Can a Spotting Scope Show You the Moon? One Scope for Birds by Day and Stars by Night

"If I buy a spotting scope, can I also use it to look at the moon?" Yes, and it performs better than you might expect. For many astronomy fans, the first time they clearly saw lunar craters was through a spotting scope.

What 60x magnification on the moon actually means: the full moon fills the entire field of view and spills past the edges, and the moon is enlarged enough that you can make out the layers of its craters. The rays around Copernicus, the borders of the lunar maria, and the shadows inside craters shift with the phase from one day to the next. The visual impact is such that first-time viewers almost always gasp out loud.

Three things to keep in mind. First, don't choose a full moon for your observation. Around first and last quarter, the zone along the terminator has the strongest sense of depth, which actually makes it the best time to observe. Second, at 60x the brightness is harsh on the eyes, so you can cover the front of the objective lens with a piece of cardboard that has a small hole cut in it, using it as a "moon filter." Third, atmospheric turbulence matters: a low-hanging moon looks noticeably like it is boiling, so the experience is better once the moon has risen above 30 degrees.

How it differs from an astronomical telescope: a spotting scope gives an upright image, which is what birdwatching requires, while astronomical telescopes mostly show an inverted image. A spotting scope tops out at 60x, whereas an astronomical telescope can switch eyepieces and go beyond 150x. For planets, such as the bands of Jupiter or the rings of Saturn, 60x on a spotting scope only reveals a small disc with two bright points, so a proper look still calls for an astronomical telescope. But for the moon and for deep-sky star clusters such as the Pleiades, the Hyades and the Double Cluster, a spotting scope is entirely up to the task.

In short: using a spotting scope to view the moon works perfectly well. Birds by day, the moon by night, and one scope lights up two kinds of evenings.