TRG – Telescope Review Guide

Yes, it’s only July but it’s not too early to start thinking about what to buy for that astronomer on your Christmas list! But what would be the best telescope to get? The choices are almost endless! Here then is a short list. You can’t go wrong with any of these:

Orion Skyquest XT4.5

Celestron CGEM 800

Orion Skyview Pro 127

Orion SpaceProbe 130

Orion SkyQuest XT8

Keep checking back as I’ll be continuing my research into great Christmas telescopes and publishing my findings here!

Orion SkyView Pro 127 GoTo Mak-Cass Telescope
Here’s a telescope for the enthusiast who appreciates the practicality of a compact scope, yet wants the best features and performance available for the money. The Orion SkyView Pro 127 GoTo Mak-Cass Telescope comes with fully motorized GoTo computer control! After a simple alignment, a push of a button or two on the GoTo hand controller automatically points the telescope to one of 13,400+ celestial objects in its database. Dual stepper motors on the mount slew the telescope at a brisk 3.4° per second, centering your target right in the eyepiece. Easy!

The GoTo system consists of a computerized hand controller and two stepper motors that attach to the SkyView Pro telescope mount. What can you see with your Orion SkyView Pro 127 telescope? With intuitive menus and easy-to-use pushbutton controls, the GoTo system allows you to locate and track any object in its database of 13,400+ celestial objects including the entire Messier and NGC catalogs. You can use the GoTo controller to take a guided tour of the night sky or to pinpoint celestial highlights for the month. The GoTo hand controller requires an external 12-volt power source.

The SkyView Pro (SVP) 127’s high-resolution 5″ optics and 1540mm focal length (f/12.1) excel for high-magnification study of the lunar surface and planets. And it’s got enough aperture to display excellent astroimages of a wide variety of deep-sky jewels. The optical tube assembly is just 14.5″ long, making it wonderfully portable and easy to stow.

The Orion SkyView Pro 127 EQ mount provides fluid motion and a solid stance. 

If you are new to astronomy and aren’t familiar with where things are in the sky, then this is the best telescope for you! And the best part? You get to show others just how much of an astronomy expert you are when you can tell them the name of the object being viewed!

We have yet another new comet coming into view! Jointly discovered by amateur astronomers in South Korea and the United States, this comet is named Yi-SWAN; for the South Korean amateur astronomer who found it March 26 and the SWAN instrument aboard NASA’s solar satellite SOHO. It is not yet known whether Yi-SWAN will be a recurring comet or if it’s one and done.

Cassiopeia

Where can you find Yi-SWAN? Right now it’s flying through Cassiopeia. It’s still small and dim but you should be able to spot it with a backyard telescope such as the Orion SkyQuest XT8.

Orion SkyQuest XT8

It should appear as a small fuzzy green ball. It has not been observed to have a tail but that should change as the wanderer nears the Sun. After April 20, look for Yi-SWAN to be in Perseus. Yi-SWAN should be visible until mid-May when it will be too close to the sun to be seen by most observers.

Sporting the classic long-tube Newtonian design, the Orion SpaceProbe 130 mm provides great all-around viewing performance. One minute you can be studying lunar crater formations at high power; the next, the ethereal glow of a nebular star factory. A few minutes later, the ringed visage of Saturn. All served in crisp detail by way of the Orion SpaceProbe’s light-gathering 130mm (5.1″) primary mirror of 900mm focal length (f/6.9).

The Orion SpaceProbe 130 ’s mirror lies at the base of the rolled-steel optical tube, which is outfitted with a smooth rack-and-pinion focuser. The Orion SpaceProbe 130 accepts 1.25″ eyepieces, including the two fully coated Explorer II eyepieces that come standard with the SpaceProbe 130mm: a 25mm for low-power viewing at 36x and a 10mm for higher-power looks at 90x. Also standard is a 6×30 achromatic finder scope to help home in on celestial targets.

The Orion SpaceProbe 130 comes on the sturdy EQ-2 equatorial model, with adjustable aluminum legs and accessory tray. Slow-motion controls allow fine manual pointing of the telescope and easy star tracking. Addition of an optional EQ-2M AstroTrack electronic drive enables the telescope to track objects automatically.

 The Orion SpaceProbe 130ST

The Orion SpaceProbe 130ST is a step up from the SpaceProbe 130 for the more serious beginning or intermediate stargazer who wants additional performance, particularly for targeting deep-sky objects.

The Orion SpaceProbe 130ST is indeed more compact than the standard Orion Space Probe model. The Orion Space Probe 130 ST’s optical tube measures 24″ long compared to 33″ on the standard Orion Space Probe 130. The focal length of the Orion Space Probe ST’s 130mm (5.1″) primary mirror is 650mm (f/5), yielding a wider field of view and brighter images for a given eyepiece focal length.

The Orion SpaceProbe 130ST has a primary diffraction-limited parabolic mirror, the same type used on much larger reflectors costing many times as much. On a short-focal-length design like this one, a parabolic mirror is a must for focusing incoming light to a point and delivering sharp, detailed images. Moreover, the secondary mirror of the Orion SpaceProbe 130ST is held in an advanced holder with thin 0.5mm metal vanes, to reduce diffraction spikes and light loss. These features combined with the included 25mm (26x) and 10mm (65x) Sirius Plössl eyepieces and quick-release 6×30 achromatic finder scope make this one sweet optical system for astronomy! It also includes a collimation cap and center-marked primary mirror for easy optical alignment.

The Orion SpaceProbe 130ST comes on an EQ-2 equatorial mount with dual setting circles and slow-motion hand controls. An optional EQ-2M or AstroTrack electronic drive can be added for automatic tracking. The adjustable aluminum tripod is strong yet lightweight and includes an accessory tray.

Whether you’re looking for a better-quality first telescope or a portable instrument to complement your big Dob, you’ll love the Orion SpaceProbe 130ST.