Orion AstroView 100mm (3.9") Achromatic Refractor

Optical Specifications
--Type - Refractor
--Diameter (Mirror or Lens) 100mm (3.9")
--Light Grasp - 12.2 sq. in.
--Focal Length - 600mm
--F Ratio - f/6.0

Magnification
--(w/ included eyepieces) 24x, 60x
--Highest theoretical magnification 236x

Accessories
--Eyepieces Sirius Plössl 25.0mm, 10.0mm with caps
--Finder Scope - 6x30 (Achromatic) with caps
--Focuser 2" (metal) Rack-and-pinion with cap
--Diagonal - 90° Mirror Star with caps
--Eyepiece Tray - Solid (no holes) Black
--Camera Screw - Mounted on forward O-ring

Other included items
--Collimation tool, Polar alignment scope
--End cap for Polar alignment scope included
--Lens cover with aperture mask

Other Features
--Adjustable lens cell

Physical Parameters
--Tripod - Adjustable Aluminum
--Weight - Assembled 29 lbs. 0 oz.
--Tube Length - 24.5 in.

I love this 'scope. I use it mainly for rich-field viewing. For planetary viewing however, false color is horrendous! Using the aperture mask (that comes built in to the front lens cover) virtually eliminates the achromatic aberration: "purple haze" or "fringing". The 'scope itself is very solid as well as the mount. The slow-motion controls are smooth and the lock-down levers are still firm after many, many nights of use during it's lifetime. It can manually track objects without much apparent shaking up to about 120x.

It comes with a focusable 6 x 30 finderscope with caps for both ends. The focuser drawtube is metal but is a little stiff. Over time, it has become a slightly loose but nothing serious. The focuser itself will accept a 2" diagonal but the 'scope is only supplied with 1.25" plastic body diagonal. Two eyepieces come with the telescope: a 25mm and a 10mm, both Sirius Possl's and both have caps. The cradle rings have 1/4 -20 pre-drilled holes for mounting a piggy-back 'scope and it comes ready with a camera adapter.

The mount has been very reliable. It does have fine tuning altitude and azimuth adjustment controls as well as a "bubble" level. Although the Polar alignment 'scope is not illuminated, it does come with cross-hairs. I've had no problems aligning the 'scope for short-exposure astrophotography. I also have Orion's EQ-3 single-axis tracking motor. Attaching the motor is very easy: it uses two different sized allen wrenches that are supplied with the motor.

Wide, Open-Clusters look very, very nice. As far as Planetary Nebula go, it can pick out The Ring in Lyra, The Eskimo in Gemini & Cat's Eye Nebula in Draco even from serious light-polluted skies of Las Vegas. The larger galaxies look nice from dark skies. From my backyard in Vegas the only galaxies I've been able to detect are Andromeda, Bode's and the Cigar. The 'scope will resolve individual stars in the larger globulars when at or near zenith. I'm sure it could see all the Messier Objects from dark skies.

Other objects I've been able to see in this telescope are the Veil in Cygnus and the Rosette in Monoceros. That surprised me. I was not using a filter of any kind although I had very dark skies at Grand Canyon, Arizona. From semi-dark skies with a 30mm 2" Radian EP and with a nebula filter, this 'scope has shown me the brighter portions of the North American Nebula. It can also cleanly split the "Double-Double" in Lyra.

I've been very happy with this inexpensive 'scope. It's downside would be the false coloring on planetary viewing. However, the end-cap comes with a built-in aperture mask: this nifty "tool" takes away almost all of the achromatic aberration when viewing the planets and bright stars. This 'scope is very easy to set up and can be moved around without having to disassemble the unit as a whole.

I paid about $350 for it at the Clearance Section at Orion. It came via UPS to my door 3 days after I ordered in on-line with no missing or damaged items.

HERE IS ORION'S QUOTE FROM THEIR WEBSITE:

"This Refractor Hits the Sweet Spot for Versatility -

- Without a doubt this telescope is designed for someone serious about quality! With its 100mm (3.9") fully multi-coated objective lens and baffled optical tube, you get uncompromising bright, high-contrast images. Plus, its fast focal length of 600mm (f/6) means you can use this scope for both deep-sky and planet observing. The telescope package comes complete with our newly designed EQ equatorial mount with dual slow motion controls for manual sky tracking, and a polar scope for aligning the right ascension axis on the celestial pole. The adjustable aluminum tripod is braced with a high-wall tray to keep your accessories securely in their place. It can also easily mount to a standard camera tripod for terrestrial viewing. Includes a 2" rack and pinion focuser with 1.25" star diagonal, and two 1.25" Sirius Plössl eyepieces."