The Meade Telescope DS-2070AT is better suited for a child but not for the serious astronomer. I have spent several nights viewing under clear dark sky. I first viewed the planets which were very small and because of this the detail in Saturn and Jupiter were hard to make out. You could just see 2 cloud bands on Jupiter. And the Cassini division in Saturn’s rings was not visible.

The Moon on the other hand was excellent with a great amount of detail. You can view the many craters, mountains, and valleys.

Please note – if you live in an area where there is light pollution you will have problems viewing with this Meade telescope, to get the most out of this scope it is recommended that you view under clear dark sky

The tripod that comes with this Meade telescope is a joke. It is flimsy and will shake each time the telescope slews to a new object. You will need to buy a much better tripod if you ever want the Autostar to work effectively. If you cannot afford a new tripod, please read my tips and tricks to fix this problem on the meade telescope reviews for the DS-2114 and DS-2130.

To help you understand what it is you will see through a Meade telescope or any other scope, please go to my page on Telescope Misconceptions. There you can find images taken of the planets and star clusters using different size aperture telescopes. It gives you an almost exact example of what objects will actually look like through a telescope.

 Product Description

•  Aperture – 70 mm (2.8″) Achromatic Refractor
• Meade telescope 700mm; f/10
• 2-element Achromatic (color-corrected) objective lens
• 5×24 viewfinder
• Eyepieces – MA 9mm, MA 25mm
• Meade telescope Motor Drive System
• Limiting Visual Magnitude 11.3
• 9-speed Slow-Motion Controls electric on both axes
• Autostar Control System included; 9-speed
• Aluminum tripod
• Included astronomy software on CD-ROM

Recommendation

I would recommend this Meade telescope for children but not for the serious amateur. You would be far too limited in the amount of objects you can view. If you’re looking to buy the new DS, I would highly recommend either the DS-2114 or the DS-2130 Meade telescope.