How big a Telescope do you need to see Pluto?

Question

Of course no telescope you can own will ever show you details on its surface, and at very best all you will see is a point of light very faint, magnitude 14. So what size of scope will i need to see it, i was told that a 6inch scope will let you see it , but perhaps i think i might need something bigger like an 8 inch. Its just something i have alsways wanted to see for myself. I have a 5 inch nexstar but can t see it with it.

Answer 1

As the other posters have mentioned, you have to have a pretty big telescope to see it. You also have to know exactly where to look to find it. It doesn't jump out like the other planets would.

Answer 2

you need a telescope as big as pluto! :D just kidding! I think you need an 8-inch scope

Answer 3

If you want a telescope to see Pluto I use a 12 inch with a  barlow lens . barlow lens further brings in the night sky objects. One of my students i'm teaching bought this one and after researching where to find Pluto got to see it.  

http://www.telescope.com/control/product...

The barlow lens she used ..

http://www.telescope.com/control/product...

One of the guys that works in our observatory took pics in his .. i was surprised at the view .

Answer 4

6 inches won't get you down to magnitude 14.  Even the 8 inch scopes I used didn't get down to 10th (although they claimed they did).  I'd say 16 inches at least to see Pluto.  You'd probably be better off looking through someone else's big scope than buying your own at that size - there are many public observatories out there that might help you.

Answer 5

Although there have been reports of seeing Pluto in a 5-inch, it would be pretty difficult, even with pristine skies.  It would require sensitive eyes with high visual acuity.  A decent set of optics and steady skies wouldn't hurt, either, as Pluto is so small (about 0.1 arcsecond across) that diffraction and optical aberrations dominate the image.

A 16-inch telescope should make it pretty straightforward, assuming dark skies.  Personally, I've seen it without too much difficulty in a 10-inch, and I know quite a few people who have seen it in an 8-inch, which I haven't tried.  I would guess that it would be possible for an "O'Meara type" observer to see it down in a 4-inch.  It is one of those "highlight observations," however, which does tend to attract optimistic observations.

One thing about SCTs like your Nexstar--I have an late-1990s Celestron C5+, much like your N5--is that there's additional light loss when compared to a refractor or even a Newtonian.  So if at any point your goal is to see it in as small a telescope as possible, you should probably try to use a refractor.  Pick a very transparent night (no haze, far from city lights) with good seeing; atmospheric turbulence will spread out Pluto's light, potentially rendering it invisible.

By the way, I have tried and failed to see Pluto in the C5+.

Answer 6

at pluto's perihelion there were reports of ppl seeing it in 4 inch scopes.

with care, you should see it in an 8 inch or bigger. you will need dark skies, good charts, and averted vision.