Do you want painless, quick access to the universe? Our editors suggest these nimble telescopes. One is “digital”; the other is “analog.” Take your pick:
Credit: by Karl Tate, Infographics artist
Editors‘ Choice:
Celestron COSMOS 90GT Wi-Fi
- Refractor / AltAz Tripod / Go-To
- Most innovative, future-proofand “digital”
Celestron recently found a very clever way to give you much more telescope for your money. But you need to be comfortable with digital devices.
Credit: Celestron
Most “Go-To” scopes have a microprocessor onboard with many lines of dedicated software code and a special-purpose keypad, cabled to the mount. The Celestron COSMOS90GT does away with all that stuff, because you already own it! Yes, that Apple or Android smartphone or tablet makes a perfectly excellent telescope controller. All you need to do is download Celestron’s free COSMOSNavigator app from the App Store or Google Play, and then pair it with the telescope via Wi-Fi. You won’t need access to a network; the 90GT is a network.
We love refractors for spying on neighboring planets. Optically, this 3.5-inch (90 mm) spyglass does not disappoint. The lens coatings do a very fair job of contrast improvement. With a focal ratio of 10.1, it is not especially “fast.” But if you have clear, dark skies, you won’t need more speed unless you get into serious astrophotography.
Like all refractors, the COSMOS90GT suffers from a bit of chromatic aberration; you’ll see a ring of color spectrum around bright objects as the shorter indigo and blue wavelengths are bent more (by the lens glass) than the longer red wavelengths. To keep the price squarely in the first-time-buyer range, Celestron did not go to the much more expensive ED (extra-low-dispersion) glass and harder-to-cast lens architecture needed to reduce this colorful artifact. But if you’re new to the hobby, we doubt this will bother you much.
The aluminum tripod scared us a bit. It’s softer than steel and could easily get bent. Worse, the legs have a rectangular cross-section. If they take a serious dent, or get twisted, or become warped (all quite possible), they will not smoothly slide to their collapsed position.
We do love the accessory tray, though. Not only does it serve as a spreader to lock the tripod in position, but the tray has a sweet rubber-coated hump designed to rest your phone or small tablet at a viewable, but nonslip and fall, angle. Smart! Of course, it also holds your eyepieces.
In summary: It feels altogether wizard-y the first time you touch your phone’s screen and the long, thin telescope slews to a celestial sight. You’re going to enjoy this!
Also Look At:
Orion StarBlast 6 or StarBlast 6i “IntelliScope”
- Reflector/ AltAz Rocket-Box
- Simplest to use; gobbles big gulps of photons
For some people, the definition of “easy” does not include a screen, a keypad, icons or apps. If that is you, you are right: The universe is analog, not digital. So why not put your money into bigger, better optics to capture more starlight rather than cutesy gimmickry to find it?
Credit: Orion Telescopes and Binoculars
You want the largest light bucket you can get for your dollar. Orion Telescopes produces several models at various sizes and prices. Try the $339.99 StarBlast 6 Dobsonian reflector . You’ll get nearly 6 inches (15 cm) of aperture on a tabletopturntable, rocker-arm mount and a pair of 1.25-inch eyepieces. The telescope is very easy to setup, and you’ll be observing very quickly — pure analog, just as inventor John Dobson intended.
Unlike a few of its larger siblings, this Orion pops out of its shipping box fully assembled. Everything “just works,” from the nonbinding PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) bearings letting the scope swivel and rock easily, to the smooth focuser. Like all Newtonian refractors, you will someday need to collimate the optical path by adjusting the mirror, but it’s not hard to do.
With a noncomputerized instrument like this, you are more likely to have extra discovery moments: There’s nothing quite like the thrill of manually slewing a telescope across the sky when something catches your eye. Your brain sets off a little fire of neurons, pleading with you to stop, look around and key in on it; perhaps a galaxy or nebula you weren’t looking for. At that moment, you join a brotherhood/sisterhood of astronomers stretching back through Hubble and Herschel and Galileo and on down into prehistoric times.
To assist your observation planning — or even just to help you get familiar with the cosmic real estate up there — Orion includes Starry Night astronomy software. (Full disclosure: This author helped to create the Starry Night product.)
If you really want some extra targeting assistance, step up to the StarBlast 6i “IntelliScope” ($499.99). The “i” in StarBlast 6i stands for “IntelliScope.” It’s not a Go-To (that’s very hard to do on a Dobsonian) but rather a Push-To. A small electronics pack keeps track of the telescope’s altitude and azimuth and, once aligned, tells you when you’re closer to, or farther from, your intended objective. [Watch this video explaining the Orion StarBlast 6i IntelliScope, and read our full review .]
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