$Askar 120APO Triplet Air-Spaced Refractor — image 1$

Askar

Askar 120APO Triplet Air-Spaced Refractor

A 120mm air-spaced triplet apo that works as both a high-end visual refractor and an imaging platform, with dedicated reducer and flattener options to match the job.

89/ 100

Polaris Score

#1 of 6 large triplet apo

See the breakdown ↓

Aperture

120mm

Focal Length

840mm

Focal Ratio

f/7

Mount Type

None (OTA only)

Optical Design

Triplet APO

Weight

6.8 kg

From$1,699

Lowest in 90 days

Price tracked by PolarisObserved 35 timesTracking since Mar 2026

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Where to buy

Agena AstroProductsPartnerBest price$1,699→High Point Scientific$1,699→Starizona$1,699→

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What it's built forOpen these in the simulator →

This telescope was built for sweeping wide.

A short, fast refractor with a generous true field — the whole sword of Orion in one view, star fields that spill past the field stop. It rewards low power and dark skies far more than chasing magnification.

Widest true fieldsTack-sharp to the edge

The view people remember

The Double Cluster, side by side.

Two glittering knots of stars sharing one low-power field — a wide, effortless showpiece that rewards the biggest true field you can throw at it.

See Double Cluster through this telescope →

Where else it shines

Within reach

Orion Nebula

Stronger structure — embedded stars plus dark lanes within the core

Open view →

Easy first target

The Pleiades

Rich field — fainter members fill out the cluster

Open view →

Rewards a dark sky

Andromeda Galaxy

Definite galaxy shape — core stands out against the sky

Open view →

Also excellent on

Saturn

Recognizable disk with subtle markings under steady seeing

Open view →

✦

Tight planetary detail belongs to a longer scope. This one trades reach for a breathtaking field.

01What it's good at

What it's best at — and the trade-offs.

Best at

✓The air-spaced triplet controls color to the point that even the brightest planets and stars show no meaningful fringing

✓120mm at f/7 balances high-resolution visual work with a focal length that frames galaxies and nebulae well for imaging

✓Dedicated Askar reducer and flattener accessories let you tune the same tube for wide imaging or native visual use

✓A robust dual-speed focuser holds heavy cameras square without slipping, which matters for long exposures

Trade-offs

!It is an OTA only and demands a heavy, stable mount to reach its potential

!A 120mm triplet is dense and takes longer to cool than a doublet or smaller apo

!Getting the best imaging results means buying the matched reducer or flattener separately

!The weight and length make it a deliberate setup rather than a spontaneous one

02In plain English

What These Numbers Mean

Aperture

120 mm

Almost five inches of apochromatic glass. It gathers about 36 percent more light than a 103 mm and delivers the crisp, high-contrast planetary and lunar views that make large refractors addictive, while still reaching deep-sky targets that need real aperture.

Focal length

840 mm

Long enough to frame galaxies, globular clusters and compact nebulae with satisfying scale, and to reach 200x visually with a 4 mm eyepiece. The largest nebulae will not fit; that is what a shorter astrograph is for.

Focal ratio

f/7

A classic refractor ratio. Colour correction is easy at this speed, ordinary eyepieces behave well, and exposure times stay reasonable for imaging with a flattener.

Optical design

Air-spaced triplet APO

Three-element correction keeps false colour out of bright targets, which matters most on the Moon, Venus and Jupiter where a doublet would show a violet edge. Expect a longer cooldown than a doublet of the same size.

Weight

6.8 kg tube

About 15 lb bare, and closer to 20 lb with rings, camera and guiding. That is past star-tracker territory and calls for a mount in the 15 to 20 kg payload class.

Mount

OTA only

No mount included. Under-mounting a 120 mm refractor is the most common way owners end up disappointed, because the tube's length amplifies every vibration.

02The Polaris Score

How it scores, and why.

89/ 100

Askar 120APO Triplet Air-Spaced Refractor

#1 of 6 large triplet apo

Performance

Ease of use

Portability

Upgrade potential

Polaris weighs optical capability, how easy the scope is to live with, how portable it is, and how far it takes you before you outgrow it — not list price or brand.

03Who it's for