Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope
by Orion
Our Price: $349.99
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Digital Camera
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Customers in the UK,
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: OrionProduct features:
- A large aperture Classic Dobsonian reflector telescope at a very affordable price!
- 8" diameter reflector optics lets you view the Moon and planets in close up detail, and has enough light grasp to pull in pleasing views of faint nebulas, galaxies and star clusters
- A perfect Dobsonian telescope that can last a lifetime for the beginning astronomy enthusiast or whole family
- The ultra-stable Dobsonian base keeps the reflector optical tube perfectly balanced for point-and-view ease of use
- Includes a 2" Crayford focuser that accepts 1.25" and 2" telescope eyepieces, a 25mm Sirius Plossl eyepiece, an EZ Finder II reflex sight, collimation cap, Starry Night software, and more!
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope
Customer Review: Great Beginning to Intermediate Telescope!
Summary: 5 Stars
The Orion XT8 Classic is a great telescope at a wonderful price for new telescope users or those upgrading from a small, very inexpensive telescope to something more capable.
Setup: The XT8 sets up easily and the instructions provided by Orion are not difficult to follow. Basically, you are assembling the Dobsonian base, which isn't hard to do. If you can bake a cake using a recipe from a book, this won't be hard. :-) The tools provided are all that are necessary to do so, but a power drill with a screwdriver and hex bit make quicker work of the assembly.
Collimating: You most likely will need to collimate your scope, since the primary and secondary mirrors were likely pushed out of alignment during shipping. The instructions provided are all you need to do this along with the collimation cap. A laser collimator (optional equipment) is even better, but not needed for most folks. Take your time collimating by moving one screw on the primary or secondary mirror at a time and observing the results and you shouldn't have any problems. Moving more than one screw at a time can make your work harder, as it can become difficult to isolate which screw and mirror you need to adjust. Again, if you can follow written directions well, this shouldn't be hard. :-)
Finding Things to See: If you have a decent knowledge of the sky, a no-frills reflector Dobsonian (like the XT8) is great for you. If you need a bit of help finding things to see, consider getting an electronic aid to find the objects you want to see. A lot of great applications for smart phones or tablet PCs allow you to do this by simply holding your phone/tablet to the sky and revealing the names of stars, objects, and constellations. I use Star Walk (among others) on my iPhone and iPad for this with great ease. If you want to find things very, very easily, then consider upgrading to an intelliscope or go-to scope, which does the work for you for a bit more money. The Dobsonian base can be a little tricky to maneuver to find what you want to see at first, but with a little practice you'll get the hang of it.
Eyepieces: The XT8 comes with a 25 mm Plössl lens, which is a decent lens that gives you 48-power magnification with this scope. This okay, but you'll definitely want other eyepieces since there are better ones out there. Strongly consider getting 2-3 eyepieces (in the 10-32 mm range) and a 2-3 power Barlow lens, which would give you a set of power options for viewing. I'm using Tele Vue eyepieces and Barlows, which are a little higher quality than most of Orion's offerings, but if you're new to the hobby you'll likely have fun and not notice much difference with sub-$100 eyepieces and Barlows from most companies. :-)
Overall: This is a great buy from Orion, giving you a scope that pulls down a lot of light at a modest price. I would definitely recommend this to those interested in getting into the hobby. :-)
Description of Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope
A powerful and capable telescope, the Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian is one of our most popular reflectors due to its elegant combination of precision optics, mechanical simplicity, and rock-solid stability. You and your whole family will appreciate the bright, clear views of the night sky provided by the XT8 Classic. The Moon and planets of our solar system like Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars shine brightly in the SkyQuest XT8 Classic, allowing you to inspect them in detail. The XT8's 8-inch aperture is also large enough to gather a significant amount of light from more distant celestial objects for great views of sparkling star clusters, cloudy nebulas, and faraway galaxies. The XT8 Classic Dob is a tremendous value considering the high quality views it provides on such a wide variety of celestial objects. The point-and-view simplicity of the Dobsonian design is not as complicated as an equatorial (EQ) mount and tripod, so with a little practice, your whole family can scan the heavens just like experienced hobbyists. For any astronomer seeking serious adventure, the XT8 Classic Dob has it all!Telescopes
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