<p>If your choice is between a 40mm refractor and a 60mm refractor, I would say the 60mm is likely to be better. I had (still have) a 40mm and it was OK for a beginner but dim at higher powers, and those maximum powers were probably around 70 times (very rough estimate).</p>

<p>A note about the star diagonal: these reverse left to right as mentioned in the question, but this is not a problem for astronomy. After a little while you learn to swap left for right when aiming the scope.</p>

<p>A 60mm refractor will show Jupiter as a fairly small bright circle at 80x, in still conditions two or more horizontal bands will often be visible. The moons will be visible in a low power eyepiece as small points, and their positions move from night to night. (Note we wouldn't expect to see any detail in the moons, just their positions.)</p>

<p>Either of the small refractors you mentioned will show the moon quite well, there is a lot to see especially when the air is still.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-04-07T15:21:46.803Z
Even the 60mm isn't going to get you much in the way of Saturn's rings, especially if the skies are brightened by city lights.
Wayfaring Stranger
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-08T09:39:52.277Z
2016-03-08T09:39:52.277Z
Andy
<p>Which one is better?
Features: </p>

<p>1)Magnification: 18x - 90x 
Eyepiece Diameter: 5mm (18x), 10mm (60x) 
Objective Diameter: 50mm 
Focal Length: 36cm 
Tripod Height: 38cm 
Main tube Color: Silver 
Net Weight: 1.78kg 
Case Size: 43cm(L) x 10cm(W) x 26cm(H)</p>

<p>2)Optical Design: Refractor Mount Type: Altazimuth Ideal Usage: Astronomical and land observation Focal Length: 500 mm Aperture: 40 mm Focal Ratio: 13 Highest Useful Magnification: 94x Finderscope: 2 x 20 Lens Coating: Fully coated Light Gathering Power: 33x Limiting Stellar Magnitude: 10.5</p>

<p>3) 2x Barlow Lens and Enhanced Stability The Celestron Powerseeker 40AZ black comes with two extra eyepieces, one which is 20 mm and magnifies up to 25x and the other one is 8 mm which magnifies up to 63x. It also includes a 2x Barlow lens that almost doubles the magnifying capacity.</p>

<p>4)Meade NG60-SM Altazimuth Refractor Telescope Meade's value priced NG60-SM Altazimuth Refractor is an affordable entry level telescope that features an easy to use Altazimuth mount with slow motion controls for precise tracking. The complete package includes a sturdy metal tripod, a red dot viewfinder, two 1.25 inch eyepieces and a star diagonal, and a software DVD with instructional video. The NG60-SM Refractor Telescope comes disassembled in a compact box, but the instructional DVD video guides you through all the steps required for assembly. Go ahead and try it out in the daytime, that's the best time to align the red-dot finder scope while looking at a distant tree or telephone pole. The optics of Meade's NG60-SM produce an image that is right side up but the diagonal mirror reverses the image left-to-right. That's no problem most of the time, but an optional correct image diagonal is available. The low power 25mm eyepiece produces a magnification 28X which is just right for spotting the Moon or the planets, while the 9mm eyepiece (78X magnification) can be used to zoom in for more detail. The MH25 eyepiece at 28X shows a lovely view of the Lunar disk in a dark sky, while the MH9 eyepiece at 78X shows literally hundreds of craters on the Moon and begins to show the rings of Saturn and the cloud bands of Jupiter. For even better views it's easy to add better eyepieces. My best view of Saturn, for example, came with an optional 6.4mm Super Plossl eyepiece, about 110X magnification. The Altazimuth mount included with Meade's NG60-SM is lighter and easier to use than an Equatorial mount, yet the slow motion knobs make it easy to keep objects in view. The rotation of the Earth causes the Moon or planets to appear to drift out of the eyepiece, but the slow motion knobs make it easy to keep the telescope on target, even with a high power eyepiece. The telescope is sensitive to vibration, however, so a high power eyepiece can be difficult to focus.</p>

<p>So which 1 is best?????</p>

<p>I wanna see Saturn its rings,Jupiter and its moons,mars,venus, basically planets and their moons</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-08T07:45:59.457Z
What exactly do you want to see?
CipherBot
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-08T07:47:31.757Z
I wanna see craters of moon saturn rings jupiter and its moon io callisto mars venus
Tulsi
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-08T18:41:49.807Z
Is this a duplicate? http://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/14005/buying-telescope-online
legowave440
<telescope>
Telescope choice
Tulsi
# Telescope choice

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-03-08)

Which one is better?
Features:

1)Magnification: 18x - 90x
Eyepiece Diameter: 5mm (18x), 10mm (60x)
Objective Diameter: 50mm
Focal Length: 36cm
Tripod Height: 38cm
Main tube Color: Silver
Net Weight: 1.78kg
Case Size: 43cm(L) x 10cm(W) x 26cm(H)

2)Optical Design: Refractor Mount Type: Altazimuth Ideal Usage: Astronomical and land observation Focal Length: 500 mm Aperture: 40 mm Focal Ratio: 13 Highest Useful Magnification: 94x Finderscope: 2 x 20 Lens Coating: Fully coated Light Gathering Power: 33x Limiting Stellar Magnitude: 10.5

3) 2x Barlow Lens and Enhanced Stability The Celestron Powerseeker 40AZ black comes with two extra eyepieces, one which is 20 mm and magnifies up to 25x and the other one is 8 mm which magnifies up to 63x. It also includes a 2x Barlow lens that almost doubles the magnifying capacity.

4)Meade NG60-SM Altazimuth Refractor Telescope Meade's value priced NG60-SM Altazimuth Refractor is an affordable entry level telescope that features an easy to use Altazimuth mount with slow motion controls for precise tracking. The complete package includes a sturdy metal tripod, a red dot viewfinder, two 1.25 inch eyepieces and a star diagonal, and a software DVD with instructional video. The NG60-SM Refractor Telescope comes disassembled in a compact box, but the instructional DVD video guides you through all the steps required for assembly. Go ahead and try it out in the daytime, that's the best time to align the red-dot finder scope while looking at a distant tree or telephone pole. The optics of Meade's NG60-SM produce an image that is right side up but the diagonal mirror reverses the image left-to-right. That's no problem most of the time, but an optional correct image diagonal is available. The low power 25mm eyepiece produces a magnification 28X which is just right for spotting the Moon or the planets, while the 9mm eyepiece (78X magnification) can be used to zoom in for more detail. The MH25 eyepiece at 28X shows a lovely view of the Lunar disk in a dark sky, while the MH9 eyepiece at 78X shows literally hundreds of craters on the Moon and begins to show the rings of Saturn and the cloud bands of Jupiter. For even better views it's easy to add better eyepieces. My best view of Saturn, for example, came with an optional 6.4mm Super Plossl eyepiece, about 110X magnification. The Altazimuth mount included with Meade's NG60-SM is lighter and easier to use than an Equatorial mount, yet the slow motion knobs make it easy to keep objects in view. The rotation of the Earth causes the Moon or planets to appear to drift out of the eyepiece, but the slow motion knobs make it easy to keep the telescope on target, even with a high power eyepiece. The telescope is sensitive to vibration, however, so a high power eyepiece can be difficult to focus.

So which 1 is best?????

I wanna see Saturn its rings,Jupiter and its moons,mars,venus, basically planets and their moons

**Tags:** telescope

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: What exactly do you want to see?  
> **username_0**: I wanna see craters of moon saturn rings jupiter and its moon io callisto mars venus  
> **username_2**: Is this a duplicate? http://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/14005/buying-telescope-online  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2016-03-08. Score: 1

If your choice is between a 40mm refractor and a 60mm refractor, I would say the 60mm is likely to be better. I had (still have) a 40mm and it was OK for a beginner but dim at higher powers, and those maximum powers were probably around 70 times (very rough estimate).

A note about the star diagonal: these reverse left to right as mentioned in the question, but this is not a problem for astronomy. After a little while you learn to swap left for right when aiming the scope.

A 60mm refractor will show Jupiter as a fairly small bright circle at 80x, in still conditions two or more horizontal bands will often be visible. The moons will be visible in a low power eyepiece as small points, and their positions move from night to night. (Note we wouldn't expect to see any detail in the moons, just their positions.)

Either of the small refractors you mentioned will show the moon quite well, there is a lot to see especially when the air is still.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Even the 60mm isn't going to get you much in the way of Saturn's rings, especially if the skies are brightened by city lights.  

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