Orion Spaceprobe 130st Telescope - A Review

When one are just started with astronomy and have progressed beyond strong binoculars and the more basic entry level telescopes) and want a good quality, adaptable and reasonably priced telescope, you really can't go wrong selecting the Orion Spaceprobe 130st EQ Telescope.

You will find that you can pretty much take it out of the box, set it up and be off and viewing in a very short period of time - AND you don't have to go broke doing it! Don't let the price or beginner label fool you either - this is a very good telescope and is intended more for the serious beginner or a more intermediate user. In the end, you get all the most important features you're likely to want or need in a simple, easy-to-use and very reasonably priced item.

The single biggest advantage of this telescope boils down to value: Given its price, its weight, its focal length and field of view, its quality (especially for the price), its portability (i.e. its weight) you end up with a scope you can quickly and easily setup, get clear and very sharp images from, move around easily and just generally make the most out of you time viewing the skies as quickly as possible!

Fundamental Features: - This is the "ST" version (translated to short tube) of the SpaceProbe 130 is small; measuring 24" long; - The focal length of the ST's 130mm (5.1") primary mirror is 650mm (f/5), yielding a broader field of view and brighter images, overall; - Primary is a diffraction-limited parabolic mirror; - 25mm (26x) and 10mm (65x) Sirius Plossl telescope eyepieces & quick-release 6x30 achromatic finder telescope; - Collimation cap and center-marked primary mirror; - Includes an EQ-2 equatorial mount with dual setting circles and slow-motion manual controls for hands free tracking; - A drive can be added for automatic tracking; - Weighs 27 lbs; - 1-year limited warranty

This falls into the class of a Newtonian reflector telescope which means it uses a parabolic mirror resulting in a wide field of view and it enabling low-power observations of the cosmos. While the 130 ST EQ is a great scope (rather what you expect out of a product from Orion), it is not a one for a very experienced astronomer, or for someone looking for advanced features or very high magnification. If that's you, I would recommend you seek out a higher-end telescope .

Thus, one might say one would select this telescope if their primary criteria is getting the most value for one's money. Of course, this presumes you're not just 'trying out' astronomy, or that you are not an experienced viewer with specific, demanding needs from your telescope.

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