What size of telescope do I need to see the moon and the rings of Saturn?

Answer 1

The moon is easily viewable in any telescope or binoculars. Saturn looks oval in binoculars because of the rings, but they really don't stand out much. Almost all telescopes will be able show the rings of Saturn, just avoid the cheap department store specials. You don't need high powers over 300x. In fact the sky conditions often limit us to less than 200x.

I'd like to recommend two links below. The first is a telescope simulator which gives a rough idea what objects (including Saturn) will look like with various telescopes and eyepieces. The second I highly recommend if you're starting astronomy as a hobby.

Answer 2

You should be able to see the moon in any telescope and the rings around Saturn will be distinguishable in a 4.5" reflector. The question is, how well do you want to see the rings around Saturn. Using a small reflector you will get a decentish view with something like a 25mm eyepiece and 2x barlow but with you would get a better view with a larger telescope of course.

Generally, the more aperture the telescope has, that is, the larger it is in diameter, the more you can see.

Answer 3

You can see the rings of Saturn with a relatively small telescope of 40X magnification. My telescope is a small 60mm objective with a 700mm focal length and I can view Saturn very nicely with my 25mm lens which gives a magnification of about 30X. I can also see the big moon of Saturn - Titan.

Answer 4

You don't need a telescope to see the moon!