Telescopes

The Celestron 2” to 1.25” Adapter with Twist-Lock was designed for visual observers who use both 2” and 1.25” eyepieces regularly and need a quick adapter to use with the 2” barrel. 

The twist-lock eyepiece holder secures eyepieces while keeping them centered in the adapter, providing best opto-mechanical alignment between the telescope and eyepiece. Unlike traditional thumb screws, the twist-lock cannot scratch or engrave the barrel of your eyepieces. The adapter has an integrated 1.25” barrel stop that prevents 1.25” accessories with long barrels from damaging the mirror. 

All the adapter’s mechanical parts are made of machined black anodized aluminum, except the twist-lock rings, which are orange anodized for visibility.

Save Time and Money when using Eyepiece Filters

If you want to look at an object under different eyepiece magnification but keep the same eyepiece filter, thread your 2” eyepiece filters to the barrel of the adapter. Since this adapter accepts 2” filters, you can also save money by buying fewer 1.25” eyepiece filters.

Specification:

Building on the legacy of Sky-Watcher’s popular EQ8 mount, the EQ8-Rh introduces a variety of upgrades and enhancements that make observatory-class astrophotography easier than ever.

Whisper-quiet dual belt drives greatly reduce Periodic Error while providing enhanced tracking and guiding. The fully realized cable management system eliminates cable drag and makes remote set-ups ridiculously convenient.

The EQ8-Rh features an on-axis Renishaw 11.8 million tick incremental encoder on the RA axis, virtually eliminating Periodic Error during tracking and allowing for extremely precise guiding for even the most demanding astrophotographers.

Specifications: 

Stargate's feature Sky-Watcher’s exclusive fused conical parabolic mirrors. The fused design allows for thinner mirror construction that provides faster cooling and lighter weight.

Combined with the cast cellular secondary mirror and Sky-Watcher’s exclusive 94% reflectivity coatings, Stargate delivers bright, detailed views of your favorite deep sky objects. The 18 inch model captures 27% more light than our 16 inch, while the 20 inch (a full half meter of aperture) boasts a monster 56% more light gathering power.

Solid foundations, easy assembly

The minimalist all-metal structure of the Stargate produces a sturdy and stable platform while maintaining a convenient and compact footprint. The truss-tubes break down to a very manageable 36 inch length for easy transport. Azimuth and altitude bearings are steel and Teflon for smooth, steady movement.

Setting up a Stargate is a simple procedure, taking only about 20 minutes. Spring loaded truss anchor points are clearly labeled to eliminate any frustration or confusion. Adjustable feet make leveling a snap.

• Fused conical primary mirror
• Cellular secondary mirror
• Dual speed 2” Crayford focuser
• Two section truss poles (compact transport)
• Minimalist, all metal construction
• Fast f/4.1 optics for short eyepiece heights
• 18” provides 27% more light than a 16” telescope
• 94% reflectivity coatings

 Specifications:

Sky-Watcher 12" DOB: Deep-Space Hero!

The Sky-Watcher 12" DOB is a big gun. If you are shooting for well resolved, elusive 12th-magnitude fuzzies, you now have the power. In fact, a very significant wow-factor extends down to viewing the stuff people usually concentrate on with 8" and 10" telescopes. Except they say, "WOW!", when they view through this super aperture amateur 12" SW telescope. You can not only be a hero to yourself, but a mystical guru to other backyard astronomers, scout groups, friends, and neighbors. Astronomy is a great hobby to share, and a SW 12" DOB makes you potentially the hit of any star party. Well, so much for ego satisfaction—the point is—the SW 12" DOB is a serious telescope that will be purchased by a serious amateur who wants serious deep-sky penetrating resolution. Be advised this Light Chariot is one sweet astronomical ride!

Viewing through the SW 12" DOB

Everything in deep-space appears brighter, and wider in extension with the SW 12" DOB. Many of the more challenging to resolve objects in smaller diameter telescopes now reveal their essential structure. Objects just within the threshold of a 10" aperture now appear more prominent and may be worth dwelling upon for extended periods. Comet hunters will delight in the fainter magnitudes that are possible to discern in the SW 12" DOB. Here at last is a telescope within the threshold to tackle elusive deep-space gems like the Horsehead Nebula in Constellation Orion. Located in Constellation Perseus, M76, is a very faint nebula of 11th magnitude. The SW 12" will capture this baby like you want to see it. M97, a planetary nebula in Ursa Major is very faint, but as a serious amateur you will want to see it. No worries, the SW 12" DOB will fulfill your quest. M61, a spiral galaxy in Constellation Virgo, will reveal spiral arms as you would hope to see them, but you will need a SW 12" telescope to resolve them well. The list goes on, and you will delight in planning your own journey of exploration. The incremental resolving power of the SW 12" aperture is beyond just being impressive, it's within amateur astronomy's super aperture threshold where the lucky observer is able to resolve well, many, many objects that smaller telescopes just don't have the horsepower to detail satisfactorily because they can't pull in enough light. Again, Sky-Watcher's compact, collapsible optical tube design makes this super aperture 12" DOB a far more practical decision to purchase.

The 12" Sky-Watcher Establishes a New Standard in Large Aperture Ease-of-Use

Observing with a Dobsonian has been described akin to shooting ducks in a gallery because it is so easy to find your target. Just swing your SW DOB to the quadrant of sky to be searched, and scan the vicinity. An 8x50mm Right Angle optical viewfinder provides both magnification and light-gathering to help narrow your search for those elusive fuzzies when star-hopping. The standard-equipment backlash-free 2" Crayford Focuser insures ultra smooth focusing adjustments. Multi-coated, 4-element Plössl eyepieces (25mm and 10mm) provide a spacious 52° Apparent Field of View.  To ensure mechanical ease-of-use, SW uses a high performance Teflon bearing system in both axes combined with tension adjustment in altitude to facilitate setting the appropriate amount of friction, assuring smooth vertical and horizontal manual movement without free-play from small bumps or gusts of wind. This also eliminates the need to have a balanced optical tube as in an equatorial mount. Sky-Watcher's Teflon bearing system is preferable to the use of ball-bearings. Ball-bearings make unintended movement of the optical tube more difficult to control. Fortunately, at low power, deep-space objects leisurely drift through the field of the SW 12" DOB, so constant mechanical adjustment of the telescope's orientation isn't needed to keep objects in the field of view. Sky-Watcher's revolutionary truss-support concept allows the optical tube's front and back cells to collapse together, aligning on the truss support rods which can then be locked down for easy and secure telescope transport. This one piece, low-hassle OTA design is mechanically simple and results in large aperture telescopes that can be reasonably handled and transported by one individual. This innovation gives Sky-Watcher users tremendous functional ease-of-transportability.

Sky-Watcher Uses Quality Components Throughout

The Sky-Watcher 12" DOB utilizes quality components throughout. Pride of workmanship manifests itself in high quality standards of optical and mechanical fabrication. The polishing process for primary and diagonal mirror yields smooth mirror surfaces ensuring good contrast, and properly corrected optics show minimum alterations to the optical wave-front. On each primary mirror, and elliptical diagonal mirror aluminum is vacuum deposited to the front glass surface and then over coated with hard quartz (SiO4). Additional layers of Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) and (SiO4) are then applied. Dust covers are provided to help keep your DOB clean when not being used. The mechanical and structural components of the OTA exhibit rigid construction and outstanding stability. The mount construction is sturdy and rigid. Mount design, while simple, facilitates smooth motions about both axes. Quality accessories enhance the observer's viewing experience.

Specifications:

This Sky-Watcher 102mm (4") f/5 telescope is a two-element, air-spaced, fully multi-coated objective, achromatic refractor, which can give exciting "rich field" astronomical views. It can provide excellent vistas of star fields, clusters, nebulae, galaxies, planets, the Moon and (with correct filtering or by projection) the Sun. It is also a fine terrestrial telescope when mounted on an alt-azimuth mount or a photographic tripod.

Crisp images at a reasonable price make it an excellent beginner's "first telescope", or a great travelling telescope for a more advanced observer. Similar to the popular 80mm f/5 refractor, this larger aperture model has more light collecting power at the same focal ratio and accepts 2" diagonals for awesome wide field views, while only a small amount of chromatic aberration and weight.

Weighing about 3kg. (6.5lbs.) the optical tube assembly is readily carried and with a compressed length of approximately 50cm (21.7") it is easily transported. Being a refractor, it is quick and easy to set up and the low- maintenance, enclosed optics come fully collimated from the factory.

The optical tube assembly comes with "tube mounting rings". These hinge open to allow easy installation of the optical tube and the locks can be loosened during use to allow tube rotation and balancing. Mounting the telescope on an alt-azimuth or an equatorial mount is quick and simple with the appropriate mounting plate. This telescope also performs well as a fixed aperture, 510mm lens for both terrestrial and astrophotography.

The "fast" f/5 focal ratio, combined with today's high-speed films, is excellent for capturing lunar and solar eclipses as well as for nature photographs. A solid, equatorial mount and a method of guiding are required for longer exposure astrophotography. A T-mount thread on the eyepiece holder allows direct attachment of an appropriate T-adapter and the optional extension tube gives closer focusing for terrestrial photography.

• 102mm achromatic refractor
• 500mm (f/4.9)
• Manual alt-az mount (AZ3)
• Accessory tray
• Fine motion control knobs
• Adjustable aluminum tripod
• 25mm and 10mm 1.25" Super eyepieces
• 1.25" erect 45 degree image diagonal
• 2" Rack and Pinion focuser
• 2" to 1.25" adapter
• Red dot finder