The 10 Best Planetary Telescopes Of 2024, Tested By Our Experts

Scott Nelson By, Scott Nelson
Updated
Best Planetary Telescopes
Best Planetary Telescopes

Our Top Picks

1. Best Overall: Celestron 70mm Telescope

Experience the wonders of the night sky with the Celestron Telescope. With its fully-coated glass optics, powerful 70mm objective lens, and full-height tripod, you can explore the stars in a new way. Read Review

2. Best Bang For The Buck: OYS 70mm Telescope

Get ready to explore the wonders of the night sky with the OYS Telescope! This product includes a phone adapter with a 10mm eyepiece, allowing you to capture beautiful photographs and share them with your loved ones. Read Review

3. Best Convenient: ToyerBee 70mm Telescope

Get a closer look at the stars with the ToyerBee telescope. With a 70mm aperture and 300mm focal length, this telescope provides more light and clearer images - even beginners can get clear images. Read Review

4. Best For Beginner: SOLOMARK 70mm Telescopes

Explore the night sky with SOLOMARK Telescopes. The Plossl design effectively reduces chromatic aberration and halo, giving you a crisp, clear view of the stars. Read Review

5. Best Design: Gskyer 80mm Telescope

This high-powered telescope features coated antireflection blue film components, providing crystal-clear images of celestial bodies. The focusing barrel allows for easy adjustments, ensuring that you capture every detail. Read Review

If you want to explore the night sky in unprecedented detail and clarity, then a planetary telescope might be just the thing for you. From the comfort of your backyard, you can take a closer look at stellar bodies such as the Moon, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced astronomer, the best planetary telescopes can be a fantastic way to get a better look at the wonders of the solar system.

With the right telescope, you can get high-quality views of the planets, including their moons and rings and other deep-sky objects. With the best planetary telescopes on the market, you can explore the wonders of the night sky and get a better appreciation of the universe.

Our team had to focus on researching and sifting through 19 hours to get such results for readers. These studies are based on customer star reviews and interviews about their feelings when using the product. As a result, We believe the best planetary telescopes is Celestron 70mm Telescope because with a coating to the 70mm lens, this telescope allows light to pass through, resulting in an enhanced ability to view celestial and terrestrial objects day and night. If you're seeking additional options and more in-depth advice, check out the following buying guide & FAQs.

Our Top Picks

TOP Choice #1 Celestron 70mm Telescope
Our Score:
9.8
Celestron

The Celestron Travel Scope 70 is a professionally manufactured refractor telescope ideal for viewing celestial or terrestrial objects while on the move. With a coating to the 70mm lens, this telescope allows light to pass through, resulting in an enhanced ability to view celestial and terrestrial objects day and night. However, this product may be a bit wobble in rough places, so you should pay attention to this to have incredible experiences.

The Celestron telescope has many user-friendly features that simplify its operation and make it ideal for novice astronomers. It provides you with two quality eyepieces, one measuring 20 millimeters and the other measuring 10 millimeters, and a star diagonal to enjoy clear low- and high-power viewing during the day or at night. This will enable you to view wildlife up close in the wild or stargaze with your loved ones. The Celestron Travel Scope 70 is only 3.3 pounds, and it takes only a few seconds to assemble without equipment. In addition, when you are finished with your watching session, everything may be easily stored in the convenient carrying backpack that is included.

TOP Choice #2 OYS 70mm Telescope
Our Score:
9.6
OYS

This telescope is an excellent choice for a gift for a birthday or Christmas. It can stimulate children's interest in several scientific fields, particularly mathematics and physics. The coated and multi-layered glass optical components provide clear and sharp views of the Moon and the surrounding landscape and fauna. Besides, the high-power K20mm eyepiece strongly focuses on faraway scenery for detailed pictures.

This product includes a phone adapter with a 10mm eyepiece, allowing you to capture beautiful photographs and share them with your loved ones. You can find objects quickly and easily thanks to the 5x24 finder scope of this product. Moreover, the diagonal prism will guarantee you obtain a straight image and easily view celestial and earthly objects. The compact and lightweight telescope and an adjustable tripod may be stored away in the specialized bag, which helps you bring it everywhere. Nevertheless, some screws under the prism may be loose after a long time, so you must tighten them to secure the prism.

TOP Choice #3 ToyerBee 70mm Telescope
Our Score:
9.4
ToyerBee

The telescope is well suited for novices in the field of astronomy; both adults and children can start their exploration of the cosmos with this device. You can get magnification anywhere from 15X to 150X thanks to a 3X Barlow lens and two eyepieces with H20mm and H6mm diameters, respectively. Because the telescope has a 70-millimeter aperture and a 300-millimeter focal length, it can let in more light and produce more explicit images.

The ToyerBee refractor telescope provides clear views of Jupiter's major moons, the rings of Saturn, and the craters on the moon. This telescope set comes complete with a smartphone adapter and a wireless remote control for the camera. These features allow you to connect your cell phone to the telescope quickly. As a result, you can explore the natural world through the screen, and you can snap some incredible pictures. Though the tripod is a bit short, it is still stable in many places and brings terrific experiences.

4 SOLOMARK 70mm Telescopes
Our Score:
9.2
SOLOMARK

This excellent telescope provides a clear view and high magnification power, making it appropriate for young people and those just starting. With this telescope, you can investigate the wonders of the cosmos by looking at the moon, planets, and even nebula. Another good feature of this product is that the optical performance of Plossl eyepieces is superior, which allows for a significant reduction in chromatic aberration and halo. However, it would be best if this product provided clear instructions to help you easily set up.

This telescope comes with two-part oculars that can be replaced easily (PL10mm and PL20mm), each of which provides a different magnification ranging from 35X to 70X and expands the range of objects that can be seen through the telescope. The high-quality multi-coated glass optics, which include a 70-mm high-permeability refractor lens, are ideal for bird watching during the day, studying nature, and photographing landscapes. These features are also helpful for observing stars and the moon at night. Besides, you can make fine-tuned adjustments to the aiming of the telescope quickly thanks to the mount's inclusion of two slow-motion control wires.

5 Gskyer 80mm Telescope
Our Score:
9.0
Gskyer

This telescope will be an excellent present for children interested in astronomy and science. This product has a focal length of 400 millimeters and an aperture of 80 millimeters, allowing it to capture a more light picture. Moreover, the optical glass coating enhances image brightness while protecting your eyes. This telescope can be assembled quickly, even by inexperienced users.

While using the high-power eyepiece on this telescope, you can obtain magnifications up to 18 times. As a result, this product is ideal for studying the Moon and planets and bringing faraway species closer for more in-depth views. By utilizing a dovetail tail plate, the lens holder for the telescope can be attached more reliably. This device includes a full-size, stretchable tripod constructed of stainless steel that can be adjusted to accommodate users of varying heights. Unfortunately, the sighting scope mounting may not be solid enough, which could cause you to find it a bit hard to adjust the scope in the beginning. 

6 SARBLUE 750x60mm Telescope
Our Score:
8.8
SARBLUE

This telescope can reduce spherical and chromatic aberrations due to the lens's Maksutov-Cassegrain design and its high-precision, completely multi-coated optical glass. It not only provides colorful images with high contrast for daytime viewings, such as birds and wildlife, but it also makes it possible to explore celestial objects like Saturn and Jupiter, as well as craters on the Moon and other places. Still, it would be best if this telescope had a red dot finder to help you find targeted objects quickly.

The clever structure of the telescope's detachable cover lets you see how the telescope is put together on the inside. It has a Maksutov-Cassegrain mechanism, which makes it significantly more compact than an equivalent Newtonian or refractor. Besides, the high-quality 20mm eyepiece with the telescope magnifies 37.5 times, allowing for high-power and crisp views of objects in the distance. You can view any targets further than 8 meters away. Because it is both lightweight and portable, it is an excellent option for travel, and you may use it to observe the night sky while you are away.

7 ABOTEC 80mm Telescope
Our Score:
8.6
ABOTEC

This telescope is the perfect present for anyone who wants to learn more about the cosmos and the natural world. It has the most up-to-date smartphone adapter and a wireless remote, allowing for a simple and convenient exploration of the natural world through the screen. With the most recent phone adapter, you can link your phone to your telescope more securely. Moreover, you will be able to impress your pals with some incredible photographs that you snap.

This product is equipped with three high-quality telescope eyepieces, including a K25mm eyepiece, a K10mm eyepiece, and a K6mm eyepiece, which enables it to provide high-magnification views both during the day and at night. Also,  the telescope's height may be adjusted on the tripod, which ranges from 22 inches to 48 inches to suit your height. The tripod's top can rotate horizontally through 360 degrees and vertically through 90 degrees. As a consequence of this, you can view objects from many different viewing angles. Initially, this product may be a bit difficult to use, but you don't need to worry about it because you will get used to it after several usages.

More To Consider

8 Emarth 2 Eyepieces Telescope
Our Score:
8.5
Emarth
9 EACONN 70mm Telescope
Our Score:
8.4
EACONN
10 Hawkko 70mm Telescopes
Our Score:
8.2
Hawkko

What to Look For in a best planetary telescopes?

Until now, numerous customers trust the information and advice we offer them, which means our offers to you are accurate and up to date all the time. This objective is being pursued with tremendous zeal and attention. 

It's necessary to keep in mind the following points for selecting best planetary telescopes:

Eyepieces

There are many telescope eyepieces on the market. There are many options for magnification and viewing angles. A set of telescope eyepieces allows you to see large areas of the night sky and high magnification views on planets. If taken care of properly, a quality telescope eyepiece will last a lifetime.

Portability And Weight

A telescope that is easy to transport and set up takes would be a good choice. You will be less motivated to use your telescope when it is set up and taking too much time.
You'll find it difficult to take a heavy, bulky telescope outside when the temperatures drop. Advanced amateur astronomers build observatories at home to keep their large telescopes up at all times.
Extra-large mounts and telescopes are not recommended for those with health problems or who cannot lift heavy objects. It is better to choose something smaller and lighter. It will be more useful.

Optical Design

There are many optical options for telescopes. These include reflectors and refractors as well as compound telescopes. Each telescope has its strengths and weaknesses. Refractors are my favorite type of telescope from an astrophotography standpoint, but they might not be the best choice for beginners.
Three types of optics are available for consumer telescopes. They will assist you in achieving three different goals. Refractor telescopes make it easy to focus celestial bodies such as the moon and nearby planets using a variety of glass lenses. Refractor telescopes, also known as Newtonian scopes after their inventor Sir Isaac Newton, swap lenses for mirrors. This allows stargazers to see further into space. The versatile compound telescope combines both of these methods with a compact, portable design that puts it right in the middle.

Mount

There are many types of telescope mounts available. Some even have computerized models that track and follow the movement of the skies. A sturdy Dobsonian or altazimuth mount will make stargazing enjoyable. Telescopes not mounted on a computerized mount should not be moved or adjusted for focus.
An equatorial tracking mounting mount is necessary for astrophotography. The telescope will track objects in night sky when it is properly polar aligned. This will "freeze" an object in space, allowing for long exposure photographs.

Aperture

This aperture is recognizable by photographers. It controls how much light enters the telescope, just like on a manual camera. The aperture is the diameter of either the primary or lens mirror. A telescope with a larger aperture will draw more light, which can result in deeper views. The most important spec to be aware of is F-ratio. For wide-field observation and photography, low f-ratios such as f/4 and f/5 are best. However, high f-ratios such as f/15 make deep-space objects and nebulae easier to capture and see. Both can be done with midpoint f-ratios.

Objective

The objective is the main light-collecting element of a telescope. A larger objective will allow for greater detail and reveal smaller targets. A reflector design makes it possible to have a larger telescope objective for a more affordable price. However, a refractor with the same size would be expensive.

FAQs

What is a planetary telescope?

A planetary telescope is a type of telescope specifically designed for viewing planets and other small objects in the night sky. These telescopes typically have a wide field of view and a high magnification power, making them ideal for viewing small objects in the night sky.

What are the benefits of using a planetary telescope?

The main benefit of using a planetary telescope is that it allows you to view smaller objects in the night sky more clearly. This makes it easier to observe features on planets and other celestial bodies that would otherwise be difficult to see with a traditional telescope. Additionally, these telescopes are usually smaller and more portable than other types of telescopes, making them ideal for those with limited space.

What kind of accessories do I need for my planetary telescope?

In order to properly use a planetary telescope, you will need several accessories, such as a tripod, eyepiece, and a finder scope. Additionally, you may want to invest in a computerized mount for your telescope, which will allow for easier tracking of celestial bodies.

How do I use a planetary telescope?

Using a planetary telescope is relatively simple, but it does require some knowledge of astronomy and the night sky. To get started, you will need to set up your telescope, attach the appropriate accessories, and familiarize yourself with the night sky. Once you have all the necessary equipment, you can begin to observe the night sky and planets.


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About Scott Nelson

Scott Nelson

Scott Nelson is a freelance writer who specializes in camping and wildlife topics for CampFireHQ. He has written for several outdoor magazines and websites, and he enjoys nothing more than spending a weekend in the woods with his family. Scott is an experienced camper and backpacker, and he has also spent considerable time studying the behavior of bears and other large mammals.

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