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Orion SkyQuest XT4.5 Classic Dobsonian Telescope
See it at Amazon.com for $219.95Average Customer Rating
(5.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First | + Share13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
Great telescope for kids and adults
(5 out of 5) by John Pabst Jr. on Oct 4, 2006We received the SkyQuest XT 4.5 about two weeks ago and we absolutely love it. My six year old daughter and I opened the two boxes, put it together, and within 15 minutes we were out in front of our house looking at the moon, start clusters, the moons and cloud bands of Jupiter, and the Andromeda Galaxy. It is big enough to see all of these things from a big city yet it is small enough to easily fit in a closet.
If you are looking for a light weight scope you can pull out of the closet on a whim, big enough to see the items mentioned above, and easy enough for a kid to use, this is the one.
If you are looking for a light weight scope you can pull out of the closet on a whim, big enough to see the items mentioned above, and easy enough for a kid to use, this is the one.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
A great start
(5 out of 5) by Richard C. Haring on Aug 9, 2007 (u.s.a.)I am new to astronomy, and this was my first telescope. It was easy to assembly, and I have been enjoying it very much. I can now see the 4 moons of Jupiter, and the rings around Saturn, and to view the moon is totally awesome. This is a great beginner scope at a reasonable price!
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
nice, small telescope
(4 out of 5) by shopper1 on Aug 12, 2008 (Arlington, VA USA)Well, first of all, I think most of these "reviews" are fake. I don't like that at all.
This is a fine, small telescope which can show you planets like Jupiter and Saturn. It gives very faint views of messier objects, like open clusters. You need good eyes to see those.
When it arrived in the mail, I was baffled by all the parts, which didn't look like the parts in the pictures. A skilled carpenter assembled it for me, and he had to use several tools, which I wouldn't have known how to use. So, assembly is complicated.
I now use the telescope every night. I have been looking at the Double Cluster in Perseus recently. The weight is good and makes it very moveable. I am considering getting a larger scope in this series, because the 4.5 inch mirror is small.
UPDATE: After a year...
This telescope has been a very good purchase, especially given the price. Under good viewing conditions (new moon, very clear skies), I have had my first view of a bunch of Messier objects, including M81 and M82 (those are galaxies). First view of the planet Mercury when it popped up above the horizon for a view nights. I cataloged them in a notebook to keep track. Under the best viewing conditions I've seen beautiful open clusters in Auriga, and lots of stuff in Sagitarius.
Under less good viewing conditions (big moon, fog), I've only seen planets.
This is a fine, small telescope which can show you planets like Jupiter and Saturn. It gives very faint views of messier objects, like open clusters. You need good eyes to see those.
When it arrived in the mail, I was baffled by all the parts, which didn't look like the parts in the pictures. A skilled carpenter assembled it for me, and he had to use several tools, which I wouldn't have known how to use. So, assembly is complicated.
I now use the telescope every night. I have been looking at the Double Cluster in Perseus recently. The weight is good and makes it very moveable. I am considering getting a larger scope in this series, because the 4.5 inch mirror is small.
UPDATE: After a year...
This telescope has been a very good purchase, especially given the price. Under good viewing conditions (new moon, very clear skies), I have had my first view of a bunch of Messier objects, including M81 and M82 (those are galaxies). First view of the planet Mercury when it popped up above the horizon for a view nights. I cataloged them in a notebook to keep track. Under the best viewing conditions I've seen beautiful open clusters in Auriga, and lots of stuff in Sagitarius.
Under less good viewing conditions (big moon, fog), I've only seen planets.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Fantastic telescope!
(5 out of 5) by Timothy M. Goodwin on Sep 27, 2007 (Cranford, NJ)Performs as advertised, easy to assemble and use, great price, a great start for someone new to backyard astronomy.
Wonderful First Telescope
(5 out of 5) by Kyla Everhate on Nov 19, 2009 (Michigan USA)This is our first telescope and I did a lot of agonizing research before purchasing it. We have little kids interested in space and wanted something to use with them. For the price I don't think we could have gotten anything better. We love looking at the moon and have seen Jupiter along with some of it's moons. It's the biggest telescope that people thought was still easy enough to haul around and I'm going to have to agree there. I am glad we didn't go with the larger ones for that reason. The software that comes with the telescope is really great too, my children like it almost as much as the telescope and it makes locating things much easier than using a star chart in my opinion. If you want to look at the moon you really need to buy a filter to go with the telescope as it's too bright to comfortably view without one.