DOBSONIAN TELESCOPES
Our most popular scope.  The Dobsonian reflector telescope is a relatively recent design that places all the performance of the Newtonian reflector design on a simple mount. Our Dobsonian is great for beginners because it's very easy to use and quite economical, yet has advanced features even an experienced observer will appreciate.  These are the same scopes we use every night in our hands-on area.  Thousands of people get their first hands-on experience at the Observatory with this scope.

Our staff replaces the primitive spotting scope that comes with this instrument  with the fantastic Telrad shown to the left.  This device projects a red bull's eye on the sky when you site through it.  It makes all the difference in your ability to find objects.

We like the 8" Dobsonian so much because anyone from a six years old on up can use it.  To set it up, you simply plop it down on it's rotating base.  To point it, you just grab the end of the scope and yank.  The scope rotates and tilts in a natural way.  There are no knobs and levers to mess with.

This scope is very bright and powerful.  It's brighter than any other scope on this page.  You can easily track down deep sky objects like galaxies, nebulas, star clusters, etc.

There are, however, three disadvantages to this scope:

First, it has no motor drive so as the earth rotates, you have to keep the target in the eyepiece manually.  Not a big deal if you're star hopping from place to place but it is a pain if you plan to keep one object in the eyepiece for long periods of time.

The second disadvantage is, because there's no motor drive, you can't really use a camera with this scope.  The images will blur as the earth rotates.

The third disadvantage is this scope's size.  It weights 42 lbs and stands over four feet tall.  It comes apart only at the base-tube junction.  It's not the scope for someone who wants to pack it into a suitcase.

Member price including expert setup:
8" Dobsonian includes Telrad and a Plossl eyepiece. $410.00 plus shipping
With Computer Starfinder system: $504.00

To order or get more information call 866-598-4406 

COMPUTERIZED SCOPES
The NexStar ushers in a whole new generation of computer automated technology.  Simple and friendly to use, the NexStar is up and running after locating just two alignment stars.  It’s the perfect combination of power and portability.  If you are new to astronomy, you may wish to start off by using the NexStar's built-in Sky Tour feature, which commands the NexStar to find the most interesting objects in the sky and automatically slews to each one.  Or if you are an experienced amateur, you will appreciate the comprehensive database of over 18,000 objects, including customized lists of all the best deep-sky objects, bright double stars and variable stars. No matter what level you are starting out at, the NexStar will unfold for you and your friends all the wonders of the Universe.
 
The NexStar has altazimuth operation (no need to polar align). Even if you can't find the location of two bright alignment stars,  NexStar will find them for you.  Just enter the date, time and your location, and the NexStar will align itself to the necessary stars.

With the NexStar's ergonomically designed hand control, the user is free to remove the hand control from the fork arm for remote use or leave it mounted for hands-free operation.  With a touch of a button you can select the object catalog, change the slew speed, view fascinating information about an object, or simply know if a desired object is visible in the sky.

The hand control includes a built-in RS-232 communication port allowing you to control the NexStar from a computer and use popular astronomy software (like The Sky®) for point-and-click slewing ability.

Mounted on a sturdy metal base, the NexStar sits securely on any flat surface and has three rubber gripping feet for vibration suppression and traction.   The 8" NextStar weighs under 35 lbs., the 5" is under 18 lbs so the NexStar is extremely portable and can be mounted onto the NexStar Tripod for use in the field.

The NexStar‚s deluxe features combine with Celestron‚s legendary Schmidt-Cassegrain optical system to give amateur astronomers one of the most sophisticated and easy to use telescopes available on the market today.

There are a few disadvantages to this scope, however:

First, like all Schmidt-Cassegrain scopes, the image in this scope will not be bright as the Dobsonian above.

Second, this really isn't the telescope for kids.  For most kids, they LIKE being able to move the telescope around on their own and showing things to their parents.  The automatic nature of this scope takes a lot of the fun out of it for them.

Third, the NextStar 5" scope isn't really big enough to see many deep space objects.  It's great for planets and bright objects, however.  It can also do nice work with a camera mounted to it.

The NextStar is a marvel of technology.  It's great for people who don't want to spend a lot of time learning how to find things in the sky or who need to portability.

Member Prices:
5" NextStar with tripod and eyepiece $995 plus shipping.
 
8" NextStar with tripod and eyepiece $1,379 plus shipping.
 
11" NextStar GPS with tripod eyepiece $3,200 plus shipping.

To order or find out more call 866-598-4406 

ACCESSORIES
Telescopes are able to make use of different eyepieces to increase or decrease the magnification of the image.  Different size objects and viewing conditions require different eyepieces.


The lower the focal length (measured in mm), the higher the magnification.  With that higher magnification, though, comes a smaller view of the sky and more susceptibility to every vibration and touch.  The image also becomes dimmer as the magnification increases.  It's therefore harder to find things in a short focal length (high magnification) lens.


A good general purpose lens is around 25mm-32mm.  Everyone should own one of these, preferably a Plossl or better.  While the NextStar ships with high-quality 40mm Plössl lens, the other scopes on this page do not include Plossls. The basic lenses that are included with the scopes are indeed pretty basic.  You may well want to step up to a higher quality lens to increase your viewing pleasure.

We carry eyepieces at every price point. Contact our staff or click here for a more complete list of accessories. If you are in Sunriver, stop the Observatory when our evening programs are going on to try out different eyepieces.