orion starblast 4.5 astro reflector telescope uk

It doesn’t “filter out” light pollution but rather increases contrast on nebulae, making them appear brighter against the background and bringing out subtle detail. Lastly, one other accessory you might want to pick up is Orion’s UltraBlock UHC filter. You could add in additional eyepieces in the 9–15 mm range to further extend your magnification options, but a good high-power eyepiece and a good 24-26mm eyepiece for the maximum possible field of view is all you probably need with the StarBlast. A 25mm Agena Starguider, while expensive, will deliver sharper stars at the edges and extend the field out to about 3.3 degrees.

The Sky-Watcher Heritage 130P features a bit more light gathering and resolution ability compared to the StarBlast 4.5 Astro while also being easier to collimate at f/5, and just as compact as the StarBlast thanks to its collapsible tube.Ī 6mm “gold-line” or “red-line” eyepiece (75x) would be ideal for augmenting your eyepiece collection for the StarBlast 4.5 Astro at the high-power end, and a 2x Barlow lens will allow you to double the power to 150x, which is about the limit of what the StarBlast can handle.įor low power, a 25mm Plossl provides 18x and a 3-degree field of view.

The Sky-Watcher Heritage 150P offers considerably more light gathering and resolving power than the StarBlast 4.5 Astro and is easier to collimate at its f/5 focal ratio, while the collapsible tube helps minimize volume when the scope is not in use.

Alternative Recommendationsīesides the Zhumell Z114, which is essentially the same telescope apart from including slightly different eyepieces, there are a few other scopes you might want to consider in lieu of the Orion StarBlast 4.5 Astro if you’re on a tight budget or looking to get a larger instrument.

Sticking the scope on top of a bar stool or car hood also works in a pinch, or you could make a custom stand/tripod for it pretty cheaply. A Rubbermaid bin or similar will also work as a stand, but it will hamper the scope’s portability. However, you’ll need a milk crate and a chair to comfortably use it. While not a true “Dobsonian” due to the single-sided bearing, which doesn’t use any Teflon pads, the tabletop mount of the StarBlast is lightweight, compact, easy to aim, and extremely cheap to construct. The StarBlast 4.5 Astro was a pioneering scope for introducing the tabletop Dobsonian mount to the world. A 13% transmission “Moon filter” is also included this silly piece of glass does nothing but slightly blur and pointlessly dim your view of the Moon, which, while dazzling, cannot actually harm your eyes, even in a very large telescope. They work well, though you really need a short focal length eyepiece of 6mm or below to get reasonably good planetary views out of the StarBlast’s short 450 mm focal length, and a wide-angle eyepiece in the 25mm range will give you a wider and slightly sharper view than the stock 20mm does.Īs with most beginner scopes, the StarBlast 4.5 Astro is provided with a red dot finder for aiming-more than adequate given its ultra-wide field of view. The StarBlast 4.5 Astro includes two eyepieces: 20mm (23x) and 10mm (45x) oculars, seemingly of some variant of the Kellner or Plossl design. For mounting it on a full-sized equatorial or alt-azimuth mount, you’ll need a pair of tube rings and a dovetail plate. The StarBlast attaches to its mount with a simple clamping tube ring, allowing you to slide the tube back and forth and rotate it.

The focuser is a standard 1.25” rack-and-pinion unit. It does need collimating, but that’s an easy task.

And of course, it’s no contest when it comes to deep-sky objects. While primarily a wide-field instrument, the StarBlast performs pretty well on the Moon and planets, much better than the 60-90mm refractors often cited as good beginner scopes.

Orion starblast 4.5 astro reflector telescope uk