5-inch Telescopes (127-130mm)

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 telescope6-inch telescope
Aperture5-inch (127-130 mm)6-inch (150 mm)
Focal Ratiof/5-f/15f/3.9-f/10
Focal Length650-1900 mm162-1800 mm
Highest Magnification225-260x295-320x
Price279-8,400$310-15,070$

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 telescope7-inch telescopes
Aperture5-inch (127-130 mm)7-inch (180 mm)
Focal Ratiof/5-f/15f/2.8-f/15
Focal Length650-1900 mm500-2700 mm
Highest Magnification225-260x360x
Price279-8,400$1,350-5,500$

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 telescope8-inch telescope
Aperture5-inch (127-130 mm)8-inch (203 mm)
Focal Ratiof/5-f/15f/4-f/11.5
Focal Length650-1900 mm800-2415 mm
Highest Magnification225-260x300-480x
Price279-8,400$570-5,000$

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 telescope9.25-inch telescope
Aperture5-inch (127-130 mm)9.25-inch (235 mm)
Focal Ratiof/5-f/15f/10
Focal Length650-1900 mm2350-2500 mm
Highest Magnification225-260x406-555x
Price279-8,400$1,899-8,320$