Celestron Zhumell ZHUS001-1 Z100 Portable Altazimuth Reflector Telescope, Black

Product Information

According to Zhumell, the theoretical maximum magnification is 200x, but realistically it’s probably somewhere between 100x and 150x – and it should be noted that increasing the magnification will also increase the shaking when adjusting the focus. Target Audience

The Popular Science by Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 100AZ offers similar performance to the Z100 but with refracting optics, a full-sized tripod, and the assistance of Celestron’s StarSense Explorer technology in finding targets. The Zhumell Z100 Portable Reflector Telescope features a 100mm parabolic primary mirror, a high-end feature that’s very uncommon in telescopes of this size. The parabolic mirror removes visual defects like spherical aberration, providing noticeably sharper views. The primary mirror and all other optical surfaces are coated with Zhumell’s high-reflectivity coatings. You can count on more than 90 percent light transmission, for brighter views of even dim objects like nebulae. This isn’t necessarily a big problem for the casual observer, but anyone who wants to make heavy use of the telescope might want to take this into consideration.

The Bad

Messier 3: On a night with a nearly full Moon, I wanted to try a more difficult target. I looked at Messier 3, a globular cluster in the constellation Canes Venatici, with the SkyScanner. I selected M3 because this can be a challenging target when the Moon is bright, but the SkyScanner did a good job. I had the image up to 80X using the 10 mm eyepiece with my 2X Barlow. A lot of astronomy in the UK is done in the winter months. Getting a young kid to sit out in the cold plus staying out long enough to get eyes use to the dark isn’t easy. One way I’ve got over this is to make the whole thing an event. Eg we’ve camped out in the garden (no tent), looked up at the constellations and looked for shooting stars. Watched for the International Space Station, toasted marshmallows, drunk hot chocolate, listened to the dawn chorus, watched for foxes and hedgehogs… the looking through the telescope just the icing on the cake. Camping also has the advantage that your eyes are always use to the dark. She’s also had astronomy based sleep-overs with friends. Newtonians are bulky and the eyepiece sits high off the ground,, so might be more awkward for a youngster. The 20mm eyepiece gives a magnification of 20x, while the 10mm eyepiece gives a magnification of 40x. The Zhumell Z130 doesn't have a tripod so I would need to invest money in a tripod or table. Plus be able to carry that across campus as well for 15 to 20 minutes while walking. Would an alternative telescope like the Celestron Cometron 114az be a good alternative as it comes with a tripod? ..... My concerns about that scope is that it is F/4 which might require precision collimation? F/4 might have serious coma issues? Tripod doesn't have slow motion controls?

I guess its a trade off, and a question of budget, they are a bit more than you were thinking of spending too, even for the smaller 4" You didn’t say what Barlow you were using. I have had Barlows that would not come to focus in some of my scopes and others that would. It is hard to say if that Barlow will work with the SkyScanner unless I have that Barlow. That being the case, while these are not the highest quality, they do have a wider field of view than most of the standard eyepieces provided by other manufacturers. They also have aluminum housings, unlike some other manufacturers whose eyepieces have plastic housings.

If you’re looking for additional general resources on astronomy, we have a number of articles that you might find interesting. Thanks to its industry-leading optical components, the Z100 outperforms other tabletop telescopes of a similar size for a difference you can see and appreciate under the night sky. With the Z100, Zhumell has put your money where it belongs: into the telescope’s optical system. I didn't know what bortle was, but just looked it up and I'm in bortle 5, just on the outskirts of bortle 4 by 500m, so easy enough to potentially go where a little less light pollution too. I'll just openly admit I've stalked some of your posts after you were tagged, and saw you mention Southampton...I'm in Bognor Regis.