Skywatcher HERITAGE-100P Tabletop Parabolic Dobsonian Telescope

Product Information

The first thing you want to do is to figure out what you really want out of your telescope. Consider: Where the Orion intelliscope really excels is the computerized object locator that gives users easy access to over 14,000 different and equally fascinating celestial objects. So instead of having to spread around charts looking for any signs of light up there, the intelliscope makes things a whole lot easier by giving you something new to look at every night. Flaws But Not Deal Breakers The Sky-Watcher Heritage 150P borrows a lot from the smaller 130P, having essentially the same features but with 20mm more aperture. That extra 20mm may not seem like much, but it makes a significant difference when it comes to viewing galaxies and globular star clusters. The Heritage-130P has been specially designed to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy 2009 and the 400th Anniversary of Galileo’s first telescope. This is not only a highly functional precision optical instrument but also a beautiful collector’s piece and ideal gift. The telescope tube is adorned with the names of many famous figures that have made significant contributions to the advancement of astronomy over this 400yr period, including Galileo Galilei himself.

Now, while the Orion SkyQuest XT8i Intelliscope is a super advanced piece of tech, there are a couple of things they could have improved on. For instance, if you’re going to install a computer on board, why not make the thing motorized? Sure, there are 14,000 preset locations, but you’ll have to actively push your telescope through each and every one of them. Still, it’s a whole lot easier when the telescope knows where it’s pointing. What Other Customers Think So with this particular telescope, you can catch the Crab Nebula M82 and M81 in near full moonlight. Most other scopes will just struggle at such light levels. In fact, if you can find some darker skies to peer into, you can view the Double Cluster in all its glory. The 200 P telescope has actually been used to see clearly as far as Saturn. This includes a clear cut Cassini Division, the distinct colour differences between the rings as well as five of the moons orbiting this beautiful planet. Flaws But Not Deal Breakers To attach to its provided mount or any astronomical mount or tripod, the Heritage 100P features a metal Vixen-style dovetail bar attached to the side of the tube, allowing it to be attached and removed from a mount without any tools or adapters. Accessories Diagonal– These are placed into the focuser and receive the eyepiece in refractors, SCTs, and MCTs. Common sizes are 1.25 inch and 2 inch which determines the diameter of the eyepiece that can be accepted. The diagonal turns the direction of the eyepiece either 45 degrees or 90 degrees to provide a more comfortable viewing angle. The 45-degree models are usually for daytime use when the optical tube is fairly level for use as a spotting scope. The 90-degree diagonals, also called star diagonals, are better for astronomy as the optical tube is usually pointing high in the sky.Sky-Watcher's tabletop Dobsonian designs breaks the mould, bringing the solid and reliable Dobsonian mounting method within the reach of those desiring a smaller, more manageable telescope. For a medium magnification between 30x and 75x, we might also recommend a 15mm gold-line (50x), which provides a good balance of field of view and magnification for viewing many deep-sky objects. If you’re willing to spend extra, there’s the SVBONY 15mm 70-degree with a wider and sharper field of view, as well as a more comfortable eyecup. One way of reducing the time it takes to prepare for an observing session is to look at tabletop telescopes as your entry to astronomy and stargazing.

The Sky Watcher Heritage 100P Tabletop Dobsonian Astronomy Telescope 10245, is a small, portable scope that is easy to grab and go. It may be used to observe the Moon and bright planets thanks to its high-quality 100mm f/4 parabolic optics, and it has enough light gathering capacity to observe star clusters, brilliant galaxies, and nebulae as well.We found the finder sometimes seemed to be in the way when we looked through the eyepiece; if their positions on the tube were swapped, it would improve the ease of use. This 4-inch tabletop Dobsonian from Sky-Watcher comes with 25mm and 10mm eyepieces, a 2x Barlow lens and a red-dot finder.

One of the biggest gripes that puts beginner astronomers off getting out and observing the night sky is the prospect of setting everything up. The Bresser Messier 6” f/8 Planetary Dobsonian has a narrower field than the 150P, thanks to its f/8 focal ratio, though this is somewhat compensated for by its hefty 2” Crayford focuser. The main advantage of the XT6 is that it stands flat on the ground without additional support or elevation, though it’s significantly less compact, lightweight, or portable than a tabletop instrument of similar aperture like the Sky-Watcher Heritage telescopes. Sky-Watcher’s own 6” Classic also works pretty well and shares the XT6’s basic design and features, but has inferior bearings and a mediocre focuser. The eyepieces are 26mm and 9mm, providing magnifications of 25x and 72x: low and medium-powered views. First off, the Orion SkyQuest XT8i is an extremely large telescope. Thanks to its larger 203mm aperture, users can see all the planets and even a clear image of the moons of those planets. But that’s not all; you can also get a view of bodies even further away including distant galaxies and some elusive nebulae. If we’re talking physical power, then this bad boy is definitely built for the long haul. But that’s just the appetizer. If you are okay with the aforementioned compromises, the Heritage 130P will deliver plenty. The scope has very good optics, and overall performs just as well as any other 130mm reflector on the market. At its current price point, the only serious competition is the Zhumell Z130.The Sky-Watcher Heritage 100P comes with two eyepieces, a 2x Barlow lens, and a red dot sight. The provided eyepieces are 1.25” 3-element “Super” eyepieces which are variously described as either a reverse Kellner or Konig optical configuration. While at f/4 you’re inevitably going to see some coma at the edges of the field of view at low power, the 25mm (16x) Super eyepiece is fairly sharp closer to the center of the field and has comfortable eye relief. The 10mm (40x) performs fairly well too. Both have glass optics with anti-reflection coatings, though the body and housing of each eyepiece is almost entirely plastic. The Heritage 150P uses a tabletop “Dobsonian” mount—technically not a true Dobsonian but rather a one-armed fork design, with the tube pivoting up and down on a plastic pad and ball bearing and swivelling like any other Dobsonian using three small Teflon pads on the laminated base. The tube attaches to the mount with a Vixen-style dovetail rail and clamp, and can be slid along the clamp for optimal balance. There’s also a built-in handle. You can adjust the friction of the altitude axis by tightening a large knob, while adjusting the friction in azimuth requires a pair of pliers or wrenches. The 25mm eyepiece supplied is fine although the 10mm is "basic" but thats the norm with bundled eyepieces. The Heritage 100P is a small, simple scope but it can provide rewarding views as long as you have realistic expectations. No fuss exploring The Virtuoso GTi and SynScan App provide full computerised GO-TO control, allowing the telescope to be automatically slewed to any of the objects in the App’s extensive database of 10,000+ celestial objects.

So what does the SkyLiner 200 P Parabolic Sky Watcher do best? Well, it excels at the very thing that you want your telescope to do – viewing distant objects. Thanks to the Dobsonian’s 0.5mm ultra thin mirror supports, the 200 P has visibly reduced light loss and diffraction spikes. At the same time, the top quality parabolic mirrors help eliminate spherical aberration for an even clearer image. Dobsonian is simply a Newtonian style telescope that uses classic or traditional optical reflector systems. However, it differs slightly when it comes to the mounting mechanism. Dobsonians come with an azimuth mounted design that pitches up down left and right.The Ursa Major 8″ Dobsonian is an economically-priced 8″ Dobsonian telescope, which encompasses many of the fundamental design features seen in more costly 8″ models, yet streamlined to the essentials. The Ursa Major 8″ Dobsonian delivers exceptional performance for its price, making it a desirable option for those on a budget. The Orion SkyQuest XT8i Dobsonian IntelliScope is a price leader and a highly advanced model with a built in computer that takes exploration to a whole new level. This particular computer boasts of a comprehensive database with more than 14,000 fascinating celestial objects already programmed inside. The biggest advantage of a Dobsonian is value for money. You get more aperture (the most important feature of a telescope) for your money than with any other type of telescope. Thanks to their generally large apertures, Dobsonian telescopes provide great views of stars and other deep sky objects. The red dot sight provided with the 100P is more than adequate for a small, wide-field telescope, remarkably easy to use, and is higher quality than many of the cheap red dots compared with beginner telescopes from other brands. Mount The Bresser Messier 5” Dobsonian has similar optics to the Heritage 130P but in a simpler solid tube. However, the provided accessories are not quite as good.