Orion SpaceProbe 3 Altazimuth Reflector Telescope
by Orion

Our Price: $99.99
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Digital Camera
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Digital Photo Product Details

• A fantastic beginner telescope that's lightweight.
• 76mm aperture reflector telescope is large enough for wonderful views of the Moon.
• The included EZ Finder II makes finding celestial objects a breeze.
• Includes two 1.25" telescope eyepieces, EZ Finder II reflex sight, smooth rack and pinion focuser.

Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Orion SpaceProbe 3 Altazimuth Reflector Telescope

Customer Review: First Telescope since i was a kid and on a budget.
Summary: 5 Stars

Description of Orion SpaceProbe 3 Altazimuth Reflector Telescope

The Spaceprobe 3 comes with an unusually complete set of accessories. The package includes two very good Explorer II eyepieces (25mm and 10mm), an adjustable altazimuth tripod, a good red-dot finder, a student edition of "The Sky" planetarium program, and a well written manual. The package even includes the tools you'll need to assemble the telescope and align the optics.

The Spaceprobe 3 is a Newtonian reflector. That means it uses mirrors instead of lenses. Newtonians are primarily used for astronomy because the images are upside-down. Orion includes a collimation tool and good directions for aligning the mirrors. The reward for aligning the mirrors is seen in images that snap into sharp focus. My Spaceprobe 3 arrived properly aligned right out of the box.

With its Explorer II eyepieces, this telescope consistently delivers fine views. Using the 25mm eyepiece (28x magnification) the Pleiades cluster is simply wonderful, showing dozens of stars. From a rural location with a dark sky, the Orion Nebula is a big ghostly glow, and when I zoom in with the 10mm eyepiece, the Trapezium resolves into four tiny pinpoints. The double star Gamma Andromeda becomes two beads of light, one gold, the other one pale blue. Moon and planet images are crisp, with none of the false color I see in low cost refractors. When I look at the Moon I see mountains and terraced walls inside the larger craters. With the 10mm eyepiece (about 70x), Saturn's rings are sharply separated from the planet, and I can even pick out the planet's shadow on the rings.

The Altazimuth mount included with this telescope is light and easy to use; it may be the best choice for a young astronomer. If you want motorized tracking of the stars and planets, Orion's Spaceprobe 3 EQ is available with an equatorial mount, and Celestron sells essentially the same optical system with the computerized NexStar 76GT. ?Jeff Phillips

Pros:

• Best in class optical performance
• Two good Explorer II eyepieces
• Complete accessory package

• Small 76mm aperture
• Upside-down terrestrial images