![]() ![]() Unlike with some of the NexStar 5SE’s competitors, this controller worked flawlessly in our tests, offering micro adjustments and responsive tracking with the attached controller system. Instead of fumbling to read star charts and align the telescope manually, with the press of a button you can align and focus your telescope on a myriad of celestial objects. ![]() The NexStar 5SE operates on a fully computerized system and gives you a handheld controller to guide it. And it provides sufficient power to introduce you to objects in the deep sky. This telescope has a primary 5-inch mirror-big enough for a light-gathering capacity that yields crisp images of some of the best objects in our solar system, from Saturn’s rings to Jupiter’s cloud bands. It has adjustable legs to make the viewing height more comfortable and a useful accessories tray, which helps to spread the tripod’s legs and lock them in position.The Celestron NexStar 5SE-our pick for the best amateur telescope-is a Schmidt-Cassegrain scope, which means it uses both lenses and mirrors in a relatively compact package. The aluminium tripod is a good match for the StarQuest 130P, as it is lightweight yet strong enough to support the telescope. They work well for this focal system and give pleasing views of a wide range of celestial targets, from lunar to planetary and brighter deep-sky favourites. Two basic eyepieces with rubber eyecups are supplied, a 25mm giving 26x magnification and a 10mm for a higher 65x magnification. They attach to the mount via a standard Vixen-style bar which is a fetching metallic green. The tube rings safely hold the telescope in place via locking bolts that can be slightly loosened to allow the tube to be rotated for a more comfortable viewing position. Sky-Watcher StarQuest 130P’s best features Tube rings It can also be configured in an altazimuth position, which is useful for viewing awkward to reach areas of the sky such as near the celestial pole, or for viewing landscapes during the day. (declination) settings, which were smooth and easy to use. The mount also has two slow-motion controls for fine tuning in both RA (right ascension) and dec. It uses Capstan-style locking knobs on both axes, which replace the more traditional side knobs and we found that after a little practice it became second nature to loosen these to make large-scale adjustments to the direction the scope is pointing. Just pop it onto the tripod, bolt it in place and then put the scope onto the Vixen-style head, and you are ready to go. This makes it easier to set up and use, especially as it comes as one unit ready assembled. Sky-Watcher StarQuest 130P Newtonian reflector’s mountĮquatorial mounts for ranges of smaller telescopes can often look a little clumsy, difficult to use and quite frankly old-fashioned, but the mount with the StarQuest 130P is an interesting, more compact and modern design. We also had a good view of Gamma ( γ ) Andromedae, which appeared as a tighter version of Albireo, and it was also a pleasing sight when we added our own 2x Barlow lens. The colours were well defined with gold and sky blue, and the components were clearly separated with dark space between them. ![]() We then viewed the wonderful double star Albireo (Beta ( β ) Cygni) in Cygnus, first with the 25mm eyepiece and then with the 10mm. Optically the system is classed as ‘fast’ at f/5, so we looked at Altair (Alpha ( α ) Aquilae) and noted how the star appeared from one side of the view to the other using the 25mm eyepiece.Īltair appeared as a good tight pinprick for 70% of the view, but then showed some distortion towards the field edges, which is on a par with many other scopes we have tested. We checked the collimation of the optics and found they were still aligned despite the transportation, so we went straight to work, late into the next clear night. The system only weighs 8kg and it’s easy to assemble, which means the StarQuest 130P is much more likely to get used than a more awkward setup, and less likely to get left in corner of a room without any action.
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