By Eric,on July 15th,2011  Orion Skyscanner 100mm Tabletop Reflector Beginner Telescope If the big telescope we reviewed yesterday was too big or too expensive for you,then we have some great news for you today. The Orion Skyscanner 100mm TableTop Reflector Telescope is an amazing beginner telescope,especially if you are interested in looking at some deep sky objects that lie beyond our solar system As you know,the wider the opening of the telescope the more light it can let in. This makes near objects appear as bright as possible in the eyepiece and also allows you to see the really dim objects floating out in space such as Orion’s Nebula. With a respectable 100mm opening,the Orion Skyscanner provides more light than nearly any other beginner telescope and does it without resorting to plastic optics AND has a great price to boot. The bad thing about reflector telescopes is that they are big and heavy. Luckily the Orion Skyscanner is “just the right size”. It’s big enough to see far off messier objects but small enough that carrying it in and out of the house at night won’t be a hassle. Its small profile will also allow you to store it easily just about anywhere,no more having a big tripod or bulky tube sitting in your closet! The Orion Skyscanner is lightweight,compact and powerful. The package comes with a finder scope,mount,2 eyepieces (20x and 40x magnification),and a copy of Starry Night astronomy software. For anyone looking for a beginner telescope this is the one you are looking for if you are interested in seeing things outside of our solar system. Product Features- An ideal entry-level reflector telescope with 100mm parabolic primary mirror optics –no plastic lenses as found in some other telescopes made for beginners
- See hundreds of craters on the Moon,detail on Jupiter and other planets,even when viewing from relatively bright city locations
- A tabletop telescope big enough to find and observe objects in the night sky,but small enough to easily store in a closet or display on a desk
- Perfect reflector telescope for wide-angle,low-power viewing of the Milky Way and other deep sky objects when viewing from relatively dark skies
- Includes two 1.25″telescope eyepieces:20mm (for 20 power magnification) and 10mm (for 40 power magnification),EZ Finder II aiming device,Starry Night astronomy software,and more!
Click here to learn more! By Eric,on July 14th,2011  Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope The Orion SkyQuest XT8 is a Dobsonian telescope. This means that it has one large central mirror that gathers and reflects the light taken in by the large aperture into another mirror that forms the eyepiece. The advantage of this larger setup is in the amount of light that this telescope can draw in. You see,objects like Saturn and Jupiter and the Moon are really bright in astronomical terms. All you need to do is magnify them a bit in order to enjoy looking at them. They are so bright that they can be viewed with even the smallest of telescopes with ease. But if you want to go beyond the borders of our solar system and enjoy all the nebulae,star clusters,and galaxies that are out there to be seen you are going to have to get something that takes in a lot of light. All of these objects are thousands,if not millions of light years away and as a result are very dim by the time their light reaches earth. That’s why you can’t just point a high magnification scope into the sky and see more stars,it doesn’t increase the amount of light it just makes what it can see bigger. The Orion SkyQuest XT8 has a large 8″aperture that allows it to pull in a lot of light. This scope can easily take in the wonders of the universe such as the nebula in Orion’s belt or the Andromeda Galaxy. Just pointing this telescope at a random spot in the milky way can produce a stunning picture of just how many stars there are in our galaxy that the naked eye cannot make out. All of this power does come at a price though. For the casual observer this scope might be too big. While it is not gargantuan,it does take up quite a bit of room when not being used and it can be difficult for one person to carry in and out of the house. Aligning a scope like this is difficult if you are not used to working with them. The included spotting scope can make life easier,but for a newbie there are better options for a beginner telescope. Product Features- A large aperture Classic Dobsonian reflector telescope at a very affordable price!
- 8″diameter reflector optics lets you view the Moon and planets in close up detail,and has enough light grasp to pull in pleasing views of faint nebulas,galaxies and star clusters
- A perfect Dobsonian telescope that can last a lifetime for the beginning astronomy enthusiast or whole family
- The ultra-stable Dobsonian base keeps the reflector optical tube perfectly balanced for point-and-view ease of use
- Includes a 2″Crayford focuser that accepts 1.25″and 2″telescope eyepieces,a 25mm Sirius Plossl eyepiece,an EZ Finder II reflex sight,collimation cap,Starry Night software,and more!
Overall this is an excellent telescope for the serious backyard stargazer wanting to upgrade from the beginner telescope. However because of the size and the fact that it does take some experience to find objects outside of our solar system,I cannot recommend this for a first telescope for anyone. Telescopes have high resale value,so if you buy a cheaper one that is easier to use and then want to upgrade later,you can sell the first scope for a good price and use that toward purchasing the Orion SkyQuest XT8. By Eric,on June 16th,2011  Celestron 21061 Astromaster 70 AZ Refractor Telescope When people buy a telescope they are often disappointed because it is either not powerful enough to look at celestial objects or too powerful to be useful as a ground scope for sightseeing and general terrestrial observing. The Celestron 21061 bridges that gap by providing a telescope that is good enough for both. It is powerful enough to see the rings of Saturn and the moons of Jupiter but is small and lightweight enough to carry around and use for field spotting. They say that the best scope you can buy is the one that you will use. If you are a beginner or just an old pro looking for something a little more portable then this is the scope for you. The unit is small but sturdy. It can be carried out into the field on a starry night and you won’t break your back lugging it around and you won’t get angry trying to set it up! There are lots of people around the world who bought big scopes so they could see more stuff only to have those scopes sitting in the closet unused because they were too big to carry around or too hard to setup. The Celestron 21061 Astromaster is a great beginners telescope that won’t break the bank (or your back). It comes with precision optics for clear viewing of the skies or objects on the ground. You have a nice 2 year warrant to help protect your purchase as well. Specifications: - Optical Design: Refractor
- Aperture: 70 mm (2.76 in)
- Focal Length: 900 mm (35.43 in)
- Focal Ratio: 12.86
- Eyepiece 1: 20 mm (0.79 in)
- Magnification 1: 45 x
- Eyepiece 2: 10 mm (0.39 in)
- Magnification 2: 90 x
- Mount: Altazimuth
- Optical Coatings: Fully Coated
- Weight: 18 lb (8.16 kg)
- Finderscope: Built-on StarPointer
- Tube Attachment: Dovetail Bar
- Star Diagonal: Erect Image Diagonal –1.25″
- Tripod: 1.25″steel tube legs
- CD ROM: The Sky L1
- Highest Useful Magnification: 165 x
- Limiting Stellar Magnitude: 11.7
- Resolution (Rayleigh): 1.99 arcsec
- Resolution (Dawes): 1.66 arcsec
- Light Gathering Power: 100 x
- Angular Field of View: 1.1 °
- Linear Field of View (@1000 yds): 58 ft (17.68 m)
- Optical Tube Length: 36 in (914.4 mm)
If you have some kids or a husband who has always talked about owning a telescope but has never bought one then now is the time. The Celestron 21061 is a great bargain and one of the best beginner telescopes on the market. | | |
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