Skywatcher HERITAGE-100P Tabletop Parabolic Dobsonian Telescope

Product Information

With a fast f/4 focal ratio, precise collimation of the 100P is absolutely vital for achieving optimal performance with any reflector telescope. Regrettably, as with the Star Discovery 150P and some of the other 100mm and 114mm tabletop Dobsonians, Sky-Watcher has chosen not to incorporate this essential feature, resulting in the primary mirror being housed within a fixed, non-collimatable cell that it is more or less permanently glued to. The Skyliner 300P isn’t for everyone. It’s a big telescope that requires a large vehicle to transport, and you’ll need to be in fairly good shape to easily lift and carry the 17kg base and 21kg tube around. However, the views through a telescope this size are amazing, especially if you’re fortunate enough to get it away from city lights. With 4 times the light gathering ability of a 6” telescope and 2 times the light gathering of an 8”, you’ll be able to view thousands of interesting targets under good conditions. A decent pair of eyepieces are provided to get you started, though you’ll be sure to want more.

Elsewhere in the sky, we had to look at M13, the northern hemisphere’s showcase globular: the wide-field view offered by the 25mm eyepiece was pleasant, but the increased magnification offered by the 10mm eyepiece plus Barlow lens allowed us to see a sprinkling of stars.Eyepiece– This is an optical device that goes into the focuser or diagonal. The optical tube gathers light but it is the eyepiece that provides the magnification. Eyepieces come in various focal lengths, each providing a different magnification according to the focal length of the optical tube according to the formula Focal Length Optical Tube / Focal Length Eyepiece = Magnification. Therefore a 10 mm eyepiece will provide different magnification depending on the focal length of the telescope. Eyepieces are standardized on 1.25” and 2” diameters. Which size you can use is determined by the focuser and diagonal.

The Heritage 130P’s 5.1” aperture is enough to show a lot of the brighter deep-sky objects, such as the Andromeda Galaxy, Orion Nebula, Ring Nebula, Dumbbell Nebula, and various globular clusters. The scope’s wide field of view also makes it great at showing open clusters such as M11 and M35, and asterisms like the Coathanger. A red-dot finder is a reasonable choice for a telescope of this size as it is simple to use and quite lightweight.However, it felt as if it was in the way when using the focuser, and when the telescope was pointed vertically it was not easy to look up through the finder. Eyepieces

SkyWatcher Classic 150P Dobsonian Telescope

Neptune is little more than a fuzzy bluish “star” with the Heritage 150P, but you can see its moon Triton without too much trouble; it’s a full magnitude brighter than Uranus’ moons. Pluto is just barely visible with the Heritage 150P at a similar brightness to the brighter moons of Uranus, but it is hidden among a field of thousands of similarly-dim stars in the constellation of Sagittarius for the foreseeable future and will require careful searching and observations spaced at least a few days apart to be sure. You can also see bright asteroids like Ceres and Vesta fairly easily with the Heritage 150P, though they will be little more than grey or yellowish points of light, far too small to actually resolve. Designed for convenient use on a tabletop, it is also equipped with a 3/8" standard tripod bush, so it can be used with a suitable photo tripod. With 130mm of aperture, you can start to see details in the brighter galaxies under dark skies, and watch shadow transits of Jupiter’s moons. You’ll also be able to begin resolving the brighter globular clusters into individual stars and see details on Mars when it is close to Earth. The compact Heritage-100P is a lightweight and convenient grab-and-go scope. With its quality 100mm f/4 parabolic optics, it can be used to view the Moon and bright planets and also has enough light gathering for the observation of star clusters, bright galaxies and nebulae. A 3/8" thread located on the base allows it also to used on a suitable field tripod. Supplied with gift box.

You may also want to make a custom stand and a shroud for the Heritage 150P to maximize its usefulness. What can you see with Skywatcher Heritage 150P? Lastly, the Heritage 150P’s focuser is probably the weakest link in the whole telescope. It is of the simplest helical design – just a threaded tube that screws in and out of a corresponding receptacle, both of which are plastic. For eyepieces like the ones included with the 150P this is fine, but the helical focuser is not really capable of holding anything heavy such as a nice ultra-wide-angle eyepiece or Barlow lens.

As the name suggests, the SkyLiner 200 P Parabolic Sky Watcher is among one of the best models for star gazers and deep sky astronomers. You’re going to need a lot of light grasp to see fainter and more distant objects; and that’s exactly what this Dobsonian telescope offers. Thanks to their larger aperture, a parabolic mirror is ideal for some serious deep sky peeking. The wooden, single arm altaz mount gave good free movement in azimuth.Altitude axis movement is smooth in use, and tension can be adjusted by a chunky knob at the side.The telescope is attached to the mount with a Vixen-style bar and can be removed if needed. Focuser Well, compared to all the other Dobson telescopes we’ve looked at, I can confidently say that what the Skywatcher HERITAGE-100P Tabletop Parabolic Dobsonian Telescope does best is saving you money. Even without looking though the eyepiece, it’s clear that this here model is the cheapest one on the list. If you’re just starting out your stargazing journey and are wondering which telescope will best suit your needs, then look no further than the SkyLiner 200 P Parabolic Sky Watcher. Not only is this telescope among the most affordable Dobsonians out there, but its ease of assembly and use make it a favourite among beginner stargazers. Most scopes of the same class wouldn’t be able to get anywhere near the power range; but with this beauty, the universe is indeed your oyster.

The biggest advantage of a Dobsonian is value for money. You get more aperture (the most important feature of a telescope) for your money than with any other type of telescope. Thanks to their generally large apertures, Dobsonian telescopes provide great views of stars and other deep sky objects. SynScan App Database: Total 10,000+ Objects. Deep Sky Objects: 10759, including Messier, NGC, IC, Caldwell Catalogues, Named DSOs, Named Stars: 305, Double Stars: 55, Solar system objects: 7 planets, Sun, Moon. (Unlimited objects when working with a 3rd party planetarium software).The Heritage 150P uses a tabletop “Dobsonian” mount—technically not a true Dobsonian but rather a one-armed fork design, with the tube pivoting up and down on a plastic pad and ball bearing and swivelling like any other Dobsonian using three small Teflon pads on the laminated base. The tube attaches to the mount with a Vixen-style dovetail rail and clamp, and can be slid along the clamp for optimal balance. There’s also a built-in handle. You can adjust the friction of the altitude axis by tightening a large knob, while adjusting the friction in azimuth requires a pair of pliers or wrenches. Lastly, a narrowband Ultra High Contrast (UHC)/ OIII nebula filter can significantly improve your views of nebulae, such as the Orion Nebula, when using almost any telescope, including the Heritage 150P. This filter also enhances the visibility of planetary nebulae by reducing the brightness of surrounding stars, making it easier for you to locate them at low power. Furthermore, it provides enough contrast improvement to reveal previously invisible targets, such as the Crab Nebula and Veil Nebula supernova remnants, when using this telescope under dark skies. What can you see with the Skywatcher Heritage 150P?