Orion 130ST EQ SpaceProbe User Manual

Orion 130ST EQ SpaceProbe User Manual

Overview

Congratulations on your purchase of a quality Orion telescope. Your new SpaceProbe 130ST EQ is designed for high-resolution viewing of astronomical objects. With its precision optics and equatorial mount, you’ll be able to locate and enjoy hundreds of fascinating celestial denizens, including the planets, the Moon, and a variety of deep-sky galaxies, nebulas, and star clusters. If you have never owned a telescope before, we would like to welcome you to amateur astronomy. Take some time to familiarize yourself with the night sky. Learn to recognize the patterns of stars in the major constellations. With a little practice, a little patience, and a reasonably dark sky away from city lights, you’ll find your telescope to be a never-ending source of wonder, exploration, and relaxation. These instructions will help you set up, properly use and care for your telescope. Please read them over thoroughly before getting started.

Unpacking

The entire telescope system will arrive in one box. Be careful unpacking the box. We recommend keeping the original shipping container. In the event that the telescope needs to be shipped to another location, or returned to Orion for warranty repair, having the proper shipping container will help ensure that your telescope will survive the journey intact. Make sure all the parts in the Parts List are present. Be sure to check the boxes carefully, as some parts are small. If anything appears to be missing or broken, immediately call Orion Customer Support (800-676-1343) for assistance.

Assembly

Assembling the telescope for the first time should take about 30 minutes. No tools are needed other than the ones provided. All screws should be tightened securely to eliminate flexing and wobbling, but be careful not to over-tighten or the threads may strip. During the assembly process. During assembly (and anytime, for that matter), DO NOT touch the surfaces of the telescope mirrors or the lenses of the finder scopes or eyepieces with your fingers. The optical surfaces have delicate coatings on them that can easily be damaged if touched inappropriately. NEVER remove any lens assembly from its housing for any reason, or the product warranty and return policy will be voided.

Main Points

1. Lay the equatorial mount on its side. Attach the tripod legs one at a time to the mount by sliding the screws installed in the tops of the tripod legs into the slots at the base of the mount and tightening the wing nuts finger-tight. Note that the accessory tray bracket attachment point on each leg should face inward.
2. Tighten the leg lock knobs on the bottom braces of the tripod legs. For now, keep the legs at their shortest (fully retracted) length; you can extend them to a more desirable length later after the telescope is completely assembled.
3. Attach the two tube rings to the equatorial head using the hex head screws that come installed in the bottom of the
   rings. First, remove the screws, then push the screws, with the washers still attached, up through the holes in the tube ring mounting plate (on the top of the equatorial mount) and rethread them into the bottom of the tube rings. Tighten the screws securely with the smaller wrench. Open the tube rings by first loosening the knurled ring clamps. One of the tube rings has a piggyback camera adapter on top (the knurled black ring); it can be used to mount a camera for “piggyback” astrophotography.

Getting Started

Balancing the Telescope To ensure smooth movement of the telescope on both axes of the equatorial mount, it is imperative that the optical tube be properly balanced. We will first balance the telescope with respect to the R.A. axis, then the Dec. axis.

1. Keeping one hand on the telescope optical tube, loosen the R.A. lock knob. Make sure the Dec. lock knob is locked, for now. The telescope should now be able to rotate freely about the R.A. axis. Rotate it until the counterweight shaft is parallel to the ground (i.e., horizontal).
2. Retighten the counterweight lock knob. The telescope is now balanced on the R.A. axis.
3. To balance the telescope on the Dec. axis, first tighten the R.A. lock knob, with the counterweight shaft still in the horizontal position.
4. With one hand on the telescope optical tube, loosen the Dec. lock knob. The telescope should now be able to rotate
   
   Proper operation of the equatorial mount requires that the telescope tube be balanced on both the R.A. and Dec. axes. (a) With the R.A. lock knob released, slide the counterweight along the counterweight shaft until it just counterbalances the tube. (b) When you let go with both hands, the tube should not drift up or down. (c) With the Dec. lock knob released, loosen the tube ring lock clamps a few turns and slide the telescope forward or back in the tube rings. (d) When the tube is balanced about the Dec. axis, it will not move when you let go. freely about the Dec. axis. Loosen the tube ring clamps a few turns until you can slide the telescope tube forward and back inside the rings (this can be aided by using a slight twisting motion on the optical tube while you push or pull on it.

Focusing the Telescope

With the 25mm Sirius Plössl eyepiece in the focuser, move the telescope so the front (open) end is pointing in the general direction of an object at least 1/4 mile away. Now, with your fingers, slowly rotate one of the focusing knobs until the object comes into sharp focus. Go a little bit beyond sharp focus until the image just starts to blur again, then reverse the rotation of the knob, just to make sure you’ve hit the exact focus point. If you have trouble focusing, rotate the focus knob so the drawtube is in as far as it will go. Now look through the eyepiece while slowly rotating the focus knob in the opposite direction. You should soon see the point at which focus is reached.

Do You Wear Eyeglasses?
If you wear eyeglasses, you may be able to keep them on while you observe, if your eyepieces have enough “eye relief” to allow you to see the whole field of view. You can try this by looking through the eyepiece first with your glasses on and then with them off, and see if the glasses restrict the view to only a portion of the full field. If they do, you can easily observe with your glasses off by just refocusing the telescope the needed amount.

Aligning the Finder Scope

The finder scope must be aligned accurately with the telescope for proper use. To align it, aim the main telescope in the general direction of an object at least 1/4 mile away, such as the top of a telephone pole, a chimney, etc. Do this by first loosening the R.A. and Dec. lock knobs. Position the telescope so the object appears in the eyepiece’s field of view and then retighten the R.A. and Dec. lock knobs. Use the slow-motion control cables to center the object in the eyepiece. Now, look in the finder scope. Is the object visible? Ideally, it will be somewhere in the finder’s field of view. If it is not, some coarse adjustments of the two black nylon finder scope alignment thumb screws will be needed to get the finder scope roughly parallel to the main tube.

The view through a standard finder scope and reflector telescope is upside down. This is true for the SpaceProbe 130ST and its finder scope as well. By loosening or tightening the alignment thumb screws, you change the line of sight of the finder scope. Continue making adjustments to the alignment of thumb screws until the image in both the finder scope and the telescope’s eyepiece is exactly centered.

Check the alignment by moving the telescope to another object and fixing the finder scope’s crosshairs on the exact point you want to look at. Then look through the telescope’s eyepiece to see if that point is centered in the field of view. If it is, the job is done. If not, make the necessary adjustments until the two images match up. The finder scope alignment needs to be checked before every observing session. This can easily be done at night, before viewing through the telescope.

Focusing the Finder Scope

If, when looking through the finder scope, the images appear somewhat out of focus, you will need to refocus the finder scope for your eyes. Loosen the lock ring located behind the-

To find Polaris in the night sky, look north and find the Big Dipper. Extend an imaginary line from the two “Pointer Stars” in the bowl of the Big Dipper. Go about five times the distance between those stars and you’ll reach Polaris, which lies within 1° of the north celestial pole (NCP).

-objective lens cell on the body of the finder scope Back the lock ring off by a few turns, for now. Refocus the finder scope on a distant object by threading the objective lens cell in or out on the finder scope body. Precise focusing will be achieved by focusing the finder scope on a bright star. Once the image appears sharp, retighten the lock ring behind the objective lens cell. The finder scope’s focus should not need to be adjusted again.

Setting Up and Using the Equatorial Mount

When you look at the night sky, you no doubt have noticed that the stars appear to move slowly from east to west over time. That apparent motion is caused by the Earth’s rotation (from west to east). An equatorial mount (Figure 2) is designed to compensate for that motion, allowing you to easily “track” the movement of astronomical objects, thereby keeping them from drifting out of the telescope’s field of view while you’re observing. This is accomplished by slowly rotating the telescope on its right ascension (R.A.) axis, using only the R.A. slow-motion cable. But first, the R.A. axis of the mount must be aligned with the Earth’s rotational (polar) axis — a process called polar alignment.

Polar Alignment

For Northern Hemisphere observers, approximate polar alignment is achieved by pointing the mount’s R.A. axis at the North Star, or Polaris. It lies within 1° of the north celestial pole (NCP), which is an extension of the Earth’s rotational axis out into space. Stars in the Northern Hemisphere appear to revolve around the NCP. To find Polaris in the sky, look north and locate the pattern of the Big Dipper. The two stars at the end of the “bowl” of the Big Dipper point right to Polaris. Observers in the Southern Hemisphere aren’t so fortunate to have a bright star so near the South celestial pole (SCP).

The star Sigma Octantis lies about 1° from the SCP, but it is barely visible with the naked eye (magnitude 5.5). For general visual observation, an approximate polar alignment is sufficient.

1. Level the equatorial mount by adjusting the length of the three tripod legs.
2. Loosen the latitude lock T-bolt. Turn the latitude adjustment T-bolt and tilt the mount until the pointer on the latitude scale is set at the latitude of your observing site. If you don’t know your latitude, consult a geographical atlas to find it. For example, if your latitude is 35° North, set the pointer to 35. Then retighten the latitude lock T-bolt. The latitude setting should not have to be adjusted again unless you move to a different viewing location some distance away.
3. Loosen the Dec. lock knob and rotate the telescope optical tube until it is parallel with the R.A. The pointer on the Dec. setting circle should read 90°. Retighten the Dec. lock lever.

Use of the R.A. and Dec. Slow-Motion Control Cables

The R.A. and Dec. slow-motion control cables allow fine adjustment of the telescope’s position to center objects within the field of view. Before you can use the cables, you must manually “slew” the mount to point the telescope in the vicinity of the desired target. Do this by loosening the R.A. and Dec. lock knobs and moving the telescope about the mount’s R.A. and Dec. axes. Once the telescope is pointed somewhere close to the object to be viewed, retighten the mount’s R.A. and Dec. lock knobs. The object should now be visible somewhere in the telescope’s finder scope.

If it isn’t, use the slow-motion controls to scan the surrounding area of the sky. When the object is visible in the finder scope, use the slow-motion controls to center it. Now, look in the telescope with a long focal length (low magnification) eyepiece. If the finder scope is properly aligned, the object should be visible somewhere in the field of view. Once the object is visible in the telescope’s eyepiece, use the slow-motion controls to center it in the field of view. You can now switch to a higher magnification eyepiece if you wish. After switching eyepieces, you can use the slow-motion control cables to re-center the image, if necessary.

Tracking Celestial Objects

When you observe a celestial object through the telescope, you’ll see it drift slowly across the field of view. To keep it in the field, if your equatorial mount is polar aligned, just turn the R.A. slow-motion control cable. The Dec. slow-motion control cable is not needed for tracking. Objects will appear to move faster at higher magnifications because the field of view is narrower.

Optional Motor Drives for Automatic Tracking
An optional DC motor drive can be mounted on the R.A. axis of the equatorial mount to provide hands-free tracking. Objects will then remain stationary in the field of view without any manual adjustment of the R.A. slow-motion control cable.

Calibrating the Right Ascension Setting Circle

1. Identify a bright star near the celestial equator (Dec. = 0°) and look up its coordinates in a star atlas.
2. Loosen the R.A. and Dec. lock knobs on the equatorial mount, so the telescope optical tube can move freely.
3. Point the telescope at the bright star near the celestial equator whose coordinates you know. Lock the R.A. and Dec. lock knobs. Center the star in the telescope’s field of view with the slow-motion control cables.
4. Loosen the R.A. setting circle lock thumb screw located just above the R.A. setting circle pointer; this will allow the setting circle to rotate freely. Rotate the setting circle until the pointer indicates the R.A. coordinate listed in the star atlas for the object. Retighten the thumb screw.

Collimating the Optics (Aligning the Mirrors)

Collimating is the process of adjusting the mirrors so they are aligned with one another. Your telescope’s optics were aligned at the factory, and should not need much adjustment unless the telescope is handled roughly. Accurate mirror alignment is important to ensure the peak performance of your telescope,

This illustration shows the telescope pointed in four cardinal directions: (a) north, (b) south, (c) east, and (d) west. Note that the tripod and mount have not been moved; only the telescope tube has been moved on the R.A. and Dec. axes.

so it should be checked regularly. Collimating is relatively easy to do and can be done in daylight. To check collimation, remove the eyepiece and look down the focuser drawtube. You should see the secondary mirror centered in the drawtube, as well as the reflection of the primary mirror centered in the secondary mirror, and the reflection of the secondary mirror (and your eye) centered in the reflection of the primary mirror. If anything is off-center, proceed with the following collimating procedure.

The Collimation Cap and Mirror

Center Mark Your SpaceProbe 130ST EQ comes with a collimation cap. This is a simple cap that fits on the focuser drawtube like a dust cap, but has a hole in the center and a silver bottom. This helps center your eye so that collimating is easy to perform.

. Collimating the optics. (a) When the mirrors are properly aligned, the view down the focuser drawtube should look like this (b) With the collimation cap in place, if the optics are out of alignment, the view might look something like this. (c) Here, the secondary mirror is centered under the focuser, but it needs to be adjusted (tilted) so that the entire primary mirror is visible. (d) The secondary mirror is correctly aligned, but the primary mirror still needs adjustment. When the primary mirror is correctly aligned, the “dot” will be centered, as in (e).

In addition to providing the collimation cap, you’ll notice a tiny ring (sticker) in the exact center of the primary mirror. This “center mark” allows you to achieve very precise collimation of the primary mirror; you don’t have to guess where the center of the mirror is. You simply adjust the mirror position (described below) until the reflection of the hole in the collimation cap is centered inside the ring.

Aligning the Primary Mirror

The final adjustment is made to the primary mirror. It will need adjustment if the secondary mirror is centered under the focuser and the reflection of the primary mirror is centered in the secondary mirror, but the small reflection of the secondary mirror (with the “dot” of the collimation cap) is off-center. To access the primary mirror collimation screws, remove the cover plate on the rear end of the optical by unthreading the three Phillips-head screws with a screwdriver. The tilt of the mirror is adjusted with three pairs of collimation screws. The collimation screws can be turned with a Phillips head screwdriver and a 2.5mm Allen wrench.

When you have the dot centered as much as possible in the ring, your primary mirror is collimated. The view through the collimation cap should resemble. Make sure all the collimation screws are tight (but do not overtighten), to secure the mirror tilt. A simple star test will tell you whether the optics are accurately collimated.

The back end of the optical tube (bottom of the primary mirror cell). The three pairs of set screws and Phillips-head screws adjust the tilt of the primary mirror.

Using Your Telescope— Astronomical Observing

Choosing an Observing Site
When selecting a location for observation, get as far away as possible from direct artificial light such as street lights, porch lights, and automobile headlights. The glare from these lights will greatly impair your dark-adapted night vision. Set up on a grass or dirt surface, not asphalt, because asphalt radiates more heat. Heat disturbs the surrounding air and degrades the images seen through the telescope. Avoid viewing over rooftops and chimneys, as they often have warm air currents rising from them.

Similarly, avoid observing from indoors through an open (or closed) window, because the temperature difference between the indoor and outdoor air will cause image blurring and distortion. If at all possible, escape the light-polluted city sky and head for darker country skies. You’ll be amazed at how many more stars and deep-sky objects are visible in a dark sky!

“Seeing” and Transparency
Atmospheric conditions vary significantly from night to night. “Seeing” refers to the steadiness of the Earth’s atmosphere at a given time. In conditions of poor seeing, atmospheric turbulence causes objects viewed through the telescope to “boil”. If, when you look up at the sky with just your eyes, the stars are twinkling noticeably, the seeing is bad and you will be limited to viewing with low powers (bad seeing affects images at high powers more severely). Planetary observation may also be poor. In conditions of good seeing, star twinkling is minimal and images appear steady in the eyepiece. Seeing is the best overhead, worst at the horizon. Also, seeing generally gets better after midnight, when much of the heat absorbed by the Earth during the day has radiated off into space.

Cooling the Telescope

All optical instruments need time to reach “thermal equilibrium”. The bigger the instrument and the larger the temperature change, the more time is needed. Allow at least 30 minutes for your telescope to cool to the temperature outdoors. In very cold climates (below freezing), it is essential to store the telescope as cold as possible. If it has to adjust to more than a 40° temperature change, allow at least one hour.

Let Your Eyes Dark-Adapt
Don’t expect to go from a lighted house into the darkness of the outdoors at night and immediately see faint nebulas, galaxies, and star clusters—or even very many stars, for that matter. Your eyes take about 30 minutes to reach perhaps 80% of their full dark-adapted sensitivity. As your eyes become dark-adapted, more stars will glimmer into view and you’ll be able to see fainter details in objects you view in your telescope. To see what you’re doing in the darkness, use a red-filtered flashlight rather than a white light. Red light does not spoil your eyes’ dark adaptation like white light does. A flashlight with a red LED light is ideal, or you can cover the front of a regular incandescent flashlight with red cellophane or paper. Beware, too, that nearby porch and streetlights and car headlights will ruin your night vision.

Objects to Observe

Now that you are all set up and ready to go, one critical decision must be made: what to look at?

The Planets
The planets don’t stay put like the stars, so to find them you should refer to Sky Calendar at our website, www.telescope.com, or to charts published monthly in Astronomy, Sky & Telescope, or other astronomy magazines. Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are the brightest objects in the sky after the Sun and the Moon. Your SpaceProbe 130ST EQ is capable of showing you these planets in some detail. Other planets may be visible but will likely appear star-like. Because planets are quite small in apparent size, optional higher-power eyepieces are recommended and often needed for detailed observations. Not all the planets are generally visible at any one time.

JUPITER
The largest planet, Jupiter, is a great subject for observation. You can see the disk of the giant planet and watch the ever-changing positions of its four largest moons— Io, Callisto, Europa, and Ganymede. Higher-power eyepieces should bring out the cloud bands on the planet’s disk.

SATURN
The ringed planet is a breathtaking sight when it is well-positioned. The tilt angle of the rings varies over a period of many years; sometimes they are seen edge-on, while at other times they are broadside and look like giant “ears” on each side of Saturn’s disk. A steady atmosphere (good seeing) is necessary for a good view. You will probably see a bright “star” close by, which is Saturn’s brightest moon, Titan.

The Moon

With its rocky surface, the Moon is one of the easiest and most interesting targets to view with your telescope. Lunar craters, Marias, and even mountain ranges can all be clearly seen from a distance of 238,000 miles away! With its everchanging phases, you’ll get a new view of the Moon every night. The best time to observe our one and only natural satellite is during a partial phase, that is when the Moon is NOT full. During partial phases, shadows are cast on the surface, which reveal more detail, especially right along the border between the dark and light portions of the disk (called the “terminator”).

A full Moon is too bright and devoid of surface shadows to yield a pleasing view. Make sure to observe the Moon when it is well above the horizon to get the sharpest images. Use an optional Moon filter to dim the Moon when it is very bright. It simply threads onto the bottom of the eyepieces (you must first remove the eyepiece from the focuser to attach a filter). You’ll find that the Moon filter improves viewing comfort, and also helps to bring out subtle features on the lunar surface.

VENUS

At its brightest, Venus is the most luminous object in the sky, excluding the Sun and the Moon. It is so bright that sometimes it is visible to the naked eye during full daylight! Ironically, Venus appears as a thin crescent, not a full disk, when at its peak brightness. Because it is so close to the Sun, it never wanders too far from the morning or evening horizon. No surface markings can be seen on Venus, which is always shrouded in dense clouds.

MARS
The Red Planet makes its closest approach to Earth every two years. During close approaches, you’ll see a red disk and may be able to see the polar ice cap. To see surface detail on Mars, you will need a high-power eyepiece and very steady air!

The Sun

You can change your nighttime telescope into a daytime Sun viewer by installing an optional full-aperture solar filter over the front opening of the SpaceProbe 130ST EQ. The primary attraction is sunspots, which change shape, appearance, and location daily. Sunspots are directly related to magnetic activity in the Sun. Many observers like to make drawings of sunspots to monitor how the Sun is changing from day to day.

Important Note:
Do not look at the Sun with any optical instrument without a professionally made solar filter, or permanent eye damage could result. Leave the cover caps on the finder scope, or, better yet, remove the finder scope from the telescope when solar viewing.

The Stars
Stars will appear like twinkling points of light. Even powerful telescopes cannot magnify stars to appear as more than a point of light. You can, however, enjoy the different colors of the stars and locate many pretty double and multiple stars. The famous “Double-Double” in the constellation Lyra and the gorgeous two-color double star Albireo in Cygnus are favorites. Defocusing a star slightly can help bring out its color.

Deep-Sky Objects

Under dark skies, you can observe a wealth of fascinating deep-sky objects, including gaseous nebulas, open and globular star clusters, and a variety of different types of galaxies. Most deep-sky objects are very faint, so it is important that you find an observing site well away from light pollution. Take plenty of time to let your eyes adjust to the darkness.

Do not expect these subjects to appear like the photographs you see in books and magazines; most will look like dim gray smudges. Our eyes are not sensitive enough to see color in deep-sky objects except in a few of the brightest ones. But as you become more experienced and your observing skills get sharper, you will be able to ferret out more and more subtle details and structure. How to Find Deep-S.

How to Find Deep-Sky Objects: Star Hopping

Star hopping, as it is called by astronomers, is perhaps the simplest way to hunt down deep-sky objects to view in the night sky. It entails first pointing the telescope at a bright star close to the object you wish to observe, and then progressing to other stars closer and closer to the object until it is in the field of view of the eyepiece. It is a very intuitive technique that has been employed for hundreds of years by professional and amateur astronomers alike. Keep in mind, as with any new task, that star hopping may seem challenging at first but will become easier over time and with practice.

Now, look at your star chart and find the brightest star in the constellation that is near the object you are trying to find. Using the finder scope, point the telescope at this star and center it on the crosshairs. Next, look again at the star chart and find another suitably bright star near the bright star currently centered in the finder. Keep in mind that the field of view of the finder scope is about 7°, so you should choose another star that is no more than 7° from the first star, if possible. Move the telescope slightly, until the telescope is centered on the new star. Continue using stars as guideposts in this way until you are at the approximate position of the object you are trying to find

Look in the telescope’s eyepiece, and the object should be somewhere within the field of view. If it’s not, sweep the telescope carefully around the immediate vicinity until the object is found.

Care and Maintenance

If you give your telescope reasonable care, it will last a lifetime. Store it in a clean, dry, dust-free place, safe from rapid changes in temperature and humidity. Do not store the telescope outdoors, although storage in a garage or shed is OK. Small components like eyepieces and other accessories should be kept in a protective box or storage case.

Keep the caps on the front of the telescope and on the focuser drawtube when it is not in use. Your SpaceProbe 130ST EQ telescope requires very little mechanical maintenance. The optical tube is steel and has a smooth painted finish that is fairly scratch-resistant. If a scratch does appear on the tube, it will not harm the telescope. If you wish, you may apply some auto touch-up paint to the scratch. Smudges on the tube can be wiped off with a soft cloth and a household cleaner.

Cleaning Lenses
Any quality optical lens cleaning tissue and optical lens cleaning fluid specifically designed for multi-coated optics can be used to clean the exposed lenses of your eyepieces or finder scope. Never use regular glass cleaner or cleaning fluid designed for eyeglasses. Before cleaning with fluid and tissue, however, blow any loose particles off the lens with a blower bulb or compressed air. Then apply some cleaning fluid to a tissue, never directly on the optics. Wipe the lens gently in a circular motion, then remove any excess fluid with fresh lens tissue. Oily fingerprints and smudges may be removed using this method. Use caution; rubbing too hard may scratch the lens. On larger lenses, clean only a small area at a time, using fresh lens tissue on each area. Never reuse tissues.

Cleaning Mirrors

You should not have to clean your telescope’s mirrors very often; normally once every year or so. Covering your telescope when it is not in use will prevent dust from accumulating on the mirrors. Improper cleaning can scratch mirror coatings, so the fewer times you have to clean the mirrors, the better. Small specks of dust or flecks of paint have virtually no effect on the visual performance of the telescope. The large primary mirror and the elliptical secondary mirror of your telescope are front-surface aluminized and over-coated with hard silicon dioxide, which prevents the aluminum from oxidizing.

These coatings normally last through many, many years of use before requiring re-coating (which is easily done). To clean the secondary mirror, remove the mirror in its holder from the 4-vaned spider in the tube. Do this by grasping the secondary mirror holder with your fingertips while turning the central bolt on the spider’s central hub counterclockwise. Handle the mirror holder only; do not touch the mirror surface. Then follow the same procedure described below for cleaning the primary mirror. The secondary mirror is glued into its holder, and should not be removed from the holder for cleaning.

To clean the primary mirror, carefully remove the mirror cell from the telescope. Do this by first removing the four screws that connect the mirror cell to the tube. These screws are located on the outside of the tube, just above the mirror cell casting. Next, remove the primary mirror from the mirror cell.

Specifications

• Optical tube: Steel
• Primary mirror diameter: 130mm
• Primary mirror coating: Aluminum with silicon dioxide (SiO2) overcoat
• Primary mirror figure: Parabolic
• Secondary mirror minor axis: 37mm
• Focal length: 650mm
• Focal ratio: f/5
• Focuser: Rack and pinion, accepts 1.25” eyepieces
• Eyepieces: 25mm and 10mm Sirius Plössl, fully coated with multi-coatings, 1.25″
• Magnification: 26x (with 25mm), 65x (with 10mm)
• Finder scope: 6x magnification, 30mm aperture, achromatic, crosshairs
• Mount: German-type equatorial
• Tripod: Aluminum
• Motor drives: Optional
• Weight: 28.4lbs. (tube 6.9lbs., mount 21.5lbs.)

One-Year Limited Warranty

This Orion product is warranted against defects in materials or workmanship for a period of one year from the date of purchase. This warranty is for the benefit of the original retail purchaser only. During this warranty period, Orion Telescopes & Binoculars will repair or replace, at Orion’s option, any warranted instrument that proves to be defective, provided it is returned postage paid. Proof of purchase (such as a copy of the original receipt) is required. It is not intended to remove or restrict your other legal rights under applicable local consumer law; your state or national statutory consumer rights governing the sale of consumer goods remain fully applicable. For further warranty information, please visit www.OrionTelescopes.com/warranty.

REFERENCE LINK

https://www.telescope.com/Orion-SpaceProbe-130ST-Equatorial-Reflector-Telescope/p/9007.uts