Can you use a telescope as a spotting scope

Celestron Ultima angled spotting scope is one of my favourite spotting scopes for astronomy. It has x magnification power and a mm objective lens diameter.

Such a large lens diameter will help you see bright and clear stars and meteors. Spotting scopes come in a diverse variety, some of them are straight and some of the spotting scope lenses are angled at 45 degrees from the eyepiece. Angled spotting scopes are more appropriate for astronomical observations.

Since telescopes are specifically designed for astronomical observations, and they normally have an angle of 90 degrees, keeping this in mind, you should also opt for an angled spotting scope. Straight spotting scopes are more feasible for ground hunting as you tend to see objects at 0 degrees from your eyepiece. By this far you must have got the answer whether you can use spotting for astronomy or not.

For astronomy, telescopes are spearheads as they have higher magnification power. However, if you are a beginner and on a budget, I recommend using spotting scopes. With spotting scopes, you have the freedom to use it for astronomy as well as hunting, bird watching, nature viewing and much more.

Spotting scopes generally come with 2 types of eyepiece setting: straight and angled. With angled eyepiece setting, the eyepiece can be angled either at 45 degrees or 90 degrees to the scope.

Also, the eyepieces are generally movable in the spotting scope. In telescopes, I have never seen a straight eyepiece. Eyepieces are generally set at angle 45 degree or 90 degrees. Angled eyepieces make using telescope far much easier and comfortable. It will be like comparing apple with bananas. Both have their price range depending on many factors like specifications, durability, etc.

However, if you want to buy an entry-level spotting scope, it will probably cost more than buying an entry-level telescope. Telescopes are classified into many types. Some of the types of telescopes are: reflector telescopes, refractor telescopes, etc. These are the major types. Trusted by thousands readers worldwide. Skip to content. Table of Contents. Can Telescope Damage Your Eyes? Related Posts. Of course, if you are equally drawn to both needs, you may just have to break down and get one of each.

Either way, the varied technology for both scope types will certainly provide options to fit your budget. Nowadays, Robert is dedicated to helping others find the right optics for their needs. His hobbies include astronomy, astrophysics, and model building. Optics Mag is reader-supported. When you buy via links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Read more. Spotting Scope Overview A spotting scope relies on lenses to gather and focus light.

Good in low light Short-range viewing of moving objects More portable Durable construction Less expensive. Low detail focus Not for long-range viewing of distant objects Lenses are affected by moisture. Want to learn more about telescope lenses? Read our comparison of Reflector vs. Yeah you can use a spotting scope for astronomy, but a telescope is better.

They are two different tools with typically two different goals and uses in mind. Spotting scopes are high magnification monocular one eye scopes that are normally tripod mounted. Eyepieces are sometimes angled and sometimes straight. Spotters are usually a class above the binocular in terms of available magnification power and a class below something like a telescope.

Telescopes are very powerful optics with very high magnification power and interchangeable eyepieces. Telescopes are designed with larger apertures to let in more light and make low light objects like stars more visible.

Whilst you can get huge magnification from a relatively small telescope, at extreme magnifications small scopes will have trouble seeing through the atmosphere and collecting enough light. The Keck telescope is one of the most powerful in the world and has something like a x magnification power. Pair that against the humble spotting scope where many spotting scopes top out at 60x magnification.

All these and more can turn 60x magnification into a blur and make it very difficult to see something. The bigger the objective lens the more light a scope can take in and the clearer the picture you will see.

The size of the lens is the second number after the x in the specifications for spotting scopes but telescopes usually list it within the specifications or blend it into the model name somehow. Spotters come with objective lenses in sizes ranging 45mm to mm but mm is common.