Orion Skyquest Telescope ~ Make Memories With Your Family Tonight

Sure your kids learn about the universe and all that it includes in school. But think about what it would mean to surprize them with a Orion SkyQuest Telescope for Christmas. Instead of looking at pictures in books or even online, they will be viewing the actual thing. Is there any better than that to help them learn?

Kids are never to young to wonder about what lies beyond our world. It is so facinating to see and so much fun to share. If you are lucky enough to be able to experience viewing the night sky right form you backyard, that is perfect. You'll find your kids wanting their friends to stay over to share the experience with them too.

By J. Jackson "Poca122919" (NJ)

I bought this for my boyfriend for his birthday and he loves it!!! The assembly only took about 45mins and he was able to see several planets/stars very clearly. I would definitely recommend this telescope to anyone that is looking for a 'starter' telescope.




By R. Kirkham "jrkirkham" (Rushville, Illinois USA)

If you look at my review for the XT6 I gave that instrument 5 stars but cautioned readers not to buy it. At that time I said that, given a chance, I might jump up to an XT8. I got the chance, and I grabbed it. Here is what I learned.

The 6 has a slightly longer focal length. This means that if your main purpose for viewing is to see object within our solar system, i.e. planets, moon, etc. It won't make much difference which scope you purchase. the 6" is cheaper and lighter. Solar system objects are bright and look good at about 200X, which either scope can deliver on a good night and neither can deliver on a bad night.

But I don't look mainly at solar system objects. I like to look at deep sky objects, like nebula, galaxies, double stars, etc. For these, the more aperture, the better. 8" is notably more aperture than 6". It is true that the 8" weighs more than the 6. I am 52 years old. I can lug either around my yard, but I added a cart for the 8". My yard is nearly an acre and I would rather pull it around than carry it. In my earlier review I said that I might keep my XT6 as a travel scope. That wasn't necessary. The 8" is easy take apart, place in its bag, and carry to other locations. The bag is necessary for travel. I did keep my 6". I began teaching seminars and now have 5 scopes. I regularly use reflectors, refractors, composites, EQ mounts, alt./az. mounts, and dobsonians. The XT8 is my favorite. I think I'll keep this one for awhile.

I've tried the goto scopes. They are handy, but given the choice of spending my money on electronics or aperture, I'll go with the aperture. I have some scopes with EQ mounts. Given the choice of spending my money on a fancy mount or aperture, I'll take aperture and the simple dobsonian mount. EQ mounts are only necessary for photography. This scope is about as big as an inexpensive portable scope gets and about as small as a serious visual scope gets. It is a great beginning and intermediate scope.




By P. Fowler "Backyard Telescope User" (Phoenix, AZ USA)

Just bought this as a gift for my high-school sophomore daughter. I spent a lot of time comparison shopping on-line. Ordered it via Amazon, and it arrived in just a few days. Two boxes. Took me a bit longer to set it up than others who have posted here, but screwing together the base pieces was fairly easy, and then mounting the tube to the base was a snap. I like the handle, as it makes it more portable, although it is still bulky and I am still working on the best method for carrying it outdoors each night for our family sky-watching. Anyway, I REALLY like it so far. We bought the 3x Barlow lens too. We started using it during the new moon phase, and Saturn was out. Very cool to see Saturn's rings so clearly. Then last night we used it to look at the half-moon, and all I can say is...WOW! I felt like I was orbiting the moon and looking down from 60 miles. You can see shadows of individual craters, and the clarity is amazing. Very crisp image. The 3x Barlow really enhances the view, and really magnifies well.

I also like the way you can rotate and pitch the tube. I didn't want to buy a 'scope with a tri-pod because of the extra weight and I didn't want to pay for the tri-pod. The base that comes with the xt8 is basic, but very functional. I think it works well, and I think it will be easy to carry it in our minivan out to the high country where the light pollution is reduced. So far we are very happy with this purchase.

Don't be afraid to take your new Orion SkyQuest Telescope along on a camping trip or on vacation. Exploring the stars is a great relaxing experience that is a great way to spend your free time.

Plan a trip around the perfect place to use your telescope. Surprize your famiy with a vacation planned around a great place for them to use their new telescope. This will be one present that will not be used once and tossed aside. It will bring your many, many nights of special time creating memories with your family.