This Meade telescope is good value for money. It has “Go To” with 4 speeds. But, you will need to buy a decent tripod because as usual Meade keeps churning out these flimsy tripods which are ok if you are viewing in your backyard, but are useless for field work.

Tip, if you can’t afford a decent tripod with a computer controlled telescope, put rubber tips on the end of each leg, this will help greatly in cutting down vibrations. To stabilize a flimsy tripod, hang weights (bag filled with sand) underneath the telescope from the center of the tripod to weigh it down, this will help stop the vibrations of movement which are very noticeable when viewing on high magnification.

This Meade telescope has very good optics, views of the planets and some of the brighter objects in the milky Way are surprisingly good. Hardly any false color was noticed, and the views of the planets were sharp and crisp and with good detail. For example, when viewing Saturn I could see the Cassini division in the rings and the shadow they cast on the planet.

With Jupiter you will see three cloud bands and the great red spot if you are viewing under clear dark sky. Jupiter’s four moons are clearly visible as bright points of light. To know exactly what you can and cannot see through telescopes, I have put together an assortment of photographs for you, using different size aperture telescopes. Read my page Telescopes – Myths and Misconceptions

With the addition of Autostar, this Meade telescope is a lot of fun to use. Had they been around when I started in astronomy, I would have been first in line for one. Alignment is extremely important if you ever want Autostar to find anything.

I recommend you use two stars for the most precise alignment rather than the one star alignment. If you have taken care with the important task of alignment, the Autostar will “go to” whatever you choose about 95% of the time.

There is a lot of plastic on this Meade telescope and I hate plastic, but for the price and ease of use, you could forget about the plastic. Cool down time is also not too bad. But when you can afford it, you will want to buy a good tripod, the tripods that come with this meade telescope are useless, it’s like trying to balance a telescope on match sticks!!

 Product Description

•  Meade telescope aperture 90mm
• f/11.1 Achromatic Refractor
• Eyepieces 25mm, 9mm
• 6×30 Viewfinder

Recommendation

The DS 90EC Meade telescope is good value for money and I have no hesitation in recommending it. Vanns and Telescopes.com have the full range of the DS 90EC Meade telescope and other Meade