Orion AstroView 90mm Equatorial Refractor Review
For the 300$ price-tag, Orion AstroView 90mm Equatorial Refractor Telescope is an easy choice.
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- Great Optics
- Sturdy Build
- Shaky Tripod
Summary Review
When it comes to affordable, well-made, good quality telescopes Orion is a company that delivers.
The best part of a refractor model telescope is it’s sharp and clear image quality. Orion AstroView 90mm Equatorial Refractor is a high-powered, well-made refractor that comes in a low price. It is a great budget telescope for planetary observation. The Lunar surface, rings of Saturn, cloud bending of Jupiter are sharp and clear with this telescope. On a clear night, you can also see Jupiter’s all four Galilean moons.
Deep space sights are also visible from this telescope. The Orion Nebula, Andromeda Galaxy, and star clusters will be fabulous sights for you and your friends. You can also use the 10mm and 25mm Sirius Plossl Eyepiece’s for 91x and 36x magnifications. These eyepieces will let you see incredible sights of deep space and planets. You can also buy extra eyepieces since the slot is 1.25-inches. You can go up to 180x magnification with the appropriate eyepiece.
It comes with an EQ-2 aluminum adjustable tripod and equatorial slow-motion mount for keeping track of fast-moving celestial objects. The mount and tripod provide sturdy and stable observation as well as lightness. The total weight of the telescope is 36.3 lbs which makes it easy for transportation. The tripod also comes with a tray which is helpful for putting accessories like a flashlight or any other tool.
Orion includes many accessories with the telescope. A 6×30 Finder Scope is also included, which is a 6mm aperture 30mm length scope that lets you find celestial objects. With the correct alignment procedure; finding Jupiter, Saturn or the Orion Nebula is effortless.
The 90-degree diagonal mirror bends the light so that you can sit while you enjoy great views of space. It may sound like an extra piece but it will save your back from many painful nights.
Orion AstroView 90mm Equatorial Refractor comes with Starry Night -Special Edition software as well. With realistic sky simulations, you will be able to observe the sky even on cloudy days. Adding to that it includes many useful features for telescope control and observation planning.
Technical Specifications and Review
Orion AstroView 90mm Equatorial Refractor is an all-around great telescope at this price. If you are a beginner or an intermediate astronomer, it will be perfect for planetary and deep space observations. It has a 910mm(35.8 inches) optical tube and 90mm(3.5 inches) aperture. This means it lets in enough light for deep space objects like nebulas, galaxies and star clusters; as well as sharp images of planets and the spectacular Lunar surface. Rings of Saturn, cloud bending on Jupiter and its four Galilean Moon’s are also visible with sharp, high contrast images. Adding to that, Saturn’s largest moon Titan will be visible if you time your observations.
The telescope comes with two useful eyepieces. 10mm and 25mm Sirius Plossl Eyepiece’s will provide 91x and 36x magnifications. With the 10mm eyepiece, you can observe deep space and get narrower but farther images and with the 25mm eyepiece, you can get wider planetary images. Since the eyepiece slot is 1.25 inches, you get any type of eyepiece to change the magnification of the telescope. You can go as low as 13x and as high as 180x magnification. Adding to that the telescope has a 6mm aperture-30mm length Finder Scope that will make finding celestial objects much easier. With the correct alignment procedures, you will be enjoying amazing views from deep space or planets in no time. There is also a 90-degree star diagonal so that you can observe the celestial objects for long spans of time and not get any back pain.
The aluminum EQ-2 adjustable tripod is sturdy and light. It helps the telescope to be much more portable while being steady for observations. It has a mechanism implemented that allows you to follow fast-moving objects in space manually. If you wish you can enhance it with an electric motor drive and switch from manual to automatic(Drives are sold separately). The tripod is also equipped with a tray so that you can keep your necessary tools nearby.
There is even more that comes with this great telescope. Special Edition of Starry Night astronomy software provides realistic sky simulations, telescope control features and many more that will help you observe the sky even on cloudy days. It works on PCs running Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8 and Mac’s running OS X 10.4 or higher.
Drawbacks
Since the Orion AstroView 90mm Equatorial Refractor is in the 300$ range, there is not much to talk about in this part. It is a great, well-built telescope for the price. The only downside is, as impressive the aluminum tripod sounds like it may wobble at times. Especially when focusing on a specific sight. But this problem is very common and easily fixable.
Conclusion
The Orion AstroView 90mm Equatorial Refractor Telescope is a monster when it comes to budget telescopes. It is well made with quality materials, designed for precision and performance by an experienced company. It delivers perfectly in the planetary and deep space range, which makes it perfect for the intermediate and beginner astronomers. Orion didn’t disappoint on this model and it is a strong recommendation from us.