Best Telescope To See Saturn & Its Rings 2024; Reviews

Buying a telescope to see Saturn and other celestial bodies is an important step towards a new level of appreciation for the night sky, and the wonders found within it.

The best telescope to see Saturn is one that guides you and your family through the process of learning the night sky in a straightforward and gratifying way. It’s easy to get swept away with an optical instrument that is likely too complex for kids or other members of your family at home to learn early on.

Features To Consider When Choosing A Good Telescope To See Saturn

Aperture

Aperture is the diameter, usually measured in millimeters, of the objective (primary) lens or mirror of the telescope. Essentially, the larger the aperture, the brighter images will appear, and the deeper into space you will be able to see.

Focal Ratio

The focal ratio (f/5.9 for example) is the ratio between the aperture and the focal length. Multiply the aperture by the f ratio to find the focal length.

Focal Length

The focal ratio (f/5.9 for example) is the ratio between the aperture and the focal length. Multiply the aperture by the f ratio to find the focal length.

Magnification

To get an image suitable for observing with our eyes, a telescope uses a second lens, or collection of lenses, called an eyepiece at the focal plane. The eyepiece magnifies the image from the objective.

The eyepiece also has a focal length. The magnification of a telescope and eyepiece is very simple to calculate. If the focal length of the objective is “F” and the focal length of the eyepiece is “f”, then the magnification of the telescope/eyepiece combination is F/f. For example, if a telescope has an objective lens with focal length of 1200 mm (about 48”) and it has an eyepiece of focal length 25 mm (about 1”), then it will have a magnification of 1200/25=48x.

Eyepieces

Eyepieces determine the magnification and field of view of a telescope. Different eyepieces are used to view different objects.

Some objects, such as nebulae and star clusters, appear quite large and are best viewed at low magnifications (which give a wider field of view), whereas planets appear very small and are normally viewed with high-magnification eyepieces.

Most telescopes come supplied with one or two eyepieces. Ideally, you’d like to have a set that spans a range of magnifications.

You can expect to spend anywhere from $40 to $250 on a good eyepiece.

A Barlow lens is also worth considering: it multiplies each eyepiece’s power by two or three times, effectively doubling your eyepiece collection.

Finderscope

A good finderscope is essential for any telescope. It brightens and magnifies the view, allowing you to find things beyond the naked-eye limit.

When properly aligned, a finderscope also allows you to point a telescope more precisely than do peep sights or reflex finders. This is especially important whenever you’re aiming at a blank point in the sky where your charts tell you an interesting, faint object ought to be.

Types Of Telescopes

Refractor Telescope

When most people think of a telescope, the refractor type is what’s going to pop into their minds. This kind of telescope uses a lens to focus light on a single mirror, which is angled to direct the light through an eyepiece into your eye.

The simplicity and reliability of the design makes it easy to use and requires little maintenance. These are excellent for observing objects, planets, the Moon and the galaxies.

Since the optical system is basically a straight line, there are no obstructions from secondary mirrors as there are in Newtonians or catadioptrics.

Reflector Telescope

Reflector telescopes feature a clear piece of glass or plastic at the front of the tube. These don’t warp the light, so they aren’t lenses, but instead a protective shell to keep dust out.

A mirror sits at the back of the tube. It’s curved to focus light on a second mirror, which directs light through the eyepiece and to your eye.

Reflector telescopes are easily identified by the fact that the eyepiece is found near the telescope’s front. These tend to be the least expensive, and you can get larger apertures for a lower price than with other models. The one downside to reflector telescopes is that they must be calibrated regularly in a process called “collimation.”

Compound Telescope (Catadioptrics)

Compound telescopes use an initial lens to focus light onto a mirror at the back of the telescope. The mirror focuses light onto a smaller mirror mounted on the back of the lens, which directs light through a tube that runs through the center of the first mirror and out the back of the telescope.

Compound telescopes are very lightweight relative to other types, and they don’t require collimation like reflector telescopes do.

How to Find Saturn in the Night Sky Without A Telescope

The position of the planet Saturn in the night sky changes over time. It is orbiting the Sun just as Earth is, except that it takes Saturn 29-years (Earth years, of course), to complete its orbital period around the Sun.

The position of Saturn in your night sky will also depend on your location on Earth. Saturn is not always visible to everyone on Earth, because sometimes it lies too close to the Sun from our vantage point on Earth to view at night.

How To Find Saturn On Your Phone

To find the current location of Saturn, We suggest using an astronomy app such as Gas Giants or Star Walk 2 on your mobile phone with a Stellarium planetarium simulator. This will show you exactly where to look for Saturn from your location.

These apps can show you what’s in the sky and their exact position in real-time. Use the search function and enter the celestial object you wish to find, it will point you in the right direction. It’s easy and will save you some time. Once you know what you are looking out, point your telescope towards it and enjoy the view.

How To See Saturn’s Moons With A Telescope

Saturn has over 80 known moons, and 53 of them are officially named. Its biggest moon, Titan, is larger than the planet Mercury (but much lighter, due to its high ice content). Saturn also hosts six more good-size moons and dozens of house-size moonlets.

You can easily see Titan through a backyard telescope, plus three or four of the next largest, depending on the telescope’s aperture.

Even though Titan is far away, it’s large size means it’s a fairly bright and easy telescope target. A 6-inch or larger telescope may show the color of the dense yellow-orange clouds on this large 8th-magnitude moon,

This orange-brown target shines with a magnitude between 8.2 and 9.0 and orbits Saturn every 15 days.

To identify the moons using a sky-charting app like SkySafari 5, Star Walk or Stellarium Mobile, center Saturn and zoom in until you see the moons displayed. If the app time is set to Now, it will match what you see in your telescope, except for any image inverting or mirroring your telescope’s optics might introduce.

The Saturn Moons and Gas Giants apps for iOS are designed to provide realistic views of the planet and moons at any time you choose. They incorporate buttons to flip the view to match your telescope’s optics.

Saturn’s moons are worlds unto themselves — massive enough to have geologic activity, interesting terrain, subsurface liquid saltwater oceans and even atmospheres.

Conclusion

Our pick for the best beginner telescope to see Saturn is the Celestron – PowerSeeker 80EQ. You’ll be ready to observe in minutes thanks to the quick and easy no-tool setup. The 80EQ provides bright, clear images of the Moon, planets, star clusters, and more for great nighttime viewing.

Our next pick for the best reflector telescope to see Saturn is the Orion 09007 SpaceProbe. This 5.1 inch aperture reflector telescope gathers an ample amount of light for great views of the planets and Moon, as well as brighter galaxies, nebulas, and star clusters

Short 24 inch long optical tube design for easy portability and fast f/5 focal ratio for pleasing wide-field performance makes the SpaceProbe 130ST EQ a very versatile telescope the whole family can enjoy.

Our next pick is the Celestron – NexStar 6SE Telescope. The NexStar 6SE Computerized Telescope features Celestron’s iconic orange tube design with updated technology and the latest features for amazing stargazing for beginners and experienced observers.

The six-inch primary mirror in this Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope for adults and kids to be used together packs enough light-gathering ability to observe the best that our Solar System has to offer, while retaining a compact form factor.