An Astromania 4mm Planetary will provide 163x, which is getting closer to the upper limit of magnification that the 130ST can handle on most nights. The drive makes high-power viewing nice, but hand-tracking at even 250x really isnt a problem with the mounts slow-motion cables, or even with a regular Dobsonian mount. The image was too large to fit with my previous post. The equatorial mount makes the whole package too expensive, more unstable than the usual Dob, and harder to use. If you want to look at galaxies an 8 or larger Dob is really what you need, and is easier to use. Hi I am looking at buying a second hand telescope. ADobsonian telescope would be an ideal starting point and a TableTopfor budget prices. Use Jason's method here https://www.cloudyniment/?p=5260727. 2. The axis of tilt nearly coincides with the focuser axis when the primary reflection is centered on the secondary center line. Venus and Mercury will show their phases, while Mars reveals a few dark spots and its polar ice cap. When you're ready to get a laser--at least consider a good one Edited by jwpkrfan, 13 November 2019 - 08:45 PM. is the increase in aperture significant enought when observing planets or galaxies? Collimating the scopes primary mirror requires a screwdriver which can be rather frustrating in the field. You currently have javascript disabled. Are the Accessories of Acceptable Quality? I am planning on getting one at some point and I already have a barlow. Hopefully it has none. Any laser can be Barlowed. Disclosure - If you buy something via our link, we may earn a commission with no additional expense to you. 
Orion SpaceProbe 130ST has an unnecessary set of features that will make your life harder instead of easier. But this comes with a price. 
What's remarkable is that your alignment image reveals that, not only is the secondary mirror not concentric with the bottom edge of the focuser drawtube, the primary mirror reflection is also not concentric with the actual edge of the secondary mirror. I don't know enough about collimation, but will be watching and learning. We tend to use them independently (like we do the primary mirror) to tilt the secondary so the laser or cross hairs approach the center mark from any direction. The 130STs equatorial mount has an attachment for a motor drive. You need anadditionalplanetaryeyepieceto reach the planetary potential of SpaceProbe 130ST. currently have a tasco 60mm refracting toy. I realize that the reflection of the secondary mirror is not perfect but I do have the center of the collimation cap in the middle. Typically, this adjustment will rarely, if ever, need to be done. This helps center your eye so that collimating is easy to per-form. The 130STs 650mm focal length gives it a relatively wide field of view at low magnifications, making it great for viewing big and bright deep-sky objects like the Pleiades, Andromeda Galaxy, and so forth. But a good laser is an actual, real collimating tool. All in all, while planetary astrophotography can be done with the SpaceProbe 130ST, youll be spending more than the scope costs to do so, and youll be limited severely by its inexpensive mount and 5 aperture. Let's say you want to view an object. The SpaceProbe uses a 630 optical finder as opposed to the red-dot finders often found on many beginner scopes. Did you install no-tool knobs (knurled plastic knobs that press on the Allen screws)? If it isnt, as in Figure 8b, it must be adjusted. This is much less important. But, it's also nice to see everything (the three collimation signatures) looking nice and concentric, as well. But, once you get the tilt process correct by using the secondary adjustment screws correctly, you can minimize the unwanted tilt and induced rotation. 
Pleiades, Hercules, Orion, Andromeda, are all easy targets for the SpaceProbe 130ST. Used in conjunction with a collimation cap, you can achieve excellent collimation. Telescope.com also offers a 30-day price match guarantee, 30-day money-back guarantee, free technical support, and next-day shipping. 
If you have to use too much spider vane adjustment, it's best to recenter the spider relieving tension on vanes and shim the focuser a tiny bit, instead. I presume a 2" focuser with a 1.25" adapter, does the adapter exhibit any tilting with the site tube inside? The accessories that come with SpaceProbe 130ST are thesameas those that come with any other telescope at this price range. When adjusting the tilt/rotation can I first look for the mirror clips and then rotate/tilt with my hand so the buldge is pointing to the right followed by tightening the allen screws? ", (This assumes the secondary mirror is reasonably sized and flat, and if not, that any edge defect (turned or wavy) is either not present or small enough to have minimal impact on the primary mirror's performance at higher magnifications.). do it with the counterweight down as pictured in Figure 1. I would recommend the Zhumell Z130, Celestron Astro-Fi 130, or AWB OneSky instead. And too, the late Howie Glatter who took Nils' ideas and turned them the Tublug, the Blug etc, that made collimation easier.
Or you can leave your collimation as is--it's up to you. You also appear to have too much tilt toward the bottom of your view, so you can ease the secondary back to the upper part of your view by bringing the three adjustment screws to a more neutral location. In, Figure 1 the telescope is pointed north, as it would be during, polar alignment. For whatever reason Orion has covered the back of the primary mirror cell with a useless metal plate obscuring the collimation screws and hindering cooldown it must be removed with a Phillips head screwdriver. The primary center mark is also located on this imaginary line, so you can use only one adjustment screw, primarily, to tilt the secondary and adjust the other two in unison to permit that linear tilt toward the primary center mark. But the wide-field view of SpaceProbe 130ST makes finding and focusing on space objects easier. The 130ST has a sturdier mount, better optical quality and better eyepieces than the Polaris 130. The630finderis usable, but I would prefer a red dot finder with the SpaceProbe 130ST. Edited by jwpkrfan, 11 November 2019 - 06:46 PM. They also feature red dot finders which are arguably easier to use. Vic Menard, in your opinion, does small error cause a significant deterioration of the image? The 130ST attaches to its mount with a pair of tube rings, but no Vixen dovetail system. Planetary nebulae like the Cats Eye begin to show colors and perhaps even detail at moderate magnifications. You should see the secondary mirror, centered in the drawtube, as well as the reflection of the pri-, mary mirror centered in the secondary mirror, and the reflec-, Dual-speed crayford focuser for orion refractors (3 pages), Equatorial newtonian reflector telescope (16 pages), #9851; equatorial newtonian reflector telescope (16 pages), Equatorial maksutov-cassegrain telescope (19 pages), Equatorial refracting telescope (16 pages), Skyquest xti intelliscope dobsonian telescopes (24 pages), Orion 10022 starmax; 10012 skyscanner; 10013 goscope telescopes (15 pages), 100mm equatorial refracting telescope (16 pages), #9862; 100mm equatorial refracting telescope (16 pages), #9826; equatorial maksutov-cassegrain telescope (15 pages), Equatorial maksutov-cassegrain telescope (16 pages), Manual will be automatically added to "My Manuals", UsingYourTelescope-AstronomicalObserving, Telescope Orion SpaceProbe 130mm EQ User Manual, Telescope Orion SPACEPROBE 130mm EQ Manual, Telescope Orion StarMax 102mm EQ Instruction Manual, Telescope Orion AstroView 120 EQ Instruction Manual, Telescope Orion AstroView 120ST EQ Instruction Manual, Telescope Orion 10026 XT6i Instruction Manual, Telescope Orion SkyQuest 10135XT12g Instruction Manual, Telescope Orion SkyQuest 10134 XT8g Instruction Manual, Telescope ORION 10022 StarMax Instruction Manual, Telescope Orion 100 EQ Instruction Manual, Telescope Orion StarMax 127mm EQ Instruction Manual, Telescope Orion 180mm Maksutov-Cassegrain Instruction Manual, 10269 Collimating The Optics (Aligning The Mirrors), StarBlast II 4.5 EQ Collimating The Optics, Shorttube 4.5" EQ 9083 Collimating The Optics (Aligning The Mirrors), STARBLAST 6/6I Appendix A: Collimating The Optics, 9527 Collimating The Optics (Aligning The Mirrors), SPACEPROBE 130mm EQ Collimating The Optics, SpaceProbe 130mm EQ Collimating The Optics, SpaceProbe 3 EQ 9039 Collimating The Optics, SKYVIEW PRO 120 EQ Collimating (Aligning The Optics), Observer 90mm Collimation Of Your Telescope's Optics, SkyQuest XX12g Collimating The Optical System, Ritchey-Chretien 8268 Care And Cleaning Of The Optics. If you notice, your secondary looks elliptical and elongated toward 5 o'clock. That might seem counterin-tuitive, but its true!
But, as you know, the primary center mark also has to be centered in the collimation cap pupil, too, to bring the primary axis into collimation. These are the two critical adjustments. If I were to get the better laser can the barlow method still be used to align the primary mirror? Turning the screw clockwise will move the secondary mirror toward the front opening of the optical tube, while turning the screw counter-clockwise will move the secondary mirror toward the primary mirror.When the secondary mirror is centered in the focuser draw-tube, rotate the secondary mirror holder until the reflection of the primary mirror is as centered in the secondary mirror as possible. But you don't want to use the 45 degree target on the backside of the laser because the light passes through the Barlow twice when you do that. Other than that, it would be best if you looked for a telescope with an altazimuthmount. Most of the problems are due to thebase, which I will delve into in theMountsection. Once the secondary is roughly centered with everything kind of neutral and sitting naturally in the tube, this is a great starting position to actually begin axial alignment and finalizing collimation. OK--unless the secondary mirror is already concentric with the bottom edge of the focuser drawtube, the visibility of the primary mirror clips is not a valid alignment reference! Your telescope's optics were, aligned at the factory, and should not need much adjustment, unless the telescope is handled roughly. I'm pretty sure there are instructions online. Yes (preferably a good one, like this https://www.eyepiecep/17401010.htm, A simple thin beam laser is an excellent tool for assessing and correcting the focuser axis (via secondary mirror tilt). Then you check your signatures by focusing outward until the secondary and primary reflection (including the clips) are nearly the same apparent size. For photography, however, its a problem. c. Looking through my collimation cap I used my hand to rotate/tilt the mirror until the three mirror clips were equally visible along the edge and then carefully adjusted the tension of the three allen screws to maintain this position. It can be fixed as Vic said above. You also need a DSLR camera for any amateur deep space imaging. I see that Jason D has posted some instructions about using a laser.
So, we can try to do so. It's easier to see using three adjustment screws because one of them will be very nearly inline with the focuser. The mount doesnt have auto-tracking, and it is too weak to carry any DSLR camera. How well does the drain pipe register (fit) in your focuser? At f/5, this scope delivers nice wide-field views, albeit with a little coma nothing to worry about, however. Can be upgraded to have motorized tracking, For the price, you could get a 6 Dobsonian. In This Week's Tele Vue Blog: Telescope vs. Super-Telephoto Lens for Imaging? Accurate mirror, alignment is important to ensure the peak performance of, your telescope, so it should be checked regularly. You can't. Note that, the tripod and mount have not been moved; only the telescope tube. Basically, the brighter Messier Catalog is in range for these optics.
The 130STs 650mm focal length means that even the high magnification 10mm Plossl provides only 65x. The primary advantage of an equatorial mount is that tracking the sky is much simpler than with an alt-az mounted scope/Dobsonian. As Jon said above, those adjustments above only deal with your illuminated field of view and are not critical to axial collimation. I only concerned myself with the with the clips. Edited by Vic Menard, 13 November 2019 - 05:47 PM. Unlike with more expensive scopes/mounts, the 130STs tube rings simply bolt to the EQ2 rather than using a Vixen dovetail and saddle.
When adjusting the tilt/rotation can I first look for the mirror clips and then rotate/tilt with my hand so the bulge is pointing to the right followed by tightening the allen screws? The secondary mirror itself should be centered in the focuser drawtube, in the direction parallel to the length of the telescope. The Orion SpaceProbe 130ST is one of many beginner telescopes sold on an equatorial mount, with the premise that an equatorial mount is either more advanced or capable of astrophotography. Placing a piece of white paper in the telescope tube opposite the focuser (i.e., on the other side of the secondary mirror) will also be helpful in col-limating the secondary mirror. any change in the focuser axial alignment will almost always be a tilt only adjustment! Neither is actually the case. horizontal. Who should buy the SpaceProbe 130ST? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Our team of experts has reviewed and ranked 180+ telescopes based on price and quality. Edited by Asbytec, 20 November 2019 - 05:25 AM. SpaceProbe 130ST leans more towards deep space performance. budget is a considertation but not a hard stop. If you can get a deal on a used one, by all means, go for it. Can I use this as a reference aide? Even the more critical axial alignments are easily assessed and corrected to tolerance. Do I need to move the secondary mirror to the left? I live in the suburbs so any serious observation will require travel. telescope should be moved only on the R.A. and Dec. axes. Depending on the altitude of the object you want to observe, the counterweight shaft will be oriented somewhere between, Figure 7 illustrates how the telescope will look pointed at, the four cardinal directions north, south, east, and west, The key things to remember when pointing the telescope is, that a) you only move it in R.A. and Dec., not in azimuth or, latitude (altitude), and b) the counterweight and shaft will not, always appear as it does in Figure 1.
You will be able to distinguish the Rings of Saturn, and Polar Ice Caps on Mars with some of its black stains on the surface. I used collimation software to check the results with the circular overlays. Community Forum Software by IP.BoardLicensed to: Cloudy Nights, This is not recommended for shared computers, Elongated stars in 1 direction with mount off, I found a prefect position for polemaster on wedged evolution mount. This is the tilt (only) adjustment you want to see and it can be corrected by tilting only one secondary adjustment screw inline with the focuser axis while adjusting the other two in unison turning them in the same direction by the same amount to allow the tilt. At first this seems impossible as tilt can induce some rotation, so it can or should be corrected in real time, too, or avoided all together if possible. Some are short (2 inches) and others are over 6 inches. I dont think it is, especially at the budget price range. This small error is unlikely to impact your image performance. You may need to repeat the process (tilt--rotate) to fully correct the skew error. Its not a bad telescope by any means, and it might be something you really like, but in terms of actual advantages, there simply arent any. There are a lot of other scopes you might want to consider instead of the SpaceProbe 130ST depending on what exactly your priorities are. has been moved on the R.A. and Dec. axes. Otherwise, you will be stuck with mediocre performance in this area. And which one would You recommend if the value for money does not play the main role, but is not completely neglected? It has a 1.25 rack-and-pinion focuser, which is made mostly out of plastic but works pretty well.
Orion SpaceProbe 130ST has an unnecessary set of features that will make your life harder instead of easier. But this comes with a price. What's remarkable is that your alignment image reveals that, not only is the secondary mirror not concentric with the bottom edge of the focuser drawtube, the primary mirror reflection is also not concentric with the actual edge of the secondary mirror. I don't know enough about collimation, but will be watching and learning. We tend to use them independently (like we do the primary mirror) to tilt the secondary so the laser or cross hairs approach the center mark from any direction. The 130STs equatorial mount has an attachment for a motor drive. You need anadditionalplanetaryeyepieceto reach the planetary potential of SpaceProbe 130ST. currently have a tasco 60mm refracting toy. I realize that the reflection of the secondary mirror is not perfect but I do have the center of the collimation cap in the middle. Typically, this adjustment will rarely, if ever, need to be done. This helps center your eye so that collimating is easy to per-form. The 130STs 650mm focal length gives it a relatively wide field of view at low magnifications, making it great for viewing big and bright deep-sky objects like the Pleiades, Andromeda Galaxy, and so forth. But a good laser is an actual, real collimating tool. All in all, while planetary astrophotography can be done with the SpaceProbe 130ST, youll be spending more than the scope costs to do so, and youll be limited severely by its inexpensive mount and 5 aperture. Let's say you want to view an object. The SpaceProbe uses a 630 optical finder as opposed to the red-dot finders often found on many beginner scopes. Did you install no-tool knobs (knurled plastic knobs that press on the Allen screws)? If it isnt, as in Figure 8b, it must be adjusted. This is much less important. But, it's also nice to see everything (the three collimation signatures) looking nice and concentric, as well. But, once you get the tilt process correct by using the secondary adjustment screws correctly, you can minimize the unwanted tilt and induced rotation. Pleiades, Hercules, Orion, Andromeda, are all easy targets for the SpaceProbe 130ST. Used in conjunction with a collimation cap, you can achieve excellent collimation. Telescope.com also offers a 30-day price match guarantee, 30-day money-back guarantee, free technical support, and next-day shipping. If you have to use too much spider vane adjustment, it's best to recenter the spider relieving tension on vanes and shim the focuser a tiny bit, instead. I presume a 2" focuser with a 1.25" adapter, does the adapter exhibit any tilting with the site tube inside? The accessories that come with SpaceProbe 130ST are thesameas those that come with any other telescope at this price range. When adjusting the tilt/rotation can I first look for the mirror clips and then rotate/tilt with my hand so the buldge is pointing to the right followed by tightening the allen screws? ", (This assumes the secondary mirror is reasonably sized and flat, and if not, that any edge defect (turned or wavy) is either not present or small enough to have minimal impact on the primary mirror's performance at higher magnifications.). do it with the counterweight down as pictured in Figure 1. I would recommend the Zhumell Z130, Celestron Astro-Fi 130, or AWB OneSky instead. And too, the late Howie Glatter who took Nils' ideas and turned them the Tublug, the Blug etc, that made collimation easier. Or you can leave your collimation as is--it's up to you. You also appear to have too much tilt toward the bottom of your view, so you can ease the secondary back to the upper part of your view by bringing the three adjustment screws to a more neutral location. In, Figure 1 the telescope is pointed north, as it would be during, polar alignment. For whatever reason Orion has covered the back of the primary mirror cell with a useless metal plate obscuring the collimation screws and hindering cooldown it must be removed with a Phillips head screwdriver. The primary center mark is also located on this imaginary line, so you can use only one adjustment screw, primarily, to tilt the secondary and adjust the other two in unison to permit that linear tilt toward the primary center mark. But the wide-field view of SpaceProbe 130ST makes finding and focusing on space objects easier. The 130ST has a sturdier mount, better optical quality and better eyepieces than the Polaris 130. The630finderis usable, but I would prefer a red dot finder with the SpaceProbe 130ST. Edited by jwpkrfan, 11 November 2019 - 06:46 PM. They also feature red dot finders which are arguably easier to use. Vic Menard, in your opinion, does small error cause a significant deterioration of the image? The 130ST attaches to its mount with a pair of tube rings, but no Vixen dovetail system. Planetary nebulae like the Cats Eye begin to show colors and perhaps even detail at moderate magnifications. You should see the secondary mirror, centered in the drawtube, as well as the reflection of the pri-, mary mirror centered in the secondary mirror, and the reflec-, Dual-speed crayford focuser for orion refractors (3 pages), Equatorial newtonian reflector telescope (16 pages), #9851; equatorial newtonian reflector telescope (16 pages), Equatorial maksutov-cassegrain telescope (19 pages), Equatorial refracting telescope (16 pages), Skyquest xti intelliscope dobsonian telescopes (24 pages), Orion 10022 starmax; 10012 skyscanner; 10013 goscope telescopes (15 pages), 100mm equatorial refracting telescope (16 pages), #9862; 100mm equatorial refracting telescope (16 pages), #9826; equatorial maksutov-cassegrain telescope (15 pages), Equatorial maksutov-cassegrain telescope (16 pages), Manual will be automatically added to "My Manuals", UsingYourTelescope-AstronomicalObserving, Telescope Orion SpaceProbe 130mm EQ User Manual, Telescope Orion SPACEPROBE 130mm EQ Manual, Telescope Orion StarMax 102mm EQ Instruction Manual, Telescope Orion AstroView 120 EQ Instruction Manual, Telescope Orion AstroView 120ST EQ Instruction Manual, Telescope Orion 10026 XT6i Instruction Manual, Telescope Orion SkyQuest 10135XT12g Instruction Manual, Telescope Orion SkyQuest 10134 XT8g Instruction Manual, Telescope ORION 10022 StarMax Instruction Manual, Telescope Orion 100 EQ Instruction Manual, Telescope Orion StarMax 127mm EQ Instruction Manual, Telescope Orion 180mm Maksutov-Cassegrain Instruction Manual, 10269 Collimating The Optics (Aligning The Mirrors), StarBlast II 4.5 EQ Collimating The Optics, Shorttube 4.5" EQ 9083 Collimating The Optics (Aligning The Mirrors), STARBLAST 6/6I Appendix A: Collimating The Optics, 9527 Collimating The Optics (Aligning The Mirrors), SPACEPROBE 130mm EQ Collimating The Optics, SpaceProbe 130mm EQ Collimating The Optics, SpaceProbe 3 EQ 9039 Collimating The Optics, SKYVIEW PRO 120 EQ Collimating (Aligning The Optics), Observer 90mm Collimation Of Your Telescope's Optics, SkyQuest XX12g Collimating The Optical System, Ritchey-Chretien 8268 Care And Cleaning Of The Optics. If you notice, your secondary looks elliptical and elongated toward 5 o'clock. That might seem counterin-tuitive, but its true!
But, as you know, the primary center mark also has to be centered in the collimation cap pupil, too, to bring the primary axis into collimation. These are the two critical adjustments. If I were to get the better laser can the barlow method still be used to align the primary mirror? Turning the screw clockwise will move the secondary mirror toward the front opening of the optical tube, while turning the screw counter-clockwise will move the secondary mirror toward the primary mirror.When the secondary mirror is centered in the focuser draw-tube, rotate the secondary mirror holder until the reflection of the primary mirror is as centered in the secondary mirror as possible. But you don't want to use the 45 degree target on the backside of the laser because the light passes through the Barlow twice when you do that. Other than that, it would be best if you looked for a telescope with an altazimuthmount. Most of the problems are due to thebase, which I will delve into in theMountsection. Once the secondary is roughly centered with everything kind of neutral and sitting naturally in the tube, this is a great starting position to actually begin axial alignment and finalizing collimation. OK--unless the secondary mirror is already concentric with the bottom edge of the focuser drawtube, the visibility of the primary mirror clips is not a valid alignment reference! Your telescope's optics were, aligned at the factory, and should not need much adjustment, unless the telescope is handled roughly. I'm pretty sure there are instructions online. Yes (preferably a good one, like this https://www.eyepiecep/17401010.htm, A simple thin beam laser is an excellent tool for assessing and correcting the focuser axis (via secondary mirror tilt). Then you check your signatures by focusing outward until the secondary and primary reflection (including the clips) are nearly the same apparent size. For photography, however, its a problem. c. Looking through my collimation cap I used my hand to rotate/tilt the mirror until the three mirror clips were equally visible along the edge and then carefully adjusted the tension of the three allen screws to maintain this position. It can be fixed as Vic said above. You also need a DSLR camera for any amateur deep space imaging. I see that Jason D has posted some instructions about using a laser.
So, we can try to do so. It's easier to see using three adjustment screws because one of them will be very nearly inline with the focuser. The mount doesnt have auto-tracking, and it is too weak to carry any DSLR camera. How well does the drain pipe register (fit) in your focuser? At f/5, this scope delivers nice wide-field views, albeit with a little coma nothing to worry about, however. Can be upgraded to have motorized tracking, For the price, you could get a 6 Dobsonian. In This Week's Tele Vue Blog: Telescope vs. Super-Telephoto Lens for Imaging? Accurate mirror, alignment is important to ensure the peak performance of, your telescope, so it should be checked regularly. You can't. Note that, the tripod and mount have not been moved; only the telescope tube. Basically, the brighter Messier Catalog is in range for these optics.
The 130STs 650mm focal length means that even the high magnification 10mm Plossl provides only 65x. The primary advantage of an equatorial mount is that tracking the sky is much simpler than with an alt-az mounted scope/Dobsonian. As Jon said above, those adjustments above only deal with your illuminated field of view and are not critical to axial collimation. I only concerned myself with the with the clips. Edited by Vic Menard, 13 November 2019 - 05:47 PM. Unlike with more expensive scopes/mounts, the 130STs tube rings simply bolt to the EQ2 rather than using a Vixen dovetail and saddle.
When adjusting the tilt/rotation can I first look for the mirror clips and then rotate/tilt with my hand so the bulge is pointing to the right followed by tightening the allen screws? The secondary mirror itself should be centered in the focuser drawtube, in the direction parallel to the length of the telescope. The Orion SpaceProbe 130ST is one of many beginner telescopes sold on an equatorial mount, with the premise that an equatorial mount is either more advanced or capable of astrophotography. Placing a piece of white paper in the telescope tube opposite the focuser (i.e., on the other side of the secondary mirror) will also be helpful in col-limating the secondary mirror. any change in the focuser axial alignment will almost always be a tilt only adjustment! Neither is actually the case. horizontal. Who should buy the SpaceProbe 130ST? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Our team of experts has reviewed and ranked 180+ telescopes based on price and quality. Edited by Asbytec, 20 November 2019 - 05:25 AM. SpaceProbe 130ST leans more towards deep space performance. budget is a considertation but not a hard stop. If you can get a deal on a used one, by all means, go for it. Can I use this as a reference aide? Even the more critical axial alignments are easily assessed and corrected to tolerance. Do I need to move the secondary mirror to the left? I live in the suburbs so any serious observation will require travel. telescope should be moved only on the R.A. and Dec. axes. Depending on the altitude of the object you want to observe, the counterweight shaft will be oriented somewhere between, Figure 7 illustrates how the telescope will look pointed at, the four cardinal directions north, south, east, and west, The key things to remember when pointing the telescope is, that a) you only move it in R.A. and Dec., not in azimuth or, latitude (altitude), and b) the counterweight and shaft will not, always appear as it does in Figure 1.
You will be able to distinguish the Rings of Saturn, and Polar Ice Caps on Mars with some of its black stains on the surface. I used collimation software to check the results with the circular overlays. Community Forum Software by IP.BoardLicensed to: Cloudy Nights, This is not recommended for shared computers, Elongated stars in 1 direction with mount off, I found a prefect position for polemaster on wedged evolution mount. This is the tilt (only) adjustment you want to see and it can be corrected by tilting only one secondary adjustment screw inline with the focuser axis while adjusting the other two in unison turning them in the same direction by the same amount to allow the tilt. At first this seems impossible as tilt can induce some rotation, so it can or should be corrected in real time, too, or avoided all together if possible. Some are short (2 inches) and others are over 6 inches. I dont think it is, especially at the budget price range. This small error is unlikely to impact your image performance. You may need to repeat the process (tilt--rotate) to fully correct the skew error. Its not a bad telescope by any means, and it might be something you really like, but in terms of actual advantages, there simply arent any. There are a lot of other scopes you might want to consider instead of the SpaceProbe 130ST depending on what exactly your priorities are. has been moved on the R.A. and Dec. axes. Otherwise, you will be stuck with mediocre performance in this area. And which one would You recommend if the value for money does not play the main role, but is not completely neglected? It has a 1.25 rack-and-pinion focuser, which is made mostly out of plastic but works pretty well.