Spotting Scope Versus Binoculars?

Question

I would like to buy a spotting scope for star gazing. I have given up on telescopes and would prefer a nice pair of binoculars or a spotting scope. Which one is better for seeing the rings of Saturn at night? Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

You need at least 30x magnification to see the rings of Saturn, so unless the binoculars are large and tripod-mounted, they won't do it. A spotting scope is just a variety of telescope particularly unsuitable for astronomy. The spotting scope will give you awkward viewing angles and annoying diffraction spikes from the prism. I'm not sure what type of telescope you have given up on or why, but I suggest you look a little more deeply into the available astronomical varieties.

Answer 2

Spotting scopes are not good at all for astronomy. They are designed for looking horizontally, not up into the sky, so they don't have the 90° diagonals that astronomical telescopes do, and they're not mounted so they can point high in the sky. You can easily use an astronomical refractor as a spotting scope, but not the other way around.

I'm not sure why you've "given up on telescopes." Neither spotting scopes nor binoculars will have high enough magnification for a good look at Saturn's rings. Although you can see the rings at 25x, Saturn just looks like a tiny oval. 100x or more is needed before you can see the rings clearly, and the space between the rings and the planet; 200x is even better. As with most things in astronomy, the larger the aperture, the better, but even a small refractor will give you much better views of the Moon and planets than a spotting scope or binoculars will. Binoculars are very useful for astronomy, but for taking in wide vistas, not for planets.

Answer 3

Spotting scopes really aren't all that useful for astronomy because of their small aperture. Aperture is far more important than magnification because the primary function of a telescope is to gather light. Binoculars on the other hand will still be useful when you finally get a "real" telescope. Personally I would recommend something like 8 x 56 or 10 x 50 binoculars. Anything higher powered will need a tripod. I would recommend joining an astronomy club before buying a telescope. That way you can look through different scopes and pick the brains of members. Quite often clubs will have scopes they will loan out to members, There is also a very good chance you can pick up a used scope at a good price. I picked up my 10" that way.

Answer 4

There are pros and cons for both and will be up to your personal preference.
Binoculars are excellent for backyard astronomy. They are extremely portable and easier to use while star hopping to locate deep-space objects. It also provides a stereoscopic view of the universe (3-D).
A good spotting scope could be much larger than binoculars. They are also attached to a tripod of some kind. This makes them more steady gut awkward when trying to do star hopping. (Binoculars can also be attached to photo tripods)
As I stated before it will be more personal preference as to what you should by.
But remember that both are extremely limited and what can be seen (astronomically). Binoculars are generally used in conjunction with telescopes (especially pre-computerized scopes). There are some of us who still prefer to find objects the old fashioned way.

Answer 5

You need a telescope to view the rings of Saturn, maybe you did not use a tripod, one is necessary to steady the image.

Answer 6

Before I answer, may I ask why you gave up on a telescope? What type(s) or manufacturer(s) did you try?

HTH

Charles