With the SkyWatcher 102/500 Lens Binoculars, you'll find what you're looking for if you want a telescope that's good for daytime scanning of the surrounding landscape in addition to night sky photography. The light weight of the instrument makes it easy to carry, making it a first-rate hiking telescope.
With a lens diameter of 10 cm, it collects 62% more light than its 8 cm counterpart and has a higher resolution. It is recommended for astronomical observations up to a magnification of about 120x. A bright (f/5) telescope, its large field of view and considerable objective diameter reveal a wealth of sparkling open or globular star clusters and conspicuous galaxies. On your first night you'll see more of the wonders of the night sky than Galileo ever did in his lifetime!
Thanks to its 2" (50.8 mm) focuser, it can also be used with a 2" zenith mirror. A 1.25" narrowing adapter is included in the basic package. With wide-angle eyepieces, you can achieve a huge field of view - 8x larger than the telescope - making it even more spectacular and enjoyable to observe large clusters and nebulae. The telescope can also be used as a telephoto lens for SLR cameras.
The telescope tube is available in two versions: complete package or without accessories. The complete package includes 25 mm and 10 mm Super Barium eyepieces, which give magnifications of 20x and 50x. For even higher magnifications, a good solution is to purchase a 2x Barlow lens. Also included in the basic package is a 6x30 finder scope for easier target alignment. For the version marked AZ, the tube is sold without accessories, the prism rail is attached to the tube in the recommended position for "half-arm" azimuth mounts. (For other mounts, the finder scope may be placed on the bottom, which may be inconvenient in some cases.)
The telescope will not let you get bored during the day! It is excellent for viewing the surrounding landscape even at twilight. The standard zenith mirror gives a straight-on image, but with right-left orientation reversed. Optional amici prism gives a side-view image. When used as a spotting scope, we recommend a 8-24 mm zoom eyepiece covering a magnification range of 20x-62x.
The tube price does not include a tripod!
