a better choice. Much depends on the clarity and stability of the atmosphere of the night, and on the amount of light pollution. But the ETX90 is definitely capable of delivering those images!