At last it’s arrived. This large 8″ Orion telescope is like seeing a Dobsonian with drive system and tripod. For all you people out there who have e-mailed me asking if they can add a drive or if they can attach a camera to a Dob, well here it is. And you are going to love this Orion telescope as much as I do.

As you see by the image above, this is a very attractive scope, metallic gunmetal gray, along with a heavy duty tripod with 2″ diameter stainless steel tubular legs. You know this will cause a stir at star parties.

Planetary viewing is excellent, I viewed Mars under clear sky and could see the polar caps and the dark areas which are valley and mountains. I also viewed Saturn with the Cassini division clearly visible and the shadow cast by the rings on the face of Saturn, there was a great amount of detail in Jupiter’s 4 cloud bands. Also if you’re viewing at the right time you can see the great red spot. Both planetary and lunar views are crisp, clear, and well defined.

Deep sky viewing is also a treat with this Orion telescope. I viewed the Ring Nebula which had good detail, M51, M81, M82, M104. You can view an array of celestial objects that will keep you very busy. This is such an easy to operate 8″ Orion telescope and would be a scope to own.

If you have an interest in astrophotography you will be very pleased with this Orion telescope, you can buy an Astro-photo package for $285 and you’re all set. The way it has been set-up will save anyone who is interested in photography a small fortune.

Product Description

• Orion telescope aperture – 8″
• f/5 diffraction-limited parabolic optics
• 2″ focuser designed for easy collimation (with 1.25″ adapter)
• Rolled steel tube is finished in metallic gunmetal gray enamel
• Mount has a built-in polar-alignment scope and dual electronic drives
• External pushbutton hand controller offering slewing speeds of 2x, 8x, and 16x sidereal rate
• Heavy-duty Atlas equatorial mount with 2″ diameter stainless steel tubular legs
• Astrophoto Guidescope Package $285.

Recommendation

Orion has put together an excellent package with their new 8″ Atlas Orion telescope. I would highly recommend this Orion telescope to anyone who wants value for money along with excellent viewing.