Orion StarBlast 4.5 Astro Telescope
by ORION

List Price: $179.95
Category: Digital Camera
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Digital product summary information

• Kids will have a blast probing the heavens with this real reflecting telescope; But this telescope isn't just for Kids - it makes a great take-along scope for camping trips!
• 18"-long tube and 4.5" mirror for exciting views of the moon's craters, the planets, and more!
• A point-and-view telescope that swivels effortlessly on its sturdy base
• Includes two eyepieces, finder scope, focuser, and FREE Starry Night astronomy software
• One-year limited warranty

Digital camera reviews of Orion StarBlast 4.5 Astro Telescope

Digital camera Review: Nice scope but don't expect NASA-photo quality viewing!
Summary: 4 Stars

Summary of Orion StarBlast 4.5 Astro Telescope

The StarBlast, a compact 4.5-inch (113-mm) f/4 Newtonian reflector, comes ready to use, with a tabletop altitude-azimuth mount, 6- and 17-mm Explorer II 1.25-inch eyepieces, an EZ-Finder II unity finder for aiming, dust caps, a collimation cap, a copy of The Sky CD-ROM planetarium program, and an instruction manual.

Like Orion's larger Dobsonian-mounted telescopes, the StarBlast mount is made from laminate-covered chipboard (just like your kitchen countertop). This may sound low-tech, but it works amazingly well. Simple Teflon-on-laminate altitude and azimuth bearings produce smooth motions in both directions. Tension on the altitude bearing can be easily adjusted by loosening or tightening a large knob, which presses against a ball-bearing collar sandwiched between two washers. The StarBlast's tube can also be easily rotated in its hinged, felt-lined metal clamp just by loosening a large thumbscrew. Rotating the tube can make viewing through the eyepiece easier, depending on the angle at which the telescope is aimed.

Since the StarBlast stands only 25 inches tall, it makes a great "grab-and-go" telescope for impromptu observation sessions. Just be sure to bring along something to get the scope up off the ground as well, since it's much too short to use alone. I prefer to use a patio table, which lets me sit while viewing.

Unlike some beginner telescopes, which come with poorly written instructions, the Orion owner's manual gives detailed information about setting up, maintaining, and using the telescope. The instrument itself pulls out of the box almost completely set up from the factory. Just attach the base of the EZ Finder II unity finder to the matching mounting screws that protrude out of the metal telescope tube, and the StarBlast is ready to go.

The telescope's mirrors are very good indeed. Showpiece objects like the Orion Nebula, the Pleiades, Double Cluster, and the Lagoon Nebula are all sharp and clear through the 17-mm Explorer II eyepiece (26x). Although the 6-mm Explorer II (75x) could resolve a few individual stars around the edges of the Hercules Globular Cluster (M13), the eyepiece's inherently short eye relief, which forces you to get very close to see the image, made viewing uncomfortable. I would have preferred if Orion charged a little more and included their 10-mm Explorer II eyepiece and a 2x Barlow lens. The 10-mm eyepiece would produce 45x alone and 90x with the Barlow. Not only would that combination magnify images a little more, it would also be easier to view through than the 6-mm eyepiece.

The StarBlast is a great telescope for young astronomers. Its compact size and light weight makes it an ideal telescope for ages 9 and above. And when I say "above," I mean the rest of us, since kids from 9 to 90 will really enjoy this little telescope. Although it is not as suitable for viewing the planets as Orion's longer focal length SkyQuest XT4.5, I have spent many enjoyable hours with my StarBlast just going back and forth between deep-sky objects and scanning the skies. --Phil Harrington, author of Star Ware and Star Watch

Pros:

• Compact design
• Excellent optics
• Sturdy mount with smooth motions

• Small size makes a table or other support necessary for viewing
• Wide field not suitable for viewing the planets
• Supplied 6-mm eyepiece not comfortable for viewing

Used Photo & Camera

• Categories > Learning & Education > Science > Telescopes