Moon and planetary telescopes

We recommend Maksutov telescopes. They offer better contrast and sharpness compared to Schmidt-Cassegrain (SC) telescopes. Skywatchers are our favorites because they have the best mechanics and are very easy to collimate. They only need to be collimated once, which Karl does before shipping.

According to Karl's experience, other brands of this type are not mechanically sound. Optically, opinions may vary, but Maksutovs are difficult to collimate.

Maksutov (MAK) telescopes are a combination of reflecting and refracting telescopes. They combine the advantages of reflecting telescopes (with high light-gathering power) and refracting telescopes (with high-contrast image sharpness) without their disadvantages of aberration and chromatic aberration.

Unlike Schmidt-Cassegrain (SC) telescopes, Maksutovs have a simpler meniscus lens with a mirrored center instead of a corrector plate at the beginning of the tube. A practical side effect of the meniscus plate is that the telescope is less susceptible to turbulence and it offers good protection of the tube's interior from dust.

Makuk telescopes produce very sharp images and are among the telescope types with the highest contrast. Their design allows for a long focal length with a short tube. This short length makes them very handy and easy to use even on "simple" mounts.

Many Maksutov telescopes have a variable focuser for focusing, so they exhibit little to no primary mirror shift.

A Maksutov is particularly well-suited for observing the Moon and planets. If you live in a light-polluted area and don't have the opportunity to move to darker regions, this system should definitely be considered. If you can't see deep-sky objects clearly anyway, a telescope for observing the Moon and planets (the Sun ONLY with a suitable filter) is a viable option.

Even in light-polluted areas, these objects will always be worthwhile targets due to their brightness. While bright deep-sky objects are also possible, the main focus will be on the Moon and planets.

The images were taken with the 5-inch and 6-inch Maksutov telescopes. I will post a separate image taken with the 180mm telescope.

1. Sky-Watcher Skymax-102 OTA 102mm 1300mm Maksutov Cassette Optical Tube

https://www.teleskop-spezialisten.de/…/SkyWatcher-Skymax-10…

2. Sky-Watcher Skymax-127 OTA 127mm 1500mm Maksutov Telescope

https://www.teleskop-spezialisten.de/…/Skywatcher-Skymax-12…

3. Sky-Watcher Skymax-150 Pro 150mm 1800mm Maksutov Telescope

https://www.teleskop-spezialisten.de/…/Skywatcher-Skymax-15…