Sky-Watcher 120mm StarTravel Refractor

The Sky-Watcher StarTravel 120 is for someone with a view worth exploring and who wants serious refractor aperture to make the most of it.

Its large 120mm objective gathers considerably more light than smaller conventional terrestrial refractors, producing bright, expansive views across harbours, coastlines, lakes and mountain landscapes.

A boat that is little more than a shape in the distance becomes something you can examine. Features emerge along faraway shorelines, mountain faces reveal ridges and contours, and wildlife can be enjoyed from distances where approaching it simply isn't practical.

The short 600mm focal length gives the StarTravel a naturally broad field of view. With the supplied 25mm eyepiece providing 24x, it is easy to scan an expansive landscape and find what interests you. Change to the 10mm eyepiece for 60x and you can move in on distant detail when the atmosphere allows.

At 120mm, this is already a very substantial aperture for a practical day-and-night refractor. More telescope does not automatically mean more usable detail across extreme terrestrial distances, once you are looking through kilometres of atmosphere, haze, heat shimmer and turbulence increasingly determine what can actually be resolved.

The StarTravel gives you a powerful combination: serious refractor aperture, a broad field and a relatively compact 600mm optical system that remains practical for regular terrestrial use.

And its personality after dark is equally compelling.

The same 120mm aperture and wide f/5 optics that make it so enjoyable during the day transform into a rich-field astronomy telescope at night. Sweep through dense Milky Way star fields, explore the Carina Nebula, pick out the Jewel Box and Southern Pleiades, and take in magnificent southern globular clusters such as Omega Centauri and 47 Tucanae.

The Moon, Saturn and Jupiter add yet another kind of observing.

For someone who wants one substantial refractor to make far more of both their daytime landscape and the night sky above it, the StarTravel 120 offers an unusually exciting combination.

Why Choose the Sky-Watcher StarTravel 120?

• Large 120mm refractor aperture — bright, detailed views with serious light-gathering capability for both land and sky.
• Outstanding terrestrial potential — explore distant coastlines, boats, mountains, wildlife and expansive landscapes.
• Wide 600mm focal length — particularly enjoyable when scanning large areas rather than looking through an unnecessarily narrow field.
• 24x and 60x supplied — useful daytime powers for both broad views and closer examination.
• Expandable magnification — add other eyepieces or a 2× Barlow as your observing develops; with the supplied 10mm eyepiece, a 2× Barlow gives a useful 120× for closer lunar and planetary views.
• 45° erect-image diagonal — provides a natural correctly orientated view for terrestrial observing.
• Rich-field astronomy — excellent for star fields, open clusters, bright nebulae and the southern Milky Way.
• 120mm night-sky capability — enjoy Omega Centauri, 47 Tucanae, Carina, the Moon and the brighter planets.
• 2" focuser with 1.25" adapter — gives you flexibility to expand your eyepiece options.
• AZ3 mount with fine controls — straightforward manual pointing with precise adjustment.
• 5-year Sky-Watcher warranty.

A Big, Bright Window onto the Landscape

The StarTravel 120 brings unusually large refractor aperture to terrestrial observing without turning the telescope into a specialised observatory instrument.

The benefit is not simply “more magnification”.

Its 120mm objective gathers plenty of light, helping produce bright views and making the telescope particularly enjoyable when conditions are less than perfect — on overcast days, towards dusk or when looking into shaded areas of the landscape.

The 24x view is broad enough to comfortably explore scenery and follow moving subjects such as boats. When conditions are steady, 60x lets you examine smaller or more distant features in greater detail.

For extremely distant subjects, the atmosphere eventually becomes the limiting factor. Fifty kilometres of air cannot be removed by buying more magnification: haze, humidity and heat shimmer may determine how much detail reaches you.

The StarTravel therefore sits in a very appealing place — a substantial 120mm refractor with plenty of useful daytime capability without assuming that endlessly increasing magnification is the answer.

When Night Falls, the View Changes Completely

The StarTravel 120's short f/5 optics give it a very different astronomical personality from a long-focus planetary refractor.

Its great strength is the wider night sky.

Sweep along the Milky Way and dense fields of stars pour into the eyepiece. The Southern Pleiades and Jewel Box form striking clusters, while Omega Centauri and 47 Tucanae become impressive concentrations of starlight.

The Carina Nebula gives the 120mm aperture one of the finest southern deep-sky targets available, with nebulosity surrounded by extraordinarily rich star fields.

The Moon provides dramatic crater and mountain detail, while Saturn's rings are clearly recognisable and Jupiter shows its four major moons and prominent atmospheric belts.

Rather than specialising in one narrow type of observing, the StarTravel encourages you to explore large, beautiful areas of sky.

Straightforward Day-and-Night Control

The AZ3 mount keeps operation simple.

Move the telescope naturally across the landscape or sky, then use the fine controls when you want smaller, more precise adjustments.

There are no motors, electronics or alignment procedures to manage.

The enclosed refractor optics also require very little routine maintenance, making the StarTravel particularly well suited to someone who wants a telescope they can simply set up and enjoy whenever the view — day or night — is worth a closer look.

FAQ's

Is the Sky-Watcher StarTravel 120 suitable for serious daytime viewing?

Yes. Its 120mm aperture, wide 600mm focal length and supplied erect-image diagonal make terrestrial observing one of its genuine strengths. It is particularly well suited to expansive coastal, harbour, mountain and rural views.

Is a 120mm telescope able to see much further than a smaller telescope?

A larger aperture can resolve finer detail and provide a brighter image, but viewing distance is not determined by aperture alone. At long terrestrial distances, haze, humidity, heat shimmer and atmospheric turbulence can become the main limits on what you can actually see.

Can I increase the magnification later?

Yes. The StarTravel 120 accepts additional eyepieces, and a 2× Barlow is an easy way to extend the supplied magnification range. With the supplied 10mm eyepiece, a 2× Barlow gives 120× magnification useful for closer views of the Moon and planets when conditions allow. For daytime viewing, lower powers will often give the sharper and steadier image because atmospheric haze and heat shimmer become more noticeable as magnification increases.

What can I see at night?

The StarTravel is particularly rewarding on wide star fields, open clusters, bright nebulae and southern-sky favourites such as the Carina Nebula, Omega Centauri and 47 Tucanae. The Moon, Saturn and Jupiter are also rewarding targets.

Is the StarTravel 120 mainly a high-magnification telescope?

No. Its 120mm aperture is substantial, but the short 600mm focal length is designed especially well for bright, wider-field views. That makes it particularly enjoyable for landscapes, star fields, clusters and larger astronomical objects rather than simply chasing the highest possible magnification.

• 120mm Achromatic Refractor
• AZ Pronto Mount with Tripod
• Fine Tracking Adjustment Knobs
• 2 Eyepieces Photo 10mm (60x) & Photo 20mm (30x) – 1.25″ Barrel
• Red Dot finderscope
• Telescope Eyepiece Adapter from 2″ to 1.25″ with T2 Thread
• 45° Erect Image Diagonal – 1.25″ Barrel