Silicon dioxide produces a much more durable coat than silicon monoxide but requires specialized equipment to apply it and is therefore more expensive. Protection is needed, because in most reflectors, the mirror is open to the elements and deterioration of the reflective layer reduces the resolution of the telescope. ALL Sky-Watcher reflectors are Multi-Coated with Silicon Dioxide as standard for Optimum Durability and Long Term Performance. Upon delivery, the review telescope was in excellent collimation and produced well-formed stars during this test – it really did work well straight out of the box.

At Rother Valley Optics, one thing we pride ourselves on is customer service and quality of our equipment. When we test your telescope, we will ensure that it is of the highest quality otherwise, we will reject the scope under our strict quality control and test another model for your peace of mind. One of the main values to look at when testing a refractor is the Strehl ratio. The higher this number, the higher quality lens you have. At Rother Valley Optics, we will guarantee the highest possible Strehl ratio for your telescope. We will aim to provide 0.95 Strehl or higher on Takahashi, RVO Horizon, William Optics and many more! Generally, the higher the Strehl ratio, the lower the Astigmatism and Coma meaning a better image quality from your instrument. You can see all the planets, deep sky targets, and brighter stars with the Sky-Watcher 130mm. The scope has a limiting magnitude of 12.4 and a resolving power of 0.88. Already, you cannot see the dwarf planet Pluto, which currently has a brightness magnitude of 14.5. You really should take some time to get to know what it is you will be gazing into, before you gaze into it using some fairly pricy equipment. In the Explorer 130 telescope, the secondary obstruction is 46mm. As a result, you may observe diffraction rings when observing night sky targets. But to follow these objects as they move across the night sky in an arc it’s necessary to make adjustments in both altitude and azimuth axes.The telescope’s 650mm focal length is a good compromise for observing a wide range of objects, including both Solar System and deep-sky targets. If you throw yourself in at the deep end, and expect to seeing deep space nebulae and close up views of Saturn’s rings on your first excursion, you too may end up disappointed! You can create a “sky tour” of all the best celestial bodies, based on your exact time and location As we all know, there is a vast amount of information out there about a huge range of different scopes. It can be really hard to whittle this down into “What is the best telescope for me?” Well, now you don’t have to whittle, because I have done it for you! Once you introduce the Barlow lens into the equation, you’ll likely observe false color on some night sky objects.

I talked about the telescope’s high obstruction earlier. Consequently, you’ll particularly observe reduced contrast and brighter diffraction rings when observing the planets. It is also supplied with some quality accessories including a 2x Barlow which doubles the power of the supplied standard 10mm and 25mm eyepieces. Since we’re talking about setting up the scope, let’s talk about the weight and how it may affect setting up. The telescope, when coupled, weighs 27.8 lbs or 12.6kg. It also has a tube length of over 900mm. It’s not exactly a portable telescope for traveling. As with every telescope we review, we strongly recommend you read the instruction a few times to familiarize yourself with the telescope. It will pay dividends in the long run.This means that once you’ve aligned the telescope on an object using the ‘horizontal’ adjustment (right ascension – RA) and the ‘vertical’ adjustment (declination – Dec.), it’s only necessary to make adjustments in the RA plane to follow the object as it traverses the sky. Sky-Watcher Explorer-130PS telescope: 5 best features Counterbalance bar and weight Point your telescope at the object you want to observe. Look through the finderscope attached to you telescope and adjust the telescope until the object is centered in the scope. Now, look through the telescope’s eyepiece. If you centered the object in the scope, it should also be centered in the eyepiece. 5. How to set up a telescope with an equatorial mount? A great many would-be astronomers never reach their dreams, because they get frustrated and give up too soon, before they have even learned the basics of the night sky. Swing your telescope to the right spot in the sky and look for a yellowish-golden bright object that’s shining steadily. Once you find it, use your finderscope to focus on it then increase the magnification of your eyepiece until you can see the planet’s rings. The price and performance of the Explorer 130 motorized telescope make it a good option for practicing and learning about astronomy. Is the Sky-Watcher Explorer 130 motorized telescope worth it?

Figuring out your surroundings is key – it’s no good getting a telescope that might not be suitable for your particular area, because you will only end up frustrated when you can’t see anything!

EQ2 Equatorial Mount:

The mount is very well thought out, light yet sturdy and the complete setup is very appealing. Sky-Watcher Explorer-130PS telescope mount The manual’s language and descriptions could have been worded better, but it suffices to help you through the setup process.

Then the optical quality lives up to the billing, at least judging it based on the context of its affordable price. What telescope is similar to the Sky-Watcher Explorer 130m and a good alternative to consider? So it’s advisable to use the counterbalance bar and weight in both altazimuth and equatorial modes Red dot finder Finderscope – Red dot finder: It also comes with a basic 6 x 24 red dot finder. I’ve heard some astronomers talk about the fit of the finderscope with the barrel. With 900mm focal length it is easier to get higher magnifications which are needed to view the planets well, this version is better for planetary observation than the shorter P model but has a physically longer tube. Once the Zygo test report has been completed, the optical alignment is thoroughly tested and tuned to ensure they are spot on before they leave us.

Other measurements such as the PV and RMS are important too. With these measurements, the lower the number the better as it shows less curvature on the lens. The flatter an optical lens, the better it will perform. The PV rating (Peak To Valley) is a measurement from the highest point (Peak) to the lowest point (Valley). From this we get the RMS (Root, Mean, Square). This is a similar figure to the PV and measured exactly the same way. The RMS is basically an average height difference from the PV so again, the lower the better. As you can see form the example below, we measured an RMS of just 0.027 wave which is a very good value. The Explorer 130 motorized telescope is fairly easy to set up, although its weight and size may make it more slightly complex than it ought to be. The manual has enough information to guide you. Popular telescope models include: Sky Watcher Capricorn, Skyhawk, Skymax, Explorer, Evostar and Heritage ranges. Decide what it is you actually want to see. If you are happiest looking at the moon in detail, or a few of our closest neighbours, then your requirements for the best telescope will be different than if you want to observe deep space.