5-inch telescopes are basically for amateur astronomers and kids. On average, they provide 650-1900 mm focal lengths, and a range of focal ratios from f/5-f/15. They can magnify objects 225-260x times the human eye. They also can resolve double stars at 0.91 arcsec. You can get 5-inch telescopes from different brands in the price range of 279-8,400$.
What is a 5-inch telescope?
A 5-inch telescope refers to a telescope having an aperture (the diameter of the objective lens) of 5-inch (127-130 mm). A 5-inch telescope is considered to be in the category of a medium telescope.
What can you see with a 5-inch telescope?
- The Moon and its craters
- The phases of Venus and Mercury
- The cloud belts of Jupiter and Great Red Spot
- The Cassini Division in Saturn’s rings
- Uranus and Neptune as bluish dots
- Brightest nebulae and star clusters like M42, M27, and M13.
Types and Technical Specifications of 5-inch telescope
Types (Optical Design)
Triplet Refractor: Example: Lunt Solar 130mm Universal Telescope w/ Rack & Pinion Focuser, Lunt Solar 130mm Universal Telescope w/ Lunt Crayford Focuser, Lunt Solar 130mm H-alpha Universal Telescope w/B1200 & Feather Touch Focuser, Lunt Solar 130mm H-alpha Universal Telescope w/B1800 & Feather Touch Focuser, Orion EON 130mm ED Triplet Apochromatic Refractor Telescope, William Optics FLT 132 Triplet Refractor Telescope with Rack and Pinion Focuser – Red & Gold, Lunt Solar 130mm Universal Telescope, Lunt Solar 130mm H-alpha Universal Telescope w/B3400 & Feather Touch Focuser, Explore Scientific 127mm f/7.5 CF FCD100 Triplet Refractor Telescope, Explore Scientific 127mm FCD100 f/7.5 ED APO Triplet Refractor, Meade Polaris 127mm (5 Inch) German Equatorial Reflector Telescope, Explore Scientific 127mm Air-Spaced ED APO f/7.5 Triplet Refracting OTA Telescope, Takahashi TOA-130NS Triplet APO Double ED Refractor – 2.7″ Focuser, Takahashi TOA 130NFB Double ED Triplet Refractor Telescope.
Newtonian: Example: Sky-Watcher Virtuoso GTi 130 Tabletop GoTo Dobsonian, Orion SpaceProbe 130ST Equatorial f/5 Newtonian Reflecting Telescope Kit, Explore Scientific Firstlight N130mm White Tube Newtonian with EXOS Nano EQ3, Celestron Astro Fi 130 mm Newtonian WiFi, Celestron SkyProdigy 130 Computerized Telescope, Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ-MD Telescope with Motor Drive, Celestron NexStar 130SLT Computerized Telescope, Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ Telescope, Celestron PowerSeeker 127 EQ Telescope, Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ Smartphone Telescope.
Maksutov Cassegrain: Example: Sky-Watcher Skymax 127 AZ-GTi f/12.1 Maksutov Cassegrain Catadioptric Telescope, Explore Scientific FirstLight 127mm Mak-Cassegrain with EXOS Nano EQ3 Mount, Sky-Watcher 127mm Maksutov Cassegrain Telescope OTA.
Petzval: Example: Tele Vue NP 127 FLI f/5.4 Petzval Refracting Telescope, Tele Vue NP127is f/5.2 Petzval Refracting Telescope.
Doublet Refractor: Example: Explore Scientific 127mm f/6.5 Achromatic Refractor with Accessories.
SCT: Example: Celestron NexStar 5SE Computerized Telescope, Celestron C· 5 Schmidt-Cassegrain Spotting Scope.
Quadruplet: Example: Askar 130PHQ APO Quadruplet Astrograph.
Technical Specifications
Aperture: 5-inch (127-130 mm)
Focal Length: 650-1900 mm
Focal ratio: f/5-f/15
Highest Magnification: 225-260x
Light Gathering Power: 319-356x
Price: 279-8,400$
Images taken with 5-inch telescopes
Examples of 5-inch telescopes
- Lunt Solar 130mm Universal Telescope w/ Rack & Pinion Focuser
- Lunt Solar 130mm Universal Telescope w/ Lunt Crayford Focuser
- Lunt Solar 130mm Universal Telescope w/ Feather Touch Focuser
- Sky-Watcher Virtuoso GTi 130 Tabletop GoTo Dobsonian
- Lunt Solar 130mm H-alpha Universal Telescope w/B1200 & Feather Touch Focuser
- Lunt Solar 130mm H-alpha Universal Telescope w/B1800 & Feather Touch Focuser
- Orion EON 130mm ED Triplet Apochromatic Refractor Telescope
- William Optics FLT 132 Triplet Refractor Telescope with Rack and Pinion Focuser – Red & Gold (5.25’’)
- William Optics FLT 132 Triplet Refractor Telescope with 3.5″ Feather Touch Focuser- Red & Gold (5.25’’)
- Lunt Solar 130mm Universal Telescope
- Lunt Solar 130mm H-alpha Universal Telescope w/B3400 & Feather Touch Focuser
- Sky-Watcher Skymax 127 AZ-GTi f/12.1 Maksutov Cassegrain Catadioptric Telescope
- Orion SpaceProbe 130ST Equatorial f/5 Newtonian Reflecting Telescope Kit
- Explore Scientific 127mm f/7.5 CF FCD100 Triplet Refractor Telescope
- Explore Scientific FirstLight 127mm Mak-Cassegrain with EXOS Nano EQ3 Mount
- Explore Scientific Firstlight N130mm White Tube Newtonian with EXOS Nano EQ3
- Celestron Astro Fi 130 mm Newtonian WiFi
- Explore Scientific 127mm FCD100 f/7.5 ED APO Triplet Refractor
- Meade Polaris 127mm (5 Inch) German Equatorial Reflector Telescope
- Tele Vue NP 127 FLI f/5.4 Petzval Refracting Telescope
- Celestron SkyProdigy 130 Computerized Telescope
- Tele Vue NP127is f/5.2 Petzval Refracting Telescope
- Explore Scientific 127mm f/6.5 Achromatic Refractor with Accessories
- Explore Scientific 127mm Air-Spaced ED APO f/7.5 Triplet Refracting OTA Telescope
- Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ-MD Telescope with Motor Drive
- Celestron NexStar 5SE Computerized Telescope
- Celestron NexStar 130SLT Computerized Telescope
- Takahashi TOA-130NS Triplet APO Double ED Refractor – 2.7″ Focuser
- Celestron C· 5 Schmidt-Cassegrain Spotting Scope
- Takahashi TOA 130NFB Double ED Triplet Refractor Telescope
- Sky-Watcher 127mm Maksutov Cassegrain Telescope OTA
- Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ Telescope
- Celestron PowerSeeker 127 EQ Telescope
- Askar FMA135 Triplet APO Telescope
How do 5-inch telescopes compare to other size-telescopes
5-inch vs 6-inch telescope
5-inch telescopes have less aperture than the 6-inch telescopes. They offer a focal ratio of f/3.9-f/10 whereas the 5-inch telescopes vary from f/5-f/15. However, 6-inch telescopes offer a focal length of 162-1800 mm whereas the 5-inch telescopes vary from 650-1900 mm in focal lengths. 6-inch telescopes provide the highest magnification of 295-320x, whereas 5-inch telescopes can magnify 225-260x.
| 5-inch telescope | 6-inch telescope | |
| Aperture | 5-inch (127-130 mm) | 6-inch (150 mm) |
| Focal Ratio | f/5-f/15 | f/3.9-f/10 |
| Focal Length | 650-1900 mm | 162-1800 mm |
| Highest Magnification | 225-260x | 295-320x |
| Price | 279-8,400$ | 310-15,070$ |
5-inch vs 7-inch telescopes
5-inch telescope has less aperture than the 7-inch telescopes. They offer a focal ratio of f/2.8-f/15 whereas the 5-inch telescopes vary from f/5-f/15. Besides, 5-inch telescopes offer a focal length of 650-1900 mm whereas the 7-inch telescopes start from 500 mm to 2700 mm mm in focal lengths. Moreover, 7-inch telescopes provide 360x the highest magnification, whereas 5-inch telescopes can magnify up to 225-260x.
| 5-inch telescope | 7-inch telescopes | |
| Aperture | 5-inch (127-130 mm) | 7-inch (180 mm) |
| Focal Ratio | f/5-f/15 | f/2.8-f/15 |
| Focal Length | 650-1900 mm | 500-2700 mm |
| Highest Magnification | 225-260x | 360x |
| Price | 279-8,400$ | 1,350-5,500$ |
5-inch vs 8-inch telescope
8-inch telescopes provide focal lengths of 800-2415 mm (f/4-f/11.5), while 5-inch vary in focal lengths from 650-1900 mm (f/5-f/15). On average 8-inch telescopes provide the highest magnification of 300-480x, whereas 5-inch telescopes can magnify 225-260x.
| 5-inch telescope | 8-inch telescope | |
| Aperture | 5-inch (127-130 mm) | 8-inch (203 mm) |
| Focal Ratio | f/5-f/15 | f/4-f/11.5 |
| Focal Length | 650-1900 mm | 800-2415 mm |
| Highest Magnification | 225-260x | 300-480x |
| Price | 279-8,400$ | 570-5,000$ |
5-inch vs 9.25-inch telescope
5-inch telescopes provide a focal length of 650-1900 mm with a focal ratio of f/5-f/15. In contrast, 9.25-inch telescopes vary from 2350-2500 mm in focal length with a focal ratio of f/10. Moreover, 9.25-inch telescopes provide 406-555x the highest magnification, which is 225-260x in the case of 5-inch telescopes.
| 5-inch telescope | 9.25-inch telescope | |
| Aperture | 5-inch (127-130 mm) | 9.25-inch (235 mm) |
| Focal Ratio | f/5-f/15 | f/10 |
| Focal Length | 650-1900 mm | 2350-2500 mm |
| Highest Magnification | 225-260x | 406-555x |
| Price | 279-8,400$ | 1,899-8,320$ |